Set of Wide White Walls for '67

["Ray / The Old Crocs" <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Co-incidence re: Guy Lombardo's tyres

I've just bought an immaculate 1950 Imperial DeLuxe Sedan which has
spent many of its years in storage.  On driving it I found it to be
vague on the steering - rather like having far too much pressure or
running on skinny little tyres.  I checked the pressures which seemed OK
( 28lbs ). The tyres are wide white walls marked as follows:

   DELTA 784 GODFATHER - L7 8 15 - Polyester 4 ply 3701/489 - max
pressure 32 psi - max load 1970 lbs

I took the car straight to our MOT testing station who gave it a
vigourous inspection but could find nothing wrong with the geometry,
steering or suspension except that the tyres inner walls were rubbing on
the stub axle when on full lock and very close to the steering arm at
all times. This would indicate either too low a pressure in the tyres or
the wrong size fitted.

Looking closely at the front tyres shows a 2" wide pronounced ridge
running around the centre of the tyre tread.

Q.  Does anyone recognise these tyres and are they right for the car ?
If not can anyone give me the correct spec and tyre pressure. ?

Q. where can I get replacements ?  Bearing in mind I'm in England so an
American agent would have to be able to ship them

When I bought the car I got it £500 cheaper because I felt that the
tyres may need renewing - how right I was !

Thanks

Ray Gomm / England

 



-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of guy lombardo
Sent: Monday 15 July 2002 14:26
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Set of Wide White Walls for '67


The '67 Convertible had four General Radials with less than 1000 miles
on them...but 27 years of sitting in a garage.  When I found it, the
tires actually still had air in them, although they were rather low.
Only the the right front tire seemed to be low enough to let the rim
contact the rubber.  I have put maybe 1000 miles on the car test driving
in the neighborhood, and going to Saturday night burger joint "car
shows".

There has always been a vibration at about 50 MPH.  Now I know why.  The
right front tire tread separated from the casing (you should hear that
happen at moderate speed!!!).  When I got the tire off, it was clear
that the separation had been working for some time, unfortunately, all
of the visible evidence was on the inside sidewall.  I am flabbergasted
that I never saw the bulges in all the times I have been under there...

I started a tire search by reviewing the archives and running a parallel
Internet search of availability for the P235/75/15's I needed.  I had
essentially given up on the 1.5 inch white walls because it looked like
I would have to pay over $700 for a set...AND get tires that seemed to
be less well engineered, and of questionable quality.  My In-Laws have
been in the tire business for 30 years in New Orleans, and they were
another source of information.

Just as I was about to buy one of the two models of Michelin that I
found that met my needs (Rainforce MX4 (Max Load 2028 lbs) $98 each; and
XW4 (Max Load 2183 lbs) $124 each), I found a redesigned Multi-Mile
model of the Broadway Classic (2028 lbs @ 35 PSI).

I paid $296 delivered to the house from TireNet, and I paid another $55
to help WalMart not to forget the left-handed threads on the port side.

The ride is very good, and dramatically different from the
Generals...but I don't know how much of that is due to that hidden flaw
in the one tire.  I like the wider white.  I am happy with TireNet, my
contact there was "John" <tirenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>.  I found some specs
on the tire at
http://www.multimiletires.com/broadlinepassenger/page1.html.  I was NOT
impressed with the list of Dealers shown on the MultiMile
website...which is why I decided to deal with TireNet.

I kept one General for a spare (the spare I had was probably 35 years
old), and I have the other two Generals in my garage.  They are like-new
on the treads.  If anyone wants to take a chance on them, let me know
offline and I will give them to you, you pay shipping.

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