Tires – They’re Round & Black

By Robert Snowden

For years the Central Florida area had a pitch man on the local TV station advertising tires, his catch slogan was "tires ain't pretty", I use to love those commercials! The points of his ads were; basically all tires are round and black, and everyone needs them. Never a week goes by that I don't get a call or e-mail asking about tires for a Chevrolet Classic car. When it comes to choosing tires for your Chevy Classic, there's way more to consider than the fact that they are round and black. Before I can give anyone correct advice, I must first determine what exactly this person is trying to accomplish when their Chevy is finished?

One of the key issues in tire selection revolves around the type of wheel this tire is going to be mounted on. When this Chevy is completed will it have stock style wheels or will it roll on a set of new custom chrome wheels? If this Chevy is being restored to original stock condition, and the owner wants it to be just the way it rolled of the assembly line, then we've narrowed the selection down to one choice. A new 1958-1972 Chevrolet rolled off the assembly line on bias ply tires. A wide selection of reproduction bias ply tires is available in varying sizes. For the most part I will only recommend this style tire to the owner who will be driving their Chevy Classic very little. This Chevy will spend most of it's "over the road time" in an enclosed trailer! If upon questioning the owner and I find that they plan to do a fare amount of driving after the restoration is completed, but they still want that original look in their tires, then the way to go is the reproduction radial tire. If the plan is to drive this restored Chevy Classic, radial tires are the answer. These radial tires look just like a bias ply and will add comfort, safety and improved handling. Like the reproduction bias ply tire, the reproduction radial tire is available in varying sizes and whitewall widths. If a member calls complaining about the way their Late Great Chevy handles, my first suggestion is always the same; switch to radial tires!

When it comes to tire selection for the Chevy owner who is modifying their car, the tire choices are endless. Here the deciding factor is often what type of custom wheel the tire is going to be mounted on. The most common issue faced here is; wheel and tire clearance. Match the perfect custom wheel to the right tire and you have a perfect restoration!

Well there you have it; tires one, two, three. I'm afraid my old friend on the TV commercial that thought "tires ain't pretty" was wrong - a Chevy Classic with the correct combination of wheels and tires is a thing of beauty! Good luck in coming up with that perfect combination for your Chevy Classic.