Just bought my first "classic" ... a 1973 Mercury Comet and she needs tires. She currently has white walls but I've seen a lot of pics and old ads with Black walls. To be 1973 classicly correct, do I get white walls or black walls? AND can anyone tell me where to go (internet or stores) for Mercury "stuff" like hats, jackets, etc. Thanks
I'd stay away from the white walls. White letter maybe, but no white walls. Have any pics of your car?
My 77 mav came from the dealer with narrow white walls and the dog dish hubcaps. right now it has black steel wheels and blackwalls and it looks kinda dull on my blue car. but whichever they both were options i would suppose. white walls been round since at least the 40s if not longer if im not mistaken. if you want "classy" I would suppose the narrow whitewalls. but whatever floats your boat, and it may depend on what wheels/hubcaps/wheelwell trim or none which tires look best.
Welcome to the board and Comet ownership! I think the choice of tire style really has to hinge on your overall image of the car. A picture of it would help. Some colors look better with different tire styles, too. In general, if you want it to look like a completely stock optioned-out car, then whitewalls would be appropriate, and I would tend to stick with ones that are probably 3/4" or less to be period-correct. Wide whites were more of a 50s thing. A more basic car might look better with blackwalls. If you have a Comet GT ... small solid raised white letters would be first choice. Larger open raised letters were more prevalent in the later 70s. I almost always go with black walls and stuff as much tire under the car as possible because I am a knuckle-dragging hot rodder ...
really? mine was really a low-end car. it didn't have a/c, had the basic 200 six, no option package. just the tires. i don't know if it was just something he decided to pay extra for the whitewalls or what, but it's on the original papers, if i can find em. anyways, maybe mine was a one-off thing and is super-collectible because of it.
just citing general trends from back in the day ... a long, long time ago ... before you were born ...
true, i was just sayin that's what mine was. i don't know what would have been "normal" then. i wish i could've been there when they were new. then the 50s cars would be just used cars and i'd start my collection there and be retired early after sellin some of em off for those rediculous prices before the economy crapped out. as was said before, your car's trim level/general appearance has an effect on what tires look best on the car. give us a pic of your ride.
Hello gang, I have original size stock tires on my 73 Comet and they're skinny to the point of looking dumb! Need advise on what would be the best wider size for her Thanks Lar
I think as wide as 225s can be run on the stock tire.. I'm currently running 205/75-14s(stilts) on the front with the stock 14 inch rim and 275/60-15s(Daisy Mags) on the back.. I think the inch difference with the rims and the overall tire sizes give it a nice rake...
If you go on road trips it's nice to know that your spare can serve all four tire locations.... 205 75 14 is a good size, and is a couple steps up from stock. I wont go taller. I like (have) the white walls with stock rims and hubcaps but they areally hard to find nowadays...even 14" tires for that matter. Here is a great tire height calculator on this website. It helped me a lot. http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp
