New Shoes

I looked quite while for a set of artillery rims. One fella on eBay wanted $750 for a set of four rusty “versions” of artillery wheels (yikes!!) , so I decided to go another route. Wheel Smith manufactures some gorgeous reproduction wheels, and their artillery steelies looked perfect for Cornelius. So I had a set of five made up, to have one for the spare, of 15×6″ wheels, with a 5-1/4″ bolt circle and a 3-1/4″ backspace. Powder coated red, they look amazing. I had some triple diamond stainless reproduction hub caps that I purchased at Restoration Specialties, and Wheel Smith modified them perfectly to fit the new rims. Finally, I also purchased a set of stainless trim rings from Wheel Smith to top everything off.

So the rims are no good without a good set of tires, and for these I turned to Coker. I had been undecided as to whether to go for a set of radial “bias-ply look-a-likes” but decided to simply find a good set of bias ply tires for Cornelius instead and I am very happy that I went this route for several reasons: First, they are a LOT cheaper; second, Cornelius likely won’t be driven above 40 to 45 miles per hour occasionally – so it’s not like I will need radial drivability for highway excursions; and third, I had driven bias-ply tires on my ’53 IHC R-110 Series pickup for almost 12 years, so I am used to them, how they handle, and what their limitations are.

The tires we ended up with are Coker Tire BF Goodrich 59400 Vintage Tires, 7.60-15, and I am VERY happy with them. I took the tires and rims over to Discount Tire where they were mounted and balanced for $20/wheel. They did a great job.

Once mounted on Cornelius, the difference was absolutely amazing. Between the red rims, white walls, trim rings and new hub caps, he looks like a different truck!