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White Wall Tyres

R

robb128

master brummie
Early sixties i was driving a Standard Vanguard and Sunday mornings was my time to clean and repaint the white wall tyres looked the part when sparkling
rob
 
Hi Rob, like you, I also drove a car in the '60's with whitewall tyres, in my case a Vauxhall PA Cresta.You're right,they do look real cool when cleaned up, but can be irreparably scarred if you are unfortunate enough to 'kerb' them. I still have a car with whitewall tyres, a 1938 Buick, tho' it is not used every day. Oddly enough, the tyres can still be obtained fairly readily, tho' usually only from specialist dealers, cheers, Mal.
 
When at A T Gittins I once did some work on a Buick 88. The owner wanted the foot starter reconnected for fast Gangster style car chase starts - think 'The Untouchables'. That car was lovely to look at. The quick start device was on the accelerator mechanism and it had to be fully floored to work. Hence the burning rubber.
 
Yes,you're quite right about the starter on a Buick.After turning on the ignition ( which incorporated a steering lock-in 1938!) pressing the accelarator to the floor operated the starter motor.After the engine started,inlet manifold vacuum disengaged the starter switch-very ingenious.Combined with an automatic choke, this made for very easy starting,marred only slightly by it being a 6 volt system to turn over nearly 5 1/2 litres of straight-8 engine, Mal.
 
me and some mates way back in the late 50s clubbed together and purchased a old Buick not sure of spelling but sounds like Maclocklan runner boards and spare wheel to side of passenger door
rob
 
Hi Rob,yes you're correctin your memory-almost.It's a Mclaughlin Buick,built by General Motors in Canada for export to Britain. With Canada being a Commonwealth country, no import duty was payable.Your car, being a Mclaughlin,as mine is, would have been right-hand drive, with twin sidemounts (spare wheels in front wings). They were all imported into the country by Lendrum & Hartman of London.Incidentally, Edward VIII used Mclauglin Buicks, I think he had a total of four.I'II try and get a picture to you in the next day or two,bear with me, I'm not very computer literate, best wishes ,Mal.
 
I am In Love. Look at the Bumpers on that One. She looks Beautiful. Aaaaarrrrgg


psss. Would you swap it for a C4 Picasso?

No ,did not think so. Uhm I will dream on.
 
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Talk of Buicks made me remember a lad who worked with us bought a straight eight but it drank too much petrol so he ran it on paraffin, rigged up to start on petrol then change over once running.

He was a bit unsubtle though and for his paraffin tank he had a ten gallon Redex drum on the back seat with a rubber hose running through the car to the engine.

Everywhere he went he stunk of paraffin, girls at the dance commented on it.:) E.
 
Rolls and Bentleys are the only cars currently available with White Wall Tyres- but does anyone know the last car sold in UK with White walls fitted as standard?
 
I'm fairly certain that we sold some Sunbeam Rapiers with a white band in their tyre walls in the late fifties and we used to fit add on white walls (we knocked the outside tyre bead off the rim and tucked these white rubber circles behind then reinflated the tyre to trap them.)
The last production car I remember with white walls was the Austin Westminster A105.

Borrowed this picture from Wiki.
 
Bernie D'Boult said:
When at A T Gittins I once did some work on a Buick 88. The owner wanted the foot starter reconnected for fast Gangster style car chase starts - think 'The Untouchables'. That car was lovely to look at. The quick start device was on the accelerator mechanism and it had to be fully floored to work. Hence the burning rubber.
Click to expand...

Was that Gittins in Irving st off Bow st. Horsefair ?
 
Eric Gibson said:
I'm fairly certain that we sold some Sunbeam Rapiers with a white band in their tyre walls in the late fifties and we used to fit add on white walls (we knocked the outside tyre bead off the rim and tucked these white rubber circles behind then reinflated the tyre to trap them.)
The last production car I remember with white walls was the Austin Westminster A105.

I think the Austin A105 was last built in about 1957-58, mind I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Vauxhall Cresta's, and possibly Ford Zodiacs mk2 ,built until about 1962, were fitted with white-walls as standard, Mal.
Click to expand...
 
Nope -this is last car with whitewalls standard - a Kia Pride from 1994
Kia_Pride_3-door_87_30.jpg
 
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