1949 Cadillac Original WW Tire Width Question

[Joe Tartaglia]

I am going to buy Diamondback wide WW radial tires for my wife's 49 Cadillac (which is a 99.9% stock car).  Can anyone help me with info as to the correct width of 1949 Cadillac White Wall  tires?

Thank you

Joe

[Jay Friedman]

They were about 3½ inches, plus or minus an eighth of an inch depending on the brand of tire. 

[art archambeault]

_Firestone 8:20:15  4.25 inch ww. Art 22010

[art archambeault]

I would go with Jays quote. Mine are Firestone deluxe champion 8.20.15s,  4.25 in ww edge to edge. They also used Uniroyals to my knowledge.

[Jay Friedman]

Art and Joe,

I got my info on the original '49 whitewall width being 3½ inches years ago from an old tire man.  Another person who told me the same thing was CLCer Herb Karow, who is the CLC technical advisor on tires.

Another way I calculated the same thing was by referring to the original factory photo of 3 Cadillac employees working on a '49 chassis with a whitewall tire figuring prominently in the foreground.  This photo appeared in Roy Schneider's book "Cadilllacs of the Forties" and was reproduced in the December issue of the '49 Times.  In the photo you can measure the ratio of the vertical (non-distorted) whitewall width to the vertical diameter of the hub cap.  After determining the actual hub cap diameter by measuring one of your own hub caps, a little junior high school algebra will give you the whitewall width. 

Jay

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

My oem US Royal spare "never down" is approx 3 7/8" wide. My Firestone deluxe 4.25". The wider the WW, the better on a 49/others of the 40's in my humble opinion.

[Jay Friedman]

Yes, Jeff, I agree that there were whitewall tires back in '49 that were 3 7/8 and even more than 4 inches wide.  Could it be that at different times throughout the '40s and '50s the tire companies supplied the auto manufacturers with tires whose whitewall widths differed by a few fractions of an inch?   I don't know myself for certain, but maybe there was no standard whitewall width other than it was much wider than tires later in the '60s and '70s.  In my opinion, whether they look good or not is purely a matter of personal preference; on my own '49 Cadillac I usually buy 2 3/4 inch whitewalls which I find pleasing to the eye. 

Jay

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Guys,
Those of you saying that the original whitewalls on a 49 were approx. 4" or more are correct. 49,50 & 51 cars had the widest whitewalls after the war. It's really apparent in factory photos.
Bob

[Joe Tartaglia]

Thank you all for the WW width information.