what is the correct tire size? I know they are 15 inch, but what width or height? thanx....Ed

Going by memory,I believe that the correct tire size is 6.70 x 15.

Yup, thats correct unless its a convertible with Power Glide - then its 7.10 X 15.

I agree 6.70x15, based on the experience of having changed around a thousand of them over the years.

I think Gene and Glyn are correct. Also agree with Gene's comment about

7.10 X 15's for convertible PG cars. I think 7.10's were also available on any model as an option. Particularly wagons.

Further, as I recall if you consider switching to wide white radials, Coker lists P205 75R 15's as the "comparable" size to the original 6.70 bias ply tires.

Bill.

The 7.10 were optional for cars but not wagons...The Wagons came with 6.70 6 ply tires with no optional sizes.

The nice thing about having Gene around is you can "think" something and he'll let you know how it really was (is).

Don't expect any argument from me on anything he says......

Thanks for the added info about '54 tire sizes, Chevgene. Frankly, I had NO idea about the 6 ply tires on 54 wagons. Nice to know.

Bill.

Tire size, pressure, plies, and load capacity.

First remember in the 1950's the tires still had cotton cord in the plies.Cotton was not as strong as the modern materials and tended to rot when exposed to moisture.Nylon came next, was strong but would flat-spot when sitting over night.Never popular in standard production tires."Modern" tires have Polyester, even used is steel radials....strong as Nylon with no or very little flat spotting.

Using 1949-54 as an example-
The 6.70 X 15 4 ply tire had a load capacity of 1065 pounds at 24 pounds of air pressure,1115 pounds at the max. recommend (COLD) pressure of 26 Lbs.More (COLD) pressure was not recommended as tire would be too "hard" and could break cords when hitting sharp objects.
The 6.70 X 15 6 ply tire had a load cap. of 1215 pounds at 30 Ls. which was its recommended pressure for 3 seat wagons.Could be inflated up to 36 pounds safely for still more load capacity.
The 7.10 X 15 4 ply tire had a capacity of 1195 pounds at 26 PSI.
Its possible the the larger 7.10 tire would not have fit in the tire compartment of the wagons.6 ply tires required more air pressure because flexing of the heavier casing generated more heat....they were also a harder riding tire.
The 7.10 was not offered in 1955-56 because the larger tire would rub on the frame when wheels were cut all the way right or left.Steering redesigned (turning radius reduced) in 1957 for use with 7.50 X 14 tires.
For long distance driving I have been running 34 pounds in the rear tires of my '39 and '50 due to the heavy loads carried in the rear.Helps prevent the rear end sway and the tires don't have that under inflated look.This has caused no problems except the center of the tread tends to wear gaster than the outter edge.Rotating equalizes that.
The pre war manuals suggested 26 front and 28 rear for 6.00 X16 4 ply...most ran more than that.
Remember these are all cold pressures,high speed driving when hot could increase by 5 pounds.On a 35 degree day the cold pressure will also drop by a few pounds compared to a 80 Deg. day.

Another terrific post by Chevgene! He not only gives us the information, but the reasoning behind it. I really appreciate that we have such great resources here at the VCCA Chat site.

Question - I have never seen this mentioned.Does the tire pressure increase at higher elevations?

Talked with a member today at our club picnic.While he and his family were in Colorado the son's Bic lighter exploded (In AC car) and his lens blew out of his wrist watch and hit the windshield.Was at less than 10,000 feet.Never heard of this before....just the normal ear pressure.

The atmospheric pressure at sea level is 14.7 PSI. As you go higher into the atmosphere the number of molecules of air around you decreases, which means that the air pressure also decreases.

That is very possible in a sealed compartment such as a water resistant watch, the internal pressure is the same as at sea level , however the popping off of the watch chrystal and the explodeing BIC are caused by the differential pressure ie... The differential pressure of the inside of the watch and the lower atmospheric pressure,the atmosphere
Engineers that do design work on downhole logging instrument run into the reverse, when a hollow steel cased logging instrument package is protected from the hydrostatic of the tall column of fluid in the well bore, and a weak cased tool will implode, I have seen a steel tube molded around transformers and other "lumps" in a tool when the pressure case collapsed from a differential pressure in the order of 15,000psi. The same thing is what crushes a submarine when it can't maintain bouncy and falls to the bottom of a deep canyon on the ocean floor. This diffenterial pressure is the inverse action of a watch chrystal when the internal pressure is effected by a low atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes.

WOW!

Yes the pressure measured inside the tire will increase as you go to higher altitudes. It will be a proportionate increase to the decrease in ambient pressure. It depends on the type gauge you use to check the tires if you will actually measure the increase. If you use a regular tube type tire pressure gauge it will read the actual pressure in the tire as it uses a spring. If you use a dial type pressure gauge it will read a lower pressure as it is a differential guage with the zero based on the pressure inside a sealed tube.

The altimeter in airplanes is also based on the lower pressure as you get farther from sea level. When corrected for atmospheric pressure variation (highs, lows) the pressure gage type altimeters are very accurate. Now you can get an altimeter that uses GPS.