My tire and wheel conundrum

[JC68vert300]

The tires and wheels that are currently on my 68 300 were on the car when I bought it. The tires are huge-L78-15 Coker Classic bias ply 41/2 inch wide whitewall. The hubcaps are from a 69 or 70 New Yorker, nice condition. I would not change them if they were in perfect condition, I don't hate them, but don't love them either. My preference is a stock look. But now the tires are looking very dry and when I checked the DOT code on the back of the tire, they are 14 years old. So definitely time for new tires, radials. I was thinking of 14 inch rims, with 68 300 hubcap( I have neither, so would have to buy them) and white walls. OR 15 inch Magnum 500 style wheels with white walls. It seems from threads I've read that 14 inch white walls, not wide, are harder to come by, so I am leaning towards the Magnums. Coker has 15x6 rims with a 4 inch setback that my FSM says was the wheel size for a car with disk brakes. I know the pics will generate comments...all are welcome.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Does you car have disc brakes? If so, 15" rims are required, as 14" rims won't fit.

That being said, if the choice is available between 14s with stock wheelcovers, and 15s with chromie Magnums, I'd go with the Magnums FOR SURE (in my humble opinion!).

A classic classy/aggressive look that permits you to upgrade to discs in the future without having to scrap the 14s.

 

[Wollfen]

I second the vote, these cars look so very nice with Magnum 500's and I'm a bit of a purist, unless it's green.

 

[JC68vert300]

That's what I am leaning to. No the car does not currently have disc brakes, that is why I wasn't sure of the direction I wanted to go, but the Magnum's would give me the disc option in the future.

 

[Fishfan]

You can't just put radial tires on those rims and keep the hubcaps?

 

[SPF Required]

I had a similar conundrum on my '68 300 convertible as well. Although mine does have disc brakes so had to go with 15s. Granted my tires are only 6 years old and it is garage kept, so I am holding off on buying the Magnums until the engine is done-done (just a couple of more weeks I hope). I may need that reserve of cash to cover all the unforeseen items that need to get the car fully road worthy.

I so very much wanted a set of those '68 300 hubcaps, but as you note, they are only for 14" wheels. So I picked up a decent set of '70 300 hubcaps from ebay... by 1970, the 300 wheels were 15". The '70 300 hubcaps are more plain than the '68s, but they will hold me over just fine until the magnums come my way. And I am sticking with the 1" whites on the magnums.

If you want some inspiration for your '68, check out the pics from @MOVE N UP . He has a fantastic pair (yes TWO) '68 300s. We're all trying to get him to buy a 4-door sedan so he can own the entire '68 line of 300s.

 

[mrfury68]

If you are going for tire & wheel I would go for the 15 inch Magnum 500s. You will get a good sizes tire for the big ride you have & have the option of installing a disc brake set up & not have to change wheels & tires. Nice car too by the way.

 

[65 500]

I agree, 15" Magnum 500's, and whatever you do, get rid of those wide whites, those belong on a 40's Packard, not a '68 300!

 

[Carmine]

Everyone is correct, except the idea of keeping those Sombrero hubcaps. WTF was the previous owner thinking? Make a quaint tire-swing from them. Or maybe this:

 

[rapidtrans]

I would go with a 7" wide rim Magnum 500 wheel. Makes for a wider looking tire with a larger selection available.

 

[Ripinator]

I would go with a 7" wide rim Magnum 500 wheel. Makes for a wider looking tire with a larger selection available.

Yes! If yer gonna get the Magnum 500s, definitely go with a seven inch width. The tires will have less sidewall flex, and the the footprint will be more stable. Here is a Hankook tire that should work pretty well with that setup:

Hankook Optimo H724

 

[Imperialist67]

Since you have a 300, Magnum 500's would be quite appropriate, they're probably available in a lot of places. I know that Wheel Vintiques has them with knock-off spinners (or whatever they're called), which have a neat look but may or may not work with fender skirts. Sure do like that yellow convertible!

 

[Duncan]

I went with the 15" Magnum 500s (my car had already been converted to disc brakes) with a narrow whitewall. The wheels are polished aluminum - I was guaranteed they won't rust) -unlike the wheels I had on it before which started to rust from day one.

Don't think the whitewalls are hard to come by at all. My American Tire store had them in stock but had to order the wheels. At first I thought they looked too tall but have grown to love the look. It is perfect for the era of the car.

btw, note the whitewall on the Plymouth convertible sitting next to your car in your picture.

 

[bajajoaquin]

There are several things to unpack in your post, most or all of which have been covered by others, but sometimes it's helpful to look at exactly what you're asking for to get to the answer.

As it stands now, you're asking about changing everything in a big block of changes, which is kind of limiting. Why not take the issue step by step?

Wheel size. You have 15" wheels now. There are a greater number of modern tires available for 15" wheels. You might consider just getting new tires for those wheels. It costs you nothing and keeps most of your options open.

Tire size. As you mention, that is not the factory tire size, and except for Coker, the original tires aren't readily available. 235/75-15 is the size most of us run as being closest to original. You can still find them in the (reasonably correct) 1" stripe at a good price. If you go with Magnums and want blackwall or RWL, they are also available in this size.

Sidewall. 1" stripe is closer to correct for your car. Wide whites went out in the late 50s.

Hubcaps. If you just put new tires on your current rims, you can use your current hubcaps while you look for 15" 300 wheel covers. If you insist on "original" 14" wheel covers, you can modify your 15" wheels to accept the 14" wheel covers and still have access to the greater range of 15" tires. Converting Your (Chrysler) Imperial's 15 inch Rims to 14 inch Wheel Rims. You can still buy Magnums later if you want, and will only be out a mount and balance charge.

Wheel Type. I like Magnum 500s, but I don't know how they'd look with white stripes, that's a question only you can answer. I don't know the cost of those or the cost of 15" 300 covers. But if you are set on them, getting tires for your current wheel setup means you're not pressured to buy the first set you see, and you can probably save a few bucks there.

So the only real recommendation I have for you is to go with some version of the 15" wheels. If it were my car, I'd probably keep the current wheel/cover package, get new 235/75-15 white stripe tires and start looking for a good set of 15" 300 covers.

 

[Snotty]

Anything other than those ugly wide whites!

 

[JC68vert300]

I went with the 15" Magnum 500s (my car had already been converted to disc brakes) with a narrow whitewall. The wheels are polished aluminum - I was guaranteed they won't rust) -unlike the wheels I had on it before which started to rust from day one.

Don't think the whitewalls are hard to come by at all. My American Tire store had them in stock but had to order the wheels. At first I thought they looked too tall but have grown to love the look. It is perfect for the era of the car.

View attachment 145123

btw, note the whitewall on the Plymouth convertible sitting next to your car in your picture.

That's the look I am going for, nice looking car.

 

[JC68vert300]

Everyone is correct, except the idea of keeping those Sombrero hubcaps. WTF was the previous owner thinking? Make a quaint tire-swing from them. Or maybe this:

View attachment 145114

Sombrero hubcaps.. I really laughed at that. Nice um "planters", yikes.

 

[Duncan]

That's the look I am going for, nice looking car.

Thanks. As a sidebar to my original post, I put my car in the shop to fix an oil leak and the owner - who is quite a car guy and restores antique cars on the side - while showing me where the leaks are, told me 'I made the perfect choice in wheels and tires for my car'.

And in case you are wondering about the oil leak, both the intake and outtake manifold gaskets, as well as the valve cover gaskets, need to be replaced along with the freeze plugs which have holes in them simply from rotting out over the years. (And i though it was just the seal between the engine and transmission) He hasn't given me a price yet. Ugh!

 

[JC68vert300]

Yes! If yer gonna get the Magnum 500s, definitely go with a seven inch width. The tires will have less sidewall flex, and the the footprint will be more stable. Here is a Hankook tire that should work pretty well with that setup:

Hankook Optimo H724

The Hankook has the 1" whitewall look that I like. Thanks. I was looking at the 15x6 Magnums with a 4" setback, I am worried about going any wider because of the fender skirts. In the pictures you can see it's tight. I can barely get my hand under there when I clean the wheels.

 

[Big_John]

Take a look at these guys rather than buying from Coker.

Diamond Back Classic Radial Tires