1940 '52' LaSalle wheels, tubes or tubeless?

[GregoryAlan]

I have been reading through the archive of 'wheel' posts here and this 'blockhead' is just getting more confused...
I need new tires on my coupe. I am going to open my wallet and invest in a set of Diamond Back Auburn Deluxe Radials. I am not clear on what I need for wheels to mount my new tires.

I read about wheel flex and loosing hub caps ... don't really care about that.
What I do care about is NOT loosing air pressure because the bead will not seal or that the rims might be '2 piece' or 'split' and not designed to be run tubeless?
I am not opposed to buying new/modern wheels. Did I read that the '40 LaSalle rim center hole is part of the support of the wheel [hub centric?] to the hub? Or maybe the opening/center is extra large compared to other year wheels?

I believe that these '40 wheels are 16' and 5x5 bolt pattern, 4 1/2 inch wide ... correct?
I have not found the correct back spacing measurement posted ... anyone know and can share?

Is there something missing on my stock '40 wheel edges/lips that are different between tube and tubeless tires? I don't need any failure running down the road at speed and loosing a tire.

Anyone have a source for modern aftermarket wheels that will fix me up for some safe summer cruising?

The stock size tire on my LaSalle is suppose to be 7.00x16. I know for sure that I have 2 different size tires on it now, they are what I will call rollers and in rough shape. The Diamond Back equivalent is 700r16 which they are out of stock right today. What they have available are the 750r16 but not really what I want so I think I will hold out till either they restock/make some more or I'll go to the dark side and check out Coker Tires...

I appreciate opinions...

[harvey b]

I have Diamondback tires on my 37,stock wheels,been on there for 5 years,no tubes,never lost a psi of air? love them.Harveyb

[Brad Ipsen CLC #737]

I can help some on your questions.  You state the correct wheel size for 39 and 40.  They are hub concentric.  In other words the lug bolts do not hold the wheel to the same center as the brake drum.  The hub on the brake drum matches the diameter in the wheel hole and that holds the wheel in the center.  Earlier wheels do not match the hub diameter.  41 wheels have the same hub diameter but they are 15" wheels.  The rest of this is opinion.  I have been reluctant to use radials on the correct wheels.  If you could find a perfect set of wheels I would be less reluctant.  They seem to either have deep rust pits from the inside or the outside or both.  There is one other wheel that fits that I am using to put radials on a 1940.  They are the 75 Series wheels from 40 to 49.  They are 16" and have the same hub, heavier gauge material and are 5 inches wide instead of the 4-1/2" wide.  The problem is these wheels are harder to find than the 40 wheels.  Never have found a reproduction wheel.  My question is could one be made up. It is no problem finding good center sections of the old wheels.  Could the old rim be cut off and a new rim welded on.  Coker sells wheel rims.  I have not talked to them about it but my understanding is the ID of the rim cannot be adjusted and it is unlikely to be the same as the OD of the center section.  I would not buy the 7:50 size.  That is the size on the big series cars and they are just too big for the small series cars. 

[GregoryAlan]

The Diamond Back 'propaganda' on the web says they make your tires to order. Maybe I talked with a re-seller and all he had in stock was 750r16? My mind is set on 700r16s...
I got ahold of some NOS skirts for the rear and want to make sure that everything fits...

I am not discounting the experience of people running 1940 rims. That is probably the path I will take. I'm gonna have to remove a wheel and get some measurements off the hub center and see what I can find. When I was a kid we put aftermarket wheels on our cars and didn't think twice about it. Hmmm...
Why is it bugging me now?

[Cadman-iac]

The Diamond Back 'propaganda' on the web says they make your tires to order. Maybe I talked with a re-seller and all he had in stock was 750r16? My mind is set on 700r16s...
I got ahold of some NOS skirts for the rear and want to make sure that everything fits...

I am not discounting the experience of people running 1940 rims. That is probably the path I will take. I'm gonna have to remove a wheel and get some measurements off the hub center and see what I can find. When I was a kid we put aftermarket wheels on our cars and didn't think twice about it. Hmmm...
Why is it bugging me now?

I can sympathize with you about wheels. My car is a 56, and it  uses a reverse dish, or center,  to allow deeper hubcaps to fit.  The problem with the 56 wheels are in how the center is affixed to the rim. Mine are riveted.  I prefer to get some that are welded,  but to do this,  I have to go to a later year.
I found that the ones that were on my 63 parts car are perfect, except I only have 3. After checking out all the other reverse dish wheels I have, I only have one complete set.  The ones already on the car.
So I thought,  why not see if I could swap the centers with another rim. The problem I found with this idea is that even though the rims were all  15 inch, the center diameter is not necessarily the same.

I realize this is not the same year as yours, but the problems are similar.

