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1937 LaSalle Coupe With Wheel/Tire Combo That Looks Wrong

Started by carlhungness, October 03, 2022, 07:03:31 PM

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carlhungness

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/lasalle/unspecified
 
  This '37 Coupe is listed for $27.500 per a Hemmings notification I received. There are a couple of dozen good photos of the car on the site and I'm struck by the look of the wheel/tire combo. They look far too small but the salesman says his spec sheet shows 16" tires. Also have a look at the medallion on the bumper, it is rectangular. The hood ornament isn't correct either, but overall the vehicle sure looks to be in fine shape.
  I'm particularly interested in the rear tire clearance as I just installed a Ford 9" rear end in my chassis and it is 1 1/2" wider drum to drum than stock and I'm hoping my tires won't rub the fenders. The body is separated from the chassis at the moment so I couldn't do a test fit. Upon advice from many I changed the stock rear end to the Ford 9" because I have a 1976 500" Eldorado engine in the car now. My new gear ratio is 2.70 which is a lot better than the 3.90 that was stock.
   Would like to hear from some other '37 owners, how much clearance do you have from the rear tire to the fender? At worst if I'm in trouble width wise I'm hoping I can solve the problem with modified wheels.
    The body is now being painted, so within a few weeks it will be ready to re-install on the frame.

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

carlhungness

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/lasalle

Hope this one is better. I copied this photo from the site and think
you can see the tire size I refer to.LaSalle With Small Tires.jpg

The Tassie Devil(le)

The only way to gain the best "look" is to firstly decide on the size of wheel/tyre you want to run, and then compare it with the original.

Then if the new combination is smaller, modify the fender opening to close up the "hole".

The other thing to do is forget what the original car looks like only think about the car you are making.

When I was building my '37 Chev Hot Rod, I had 14" wheels on the front, and 15's on the rear with 75 aspect rubber.   These filled up the rears nicely, but with the lowering of the car due to changing the suspension at the front, the fronts didn't look that bad.

Not sure what you are trying to accomplish, but whatever you change, nothing will be like the original, unless it is original.

If you like, I can send you a couple of pictures of my '37 Chev, as I cannot post them here.

Bruce. >:D   
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

tmdeturck

To me, the diameter of the tire looks similar to the 7.00-16 tires on my 6019, but I wonder if those are 6.00-16 or 6.50-16 tires.  The clearance looks like it could possibly be a bit more than I what I see on mine, and the tires may be a bit more narrow...but it is hard to tell from the photos.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/lasalle/unspecified/2622897.html

1963 Series 6229
1937 Series 6019

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

The reason that car looks bad is it's JACKED UP especially in the front. You see he bought new springs that were supposed to be the same height as original. HAHA. But... they're gonna settle in. HAHA again. Most repro crap is junk!!! Look at some factory photos for stock looks.
Bob
1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

fishnjim

Another option.
It's very possible to have a rear axle cut to size.  They do this all the time with 9" Fords for various vehicles. 

35-709

Yes, there are many companies that rebuild and or modify 9" Ford rears, you can get just about any width you want ---
 
Currie Enterprises -
https://www.currieenterprises.com/

Quick Performance Rear Ends
https://www.redbirdspeed.com/

Any good street rod magazine - or Hemmings - will have several ads for 9" rear mods.
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

GregoryAlan


The Tassie Devil(le)

Heck, with my '37 Chev Hot Rod, I used a Chev 12 Bolt diff, and 8 1/5 x 15 rims, and widened the back fenders 4".   Looked really tough.

Bruce. >:D

PS.   Driving in heavy rain, the "rooster tail" caused by the reshaped fenders formed the shape of a pair of afterburners trailing from the back.   So I am told, as I couldn't see it whilst behind the wheel.
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Tom Beaver

Carl, The 37 and 38 LaSalles use the same rim and tire sizes.  On my car I replaced the stock bias ply tires with LT 215/85R 16 radial ply tires that have the same rolling diameter as the original tires.  The section width may be a bit wider but the minimum clearance between the rear tires and the rear fenders is one fingers width measured at the bottom of the tire cutout at the back.

The rear bumper medallion on the Hemmings car is from a 38.

Tom Beaver

carlhungness

One finger's width is as close as you can get...if your new tires are wider then I may be OK, if not my fender will rub.

carlhungness

Quote from: Tom Beaver on October 07, 2022, 08:11:20 PMCarl, The 37 and 38 LaSalles use the same rim and tire sizes.  On my car I replaced the stock bias ply tires with LT 215/85R 16 radial ply tires that have the same rolling diameter as the original tires.  The section width may be a bit wider but the minimum clearance between the rear tires and the rear fenders is one fingers width measured at the bottom of the tire cutout at the back.

The rear bumper medallion on the Hemmings car is from a 38.

Tom Beaver

Thanks Tom. On second blush I think I'd be better off overall to shorten the Ford 1 1/2" and then I know it will fit. Now I'm wondering if I should shorten it 2". It is offset 1 1/2" so that will put the pinion in the center. But I wouldn't mind having an extra quarter inch on each side since the tire is so close. Any thoughts please let me know. I'll go take the darn rear end out and apart once again. My mistake.