[Staowners] To Rich Fritz re whitewall tires

[raymead at comcast.net]

Hi Rich

Here is a post I did some time back re whitewall tires..........

ray
======================
From: raymead at comcast.net 
To: staowners at sunbeamtalbot.info 
Subject: [Staowners] The LATEST on ww radial tires (from Coker) 
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:21:06 +0000 

Hi everyone,

First, thanks to everyone who provided input/comments/knowledge/
experience re all my questions about radial tires.........

I feel pretty good that I can now actually add some information
to the pool of knowledge................(at least as it relates to my
'54 Sunbeam Alpine).

Coker (God bless them) now make a RADIAL tire that bears
the size:  5:50 x 16 and comes in a 2 3/4" wide white wall.

This tire bears the Coker name - they told me they have it made
by someone, but, alas, they wouldn't tell me who.............

As for inner tubes - they also have them.   And a note re inner tubes.

Thanks to Dave Reina (whose email to me appears below) I became
aware that not only do I need inner tubes, but that there is some issue
with the valve stem.............  Coker has this tire made with TWO
DIFFERENT valve stem sizes.............   one is 3/8" and the other
is 5/8" (or was it 3/4"??)......... anyway, it comes with two different
valve stem sizes.................
         Not knowing which I needed, I ordered the smaller size and
will simply purchase the grommets as Dave suggested below (and Coker
concurred with this, saying these are readily available at any tire store).

So, there it is:  There is now a white wall radial available from Coker
in size 5:50 x 16, just like our original Bias ply tire size!

Whew......... glad that is over - not really into all this technical stuff!

(Oh yes - yes, they are not cheap.  The tires are $ 184.00 and the tubes
are $ 24.95 - but hey, along with brakes they are about the two most
important safety features on your car)!

Any questions?

tks,  ray
'54 Sunbeam Alpine Mk1
'64 Porsche 356C coupe
'05 Thunderbird


-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Richard Fritz" <wizzzbang at verizon.net> 

Hi Mal…  The color you described for your Alpine sounds nice.  What color interior are you considering?  I’d like to see some photos of the work so far and others as progress is being made during the coming weeks.  By the time your finished with the restoration the car’s value should command 6 digits, if you use digits in Australia. :-)
I just bought an Alpine Number Plate Lens and lens gasket from Bamforths.  Mine was original and rather weary so I’m looking forward to receiving the new one.  I’m also looking for an OEM steering wheel or the name of a good steering wheel restorer.  I have bias ply 6.50/16 tires that I would like to replace with radial ply tires.  Do you have any suggestions for purchasing 9 cm white wall tires?
We have had a beautiful fall season in the Northeast so far.  We are gently moving into winter and the weather predictions for the next 6 months are favorable.  To take advantage of the nice weather, I’ve had my Alpine out on several trips through the hills of PA and NJ to enjoy the open road and the fall festivals in the area.  Everywhere I go in my Alpine I draw many people with questions and comments.  I think that one of the greatest satisfactions in Sunbeam ownership is telling people about the history of the car and enabling them to understand what pride in ownership really means.
Keep us posted on your masterpiece in progress.
Best regards
Richard Fritz
Nazareth, PA, USA
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://sunbeamtalbot.info/pipermail/staowners_sunbeamtalbot.info/attachments/20071109/a80fe08e/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
An embedded message was scrubbed...
From: "Richard Fritz" <wizzzbang at verizon.net>
Subject: [Staowners] Mal's Summer Project
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2007 02:21:48 +0000
Size: 682
Url: http://sunbeamtalbot.info/pipermail/staowners_sunbeamtalbot.info/attachments/20071109/a80fe08e/attachment-0001.mht