On the heels of the grill install, I was contemplating some wheel and tire options for the beater GS. The 14x6 steelies and 215/70-14 blackwall BFG's really aren't cutting it for me. I think the car needs a bigger wheel and tire. Looks too plain. I was thinking about putting on a set of F70-14 Wide Ovals on the existing steel wheels. That might give it a better, more vintage look. And it would be a "no cost" upgrade as I already have a set sitting in my garage. Im not opposed to buying another 2 G60-15 Polyglas GT's as the two I bought the other day takes a lot of the sting out of a set of 4. I have a set of decent 15x7 chrome rallye's, so this option would only cost me the price of 2 tires. How do you think a set of chrome wheels would look? Too much shiny bling for the old girl? The 15x7 steelies and Polyglas option is enticing as it would fill up the wheel wells but still keep the dog dish look. This is the costliest option as I would need to find a set of 4 used Caprice 15x7 steelies which seem to be elusive around here. Or I could just leave well enough alone and leave the car as is with its current set up . Decisions decisions......
Upgrade to Wide Ovals. Here's a good cross reference chart to use at your local boneyards should you decide on 15" steelies.
Driving on Polyglass tires after driving on radial tires makes you think something serious is wrong with your car. Looking back on the 60s I wonder how we survived. English sports cars back in the 60s did have radials, but I never saw any on muscle cars. I am not sure the correct sizes for muscle cars were even made in radials at the time.
60 series radials (blackwall) on some old aluminum slots would be a neat 'day two' vintage look, and perform well.
Funny, when I bought the car, it had a set of 15x8 aluminum slots on the back with old radial tires! God knows when they were put on!
Here are your reproduction "pie crust" cheater slicks. The Towel City brand is made here in N.C. http://www.kellyshotrodparts.com/cheater_slicks.html Back in the 60s you could by them as recaps. We did not have the funds to buy anything else. They baked them under a shed outside a building in downtown Raleigh. I still remember the smell of those tires cooking. The business is long gone but the building is still there. I will look to see if I can find a picture.
Use those 15x7 chrome buick wheels that you got a great deal on and some Cooper Cobra's so it drives well you want that GS look
I also have a set of the second generation G60-15 Polyglas's with the outline white letters like you had on your Vette. I was thinking about putting those on the Buick rallyes for the "just dragged out of the barn after 40 years" look Who need to go out and actually find barn finds? I just make my own!
I remember in the 80’s and 90’s we couldn’t afford to paint a car, but we could buy tires and wheels a pair at a time until the rolling stock looked good, then mounted ‘em letters out and kept ‘em clean and shiny. In that vein, 15x7 rallies and BFGs. Or, in the theme of beater, two old snow tires on the back on steelies, one rusty rally on the front with a whitewall, one aluminum rim with an off brand rwl. Patrick
These are the actual rims from my High School '73 Monte Carlo, 15x10 (circa 1982). Had these on the back and a pair of crusty Craiger SS on the front because I could not afford a matching pair. Mis-matched rims would look vintage.
My first car (1981),studded snow tires on the back. Its replacement Monte Carlo in the background before mounting the chrome rims. That Skylark was crustier than your beater and it was only 10 years old when that photo was taken.
I find it amazing how fast cars got ratty back in the day. Look at that car! Its only 10 years old!! It seems after a few years they started getting crappy looking. I remember my parents getting rid of cars once the odometer turned over. At 100k miles, cars were essentially "done". I don't think the manufacturers back in the day made these cars to last much past 6 or 7 years I often wondered what my beater looked like back in 1980. I don't think it looked much different than it does now
The decision has been made! In thinking about what to do, I realized the initial point of this is was to keep it low buck and use the parts I already have. So.... Initially, I was going to put a set of chrome 15x7's I bought from Steve (71stagegs) a while back with a set of old outline white letter Polyglas's I already had but I realized when I had them balanced that those tires were only good for display or as "rollers". They unfortunately took waaaay too much weight to zero out. Even match mounting them didn't help. Two of them took almost 10 ounces of weight a piece. No good. Oh well..... So since I already had a set of nearly new 14" wide ovals doing nothing off my friends Chevelle, why not just use them instead of buying new tires? So I took off the blackwall BFG radials and installed the Firestones with the white out. Wow, what a difference! It gives the car a whole new look. And it cost me $80 total. I thought about painting the wheels bamboo cream but the assembly manual said the wheels should be black, not body color. What do you think? I like the new look. I think the car is pretty much finished at this point. I think I pretty much have it where I want it
Wow! I really, REALLY want a set of those. Like, bad. Considering Coker is taking forever to deliver to another member, if I order now, maybe they'll be here by next spring?
Kelsey tire sells the Goodyear G60-15's. They'll have a set to you by next week. They give the car that period correct look. Your car will look SOOOO good with a set of Polyglas's on those steelies!!!! Expensive but so worth it!!
I was hoping you went with the Buick rallye rims so when I bought the car from you it would have the rims I voted for already!
