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FDP Forum / Moe's Tavern (_8^(I) / Whatever happened to whitewall tires?
(This message was last edited by 6L6 at 09:58 AM, Aug 3rd, 2012)
(This message was last edited by Blacksunshine at 01:34 PM, Aug 3rd, 2012)
FDP Forum / Moe's Tavern (_8^(I) / Whatever happened to whitewall tires?
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Peterw11
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Massachusetts
Angels do exist. I knew one personally.Aug 3rd, 2012 06:58 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Back in the 50's, 60's and early 70's, only cheapskates and minimalists went the blackwall tire route.
If you wanted to look cool, or just had the slightest sense of style, you spent the extra 30 or 40 bucks (really, that was the average upcharge), especially if you were driving an American car. They just looked good.
JC Whitney even sold retrofitable white walls you could install on blackwall tire. They were called Portawalls, and my dad had em on his 58 Chevy.
The Europeans never went for whitewalls. Look at any period photo of a street scene in England or the Continent. They just didn't have 'em over there. It was an American thing.
I think they started going away when the Mustang, muscle cars, and the high performance image became popular. Race cars didn't have whitewalls, and only a putz or a geezer still bought them.
Nowadays, with exception of the occasional geezer piloted Crown Vic, or Town Car, you won't see them on anything, anymore.
Can you imagine a new Caddy, or a Benz, or Audi, with whitewalls?
Even the cheapest Toyota, Kia, or Hyundai would look stupid.
Pinetree
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In the Cloud.Aug 3rd, 2012 07:00 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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I'm down with 'em.
Ragtop
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The older the violin
the sweeter the music.Aug 3rd, 2012 07:03 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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It's a little known fact that rubber, in its natural state, is white. It has to be dyed black for tires.
Love,
Cliff Clavin
jhawkr
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USA
Final Four!Aug 3rd, 2012 07:09 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Whitewalls on muscle cars were stupid. Uniroyal made some dual red stripes for awhile and the the raised white letter tires took over. I remember buying a set of Firestone Wide Ovals with white stripes. My 1st set of new tires.
mroulier
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Suburban MD.
Ask me about my BlowCoat(tm)!Aug 3rd, 2012 07:31 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Plus, by the late 70's 'whitewalls' meant a one-inch wide strip of white just on the inside of the rim.
6L6
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Lago, CAAug 3rd, 2012 09:58 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Yep, I LOVE whitewalls on the cars of my youth.
I think that the Space Program and the invention of ArmorAll had a lot to do with it. Shiny black tires started to look OK after awhile.
Check out the WW's on the '56 Chrysler 300B below. They look PERFECT with the Kelsey Hayes wire wheels!
6
urby
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Warshington StateAug 3rd, 2012 11:41 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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That's nice, Pinetree!
I'm looking to buy a bike and the Softail Deluxe is on the top of my list right now. They come with whitewall tires and wire wheels. Classic.
MJB
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Who's we sucka?
Smith, Wesson and me.Aug 3rd, 2012 11:44 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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I was a big fan of raised white letter tires. Came standard on my 71 Duster 340 which was my first brand new car.
I remember when the tire dealers mostly just stocked whitewalls and if you wanted black walls they would just mount the tires with the whitewall on the inside so they wouldn't show.
George
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ColoradoAug 3rd, 2012 12:45 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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I've always liked whitewalls and white letter tires. I even had whitewalls put on a pickup truck I owned when I was about 25 - far too young for that, but I liked them.
"I remember when the tire dealers mostly just stocked whitewalls and if you wanted black walls they would just mount the tires with the whitewall on the inside so they wouldn't show."
That's what happened to me. I thought for a minute and asked the guy to put the whitewalls on the outside. My friends laughed.
My wife bought a used SUV a couple months back and a week later I noticed it has raised white letter tires, but they're mounted so the white letters are on the inside. Dumb, IMO, but to each his own, I guess.
Signed,
A former regular user of Westley's Bleche Wite whitewall/white letter cleaner
Peterw11
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Massachusetts
Angels do exist. I knew one personally.Aug 3rd, 2012 12:55 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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"Check out the WW's on the '56 Chrysler 300B below. They look PERFECT with the Kelsey Hayes wire wheels!"
Those are the classic 50's era wide whites. By the early 60's the white part was about half as wide, and 10 years later, like mroulier mentioned, they were about an inch wide at best.
I think I might have purchased one car with whitewalls, in my whole life (a 68 Lemans wagon, IIRC).
After that, it was a series of small cars, VW's, Fiats, Hondas, etc., which would look awful with anything but black tires.
And anybody putting them on a sports car is perpetrating a criminal offense, with the possible exception of 50's era iron.
Even MGs and Jags had em back then. My '53 MG TD project car has wide whites, and IMO, doesn't look half bad.
GP
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SW Burbs of Chitown
Defend yourself with a pointy headstockAug 3rd, 2012 01:13 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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WW's only looked cool when cars had real chrome bumpers.
Blacksunshine
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Houston
Just call me 'hot licks'Aug 3rd, 2012 01:33 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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My friend has them on his '59 Caddy, and another friend has them on his Model A rat rod.
They're still available if needed/wanted.
Blacksunshine
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Houston
Just call me 'hot licks'Aug 3rd, 2012 01:33 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Oops. Double post.
dstnavy
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Arlington VirginiaAug 3rd, 2012 03:48 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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I like WWs Also wonder what happened to the GoodYear Blue Streak and the red stripes - I think they were called TigerPaws.
urby
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Warshington StateAug 3rd, 2012 04:11 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Yeah! Tiger Paws. They had a great ad campaign for that tire back in the 60's.
TeleThom
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Chicago burbs
they call me "Adobe Gavin"Aug 3rd, 2012 04:17 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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We used to but "Bleche White" by the gallon. "Every girls crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man." And I used to be crazy over whitewalls.
"I was a big fan of raised white letter tires."
Me too, Mike. We still have the raised white "Michelin" on our SUV, but it's kind of understated. Yellow raised lettering-bad. Freshly cleaned white lettering-good.
ArcticWhite
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I'm ArcticWhite and
I approved of this messageAug 3rd, 2012 07:17 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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are you gonna cruise the Miracle Mile?
Buddahead
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National City CA USA
Middle age pretend gutiaristAug 6th, 2012 09:18 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Whitewalls are still hot in the low rider community, at least in my neck of the woods
trumpet77
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Columbia, SC
pink Tele? YES!Aug 6th, 2012 01:23 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Every Ferrari that comes to America, comes on Goodyear Eagles. And only on Goodyear Eagles.
Why?
Because Mr. Ferrari...
NoSoapRadio
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South Shore, MAAug 6th, 2012 02:40 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search
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Curtis Mayfield did a song in the '70s called "Be Thankful For What You Got" that included the term "Gangsta Whitewalls" -- I thought he was saying "against the white wall" -- I just assumed it was some black militant stuff.
Anyway, years later, I read the lyrics and there were a few things I got wrong -- turns out I never had any idea what Curtis was talking about.
(Oh, and I know Curtis did not do the song originally -- so back off mo*fo).
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