I am thinking of going tubless, on my 1953. Any one used the original rims and had this work (putting a stem into the oval hole and had this work. Any info on this will be helpfull.
There will always be differences of opinion , but i fitted radials to my 54 over 10 years ago , i didn't even entertaine the thought of going tubless , all i did was fit radial tubes ,a lot cheaper and less trouble . i have had no problems in those ten years and have felt a lot safer .
Hydrive,
I did just the opposite about four years ago. My tire store mounted some
P205x75-15's with the metal valve stems with oval hole plugs. I, also,
have not had any problems with this set-up. But, the 205's are a bit
shorter than the car needs. It might be better to go with 215's.
What size tire were you thinking of using on your '54?
Also, I first tried 235x75-15's on Mopar 15x7 JJ wheels. The fit was
nice on the rear, but I had steering interference on the inside of the
front tires. So, I went back with the stock wheels.
The tyres i fitted to my 54 were 185 R15 which i think are 80 series . I have had no problems with handling , before taking it off the road for minor problems (not associated with steering or tyres ) i decided to do a more detailed resoration , i reguarly drove the car at 70 -80 MP. before some body says that is to fast for the car , i fitted a electric overdrive some years ago and at that speed the engine was not overworked , i also fitted a power brake booster so it would stop
The stock rims at 4.5 inches wide are a bit narrow for anything over 215 75r 15's. As you may have noted thes wims are two piece and the pieces are riveted together. These are usually not a problem, but the rivets may be a leak source. A bit of cleaning and the application of some silicone should solve any potential problems. As mentioned some rims have oval holes, and are best addressed by the two piece metal valve stems. The MOPAR safety seal bead area adresses the problem usually associated with radial on other brands old rims. I am running radial on my bizzy coupe. But I have substituted after market wheels as my original wheels were deeply rusted.
Last year I put 225 75's on the rear. This change has brought he speedometer and the odometer back to being accurate. With the 205's the speedo was about 7 mph slow at an indicated 65 mph.
Hint, use the tiremanufacture's inflation rating on the side wall, rather than the owners manual or glove box info. I have been running 34 lbs on both ends to good effect.