What I finally did was just settle for the original wheels. I bead blasted them and painted them inside and out.  Then I mounted the new tires. (I have an old tire machine). I did pressurize the tires and dunk them in a tank I have just to be sure they didn't leak around the rivets. And so far, so good.

As far as aftermarket wheels,  my brother used to have a 67, and he put a set of classic Cragars on it and it honestly looked really nice.
But I suppose it is all in what you like.

[GregoryAlan]

So...
I removed a tire today to measure up the wheel...
I need to get the tire removed from the rim. My rims appear to be wider than 4 1/2 inch?

They are 16 inch wheels, 5x5 bolt pattern...
The centers measure out at 3.04 inches and the hubs on the LaSalle measure out at 3 inches...

I measured the backspace and came up with 3 3/4 inch. Does that sound correct?
Anyone have a 16 inch '40 LaSalle wheel that can confirm that for me please?

[Cadman-iac]

Gregory,

When you measure the wheel width,  you go from the inside of the lip just below where the tire bead actually sits if memory serves. The beads don't count towards the width of the tire/wheel.

[Brad Ipsen CLC #737]

Agreed on the 3-3/4" back space.  Inside you will see the size (16 X 4.5) and date stamped and brand. May have to sandblast them to see it.

[GregoryAlan]

So, Salle is sitting on 4 jack stands.
I had one tire/wheel dissected and it was decided to have all 4 of my wheels blasted and powder coated.

My tire guy/expert took one look at the rims and told me I'm wasting my money buying different rims. None of my wheels had tubes in them and they were holding air just fine. He didn't see any reason why vintage looking radials wouldn't work well on the original 1940's rims.

My powder coater suggested rather than buying the vintage wide white radials that I should try to find a plain old radial tire, something in stock at my local big box tire store. They might not be wide whites but at $100 a tire compared to $337 a tire? It might be different if I was going to get some good use out of the tire but how many miles do we put on our cars per year. Ya know tires are only good for 5 to 7 years. We are never going to wear out the tread on our tires.

I got my heart set on wide whites. Finding a radial to fit a 4 1/2 inch rim and near the same height and width might be pretty difficult. Anyone got a suggestion on a 700x16 replacement?

[Cadman-iac]

You may have to go to the "dark side" and visit Coker tires. In all the advertising I've seen, they seem to have the largest selection of tires available.

[35-709]

Definitely talk to the folks at Diamondback Tires --- www.dbtires.com
Check out their website and give them a call.

[GregoryAlan]

Definitely talk to the folks at Diamondback Tires --- www.dbtires.com
Check out their website and give them a call.

DB is on backorder for 5 months... 😭
I'm now a Coker guy...

[35-709]

   Wow!  I ordered a set of Auburns from Diamondback 3 weeks ago and UPS says to expect them Monday.  Diamondbacks are definitely worth the wait, but good luck with the Cokers.

[GregoryAlan]

  Wow!  I ordered a set of Auburns from Diamondback 3 weeks ago and UPS says to expect them Monday.  Diamondbacks are definitely worth the wait, but good luck with the Cokers.

It's all about the size you order...

Their [DB] web site says you order them, we make them, they ship them. It all takes about 2 1/2 weeks...
I have been trying to order 700x16 on-line for a while now and all it says is "call for price"
So I finally called and they are backordered. How long? 5 months???
Hmmm, order, make, ship, takes 5 months?
When you have a monopoly on your market it's not about what the customer wants...
If you don't like it go somewhere else, oh, there is no where else... 😭

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

It's most likely that THEIR supplier of 7:00 X 16 tires has a 5 months backlog.
Bob

[35-709]

Right.  The whitewalls are installed after the fact.

[GregoryAlan]

It's most likely that THEIR supplier of 7:00 X 16 tires has a 5 months backlog.
Bob

I am a little confused about that...

At first I thought that was how they built their tire, took an 'off the shelf' [so to say] tire and worked their magic to 'vulcanize' the cosmetic outside to your specs, whitewall size, beauty bar. etc...
After talking to them I got the impression they [DB] were making their own tires/blanks now?
I could be wrong...

Either way it doesn't matter, if I waited 5 months the small window of 'car season' in Minnesota would be over. Maybe they will be stocked up again in 3 months, maybe it will be 7 or 8 months. I don't want to take that chance.

Coker shipped them out Friday and they will be here Tuesday.
I should have a sample of the powder color for the rims early next week. I'm taking a chance on a Maroon. If it isn't close enough or clashes then I'm going black.
2 weeks and I want it sitting on its own 'shoes' and not my jackstands...

After talking with Coker I am pondering getting radial friendly tubes???
Its like ordering anything else, there is no ordering just the item you want. Do you want tubes, rim liners/strips, cleaner, polish, have you thought about our road hazard warranty...  ...upsell baby, upsell...