17 replies to this topic

[Bagman]

So, I am going to buy some new tires for my 74 Monaco, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what would be best to buy. It seems like the P225/75/15 size has a limited selection and I am not a tire expert by any stretch (I buy the cheapest ones i can for my 92 accord).

What types/brand of tires do you guys have and did you have any reason for getting that type?

Is there any reason tires that they classify as "light truck/SUV" tires would not work or look right?

Can most tires be mounted with the whitewall or lettering facing in?

Thanks,

[country bunker]

most tires can be mounted with the whitwalls facing inside, thats how most of my cars have been. A small truck tire would prolly look ok on it.

Mine are 235 75 15. Thier a lil big, but i like em. They really give it the cop car look. Now that i look at pics of the car with the 225s, it just looks dinky...

heres a pick with the 225s


heres on with the 235s

-zac

[TI4438]

I can't remember the brand,but I recently had Pep Boys put 235's on mine.
This is the only pic of them so far.I'm happy with the look.They are reversed white walls as well.

[antblues]

My bluesmobile has UK van tyres on and they look good and also very good underload as I do have to fit the duo blues brothers show rig into it.

[Bismo]

We put new tires on our Monaco this summer and also went with a light truck tire from General (General Altimax RT), P235 / 70R15. They look good and drive well.

[scatpack01]

I'm going with factory police size on mine. 225/70r15

right now it has 235/75r15 on the back and old polyglass tires on the front. they were on it when I got the car.

[FL-BLUESMOBILE]

Huey Rolls with 235/75/15 just a personal preference. Like the wheel well filled, and the ride height. If I were building a Bluesmobile to handle in the corners I would go with a different tire size, however my days of throwing Monaco's into sharp turns at high speed are over! LOL

Yes I use to drive these barges like I was in a sports coupe. Many years, cornfields, and mailboxes ago LOL!

Hey all good to be back for a while.


Huey

[TK826]

Over the course of my research, this is what I've gathered about the tires...


The P225/70R15 is the current equivalent size tire to the old GR70X15
(it is as close as possible to matching the old Alpha sizing system, used in 1974)

The new tire is almost identical in O.D. but has a slightly wider O.W. than the 'G' (+ 0.3").

* The best match in 60 series would be the P265/60R15 - approx. 0.1" taller in O.D.,
but about 1.7" wider.


Check the wheel sizes...
The minimum for the P225 is 6.0".
The minimum width for the P265 is 7.5".


There was a performance tire option listed in the police literature, in 1974,
for 235/70/15 tires.
These are slightly shorter and wider.
That option required the use of the wider 7.5 inch wheels.
There are a lot less available tires in the second size however.

Goodyear does still make a police tire in 235/70/15.
It is the Eagle RSA and is "V" speed rated (ie: up to 149mph).


It is likely that the original Monaco police cruisers were equipped with one
of these (now vintage) tires:
-------------------------

- BF Goodrich "Lifesaver" radials.





- BF Goodrich "Pursuit Special" radials.





- Good Year "Blue Streak" Radial pursuit radials.



* Good Year replaced the Blue Streaks with the Eagle GT's HR, then followed by the RSA's. Goodyear still makes a "Blue Streak" tire, but it is a race only tire now, with limited sizes available.



www.cokertire.com
and
www.kelseytire.com

... are two of the better known "vintage style" tire dealers.

They both sell tires that have the vintage (zig zag) tread pattern.

Until I started researching the tires, I had forgotten how different the vintage tires were in appearance.
(the first and third pictures are good examples)


Here is one of the reproduction tires from Kelseytire.

The "E70X15"...




IMO, looking at a new tire pattern, compared to the vintage tire, the zig zag pattern just screams 1970's.

If I had the spare cash (the reproduction tires are definitely more expensive)
I would purchase from one of the two above companies.

But, until that time comes, I am just using cheepo tires.


.

[bluzman]

I am running Toyo Open Country HT's 235 75 15...They are mounted on 15X7 Wheel Vintique Mopar steelies and look and ride fantastic.

[sigmfsk]

TK826 said:

There was a performance tire option listed in the police literature, in 1974,
for 235/70/15 tires.
These are slightly shorter and wider.
That option required the use of the wider 7.5 inch wheels.

Should "7.5 inch wheels" be "6.5 inch wheels"?

From looking at the brochure:
http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/10114-brochures-1974-monaco-custom-brougham.html
It looks like the baseline wheels were 5.5" wide, with optional 6.5" wheels (for station wagons). My police wheels are 6.5" wide. I think some (non-Monaco) Mopar cop wheels are 7" wide, but I haven't heard anything about 7.5" wheels.

your friend tire & rim matching,
arthur

[Bagman]

I thought my stock rims were 8 inches wide....5.5 seems rather thin.

[sigmfsk]

Bagman said:

I thought my stock rims were 8 inches wide....5.5 seems rather thin.

I know! It seems almost unbelievable. Before Bluesmobiling, I'd never heard of a rim so narrow. Here are some pics of my rims being measured:
http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/10222-widest-wheels-tires.html#post110491

Its a 6.5" rim because that's the width available for the tire, but the rim is 7.5" across in total - each lip takes up 0.5".

[TK826]

From what I've read those were the numbers.
Although, it would probably take some research to fully back them up.

[sigmfsk]

TK826 said:

From what I've read those were the numbers.

I'd be interested in what you found. It might be a new lead on rims that will open up a lot of tire possibilities!

This thread by Huey
http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum/bluesmobiles/8288-k-versus-a38.html
links to this picture of the police brochure
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u277/bengodi/Bluesmobiles/police_pursuit_8.jpg
that says
> The Monaco is equipped with wide, 15" x 6.5JJ wheels...

The 6.5JJ wheel is shown in the attached owner's manual for use with larger tire sizes. That chart shows a 5.5" wheel, a 6" wheel, and a 6.5" wheel.

So it seemed to me that the 5.5" was the usual baseline wheel, and the 6.5" wheel was the optional wide-tire/police wheel. I haven't seen a 6" wheel for the Monaco, but it looks like it might have existed.

Here is an example of the Mopar cop 7" wheels I talked about:
15x7 cop car wheels - For A Bodies Only Mopar Forum

It looks like they were used on later model cop cars. They're different in appearance than the police Monaco rims.

Here's a quick comparison page:
Mopar Wheels - Stockton Wheel
monaco = Mopar OEM 40 series
15x7 police = Mopar Police Rally - 42 Series

your friend in putting the power to the pavement,
arthur

Attached Files

•  img059a.jpg   145.25K   2 downloads

[Steam McQueen]

Sorry to interrupt the rim research but I thought of this thread when I saw the tires on this '69 Polara clone ...



235x70/15. That's a meaty looking tire!

Dodge : RUSTFREE !: eBay Motors (item 200493437320 end time Jul-13-10 13:54:23 PDT)

http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum2/public/style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif

[sigmfsk]

sigmfsk said:

It looks like the baseline wheels were 5.5" wide, with optional 6.5" wheels (for station wagons). My police wheels are 6.5" wide. I think some (non-Monaco) Mopar cop wheels are 7" wide, but I haven't heard anything about 7.5" wheels.

I just received a copy of the Dodge 1974 Passenger Car parts catalog (PN#81-690-1171) that I got from here
1974 Dodge Dart Swinger Charger Monaco Parts Manual 74: eBay Motors (item 180544261103 end time Aug-15-10 09:52:10 PDT)

Its an interesting read, but certainly the service manual should be far on the documentation list before this document. I did note the following page that (as best as I can tell) lists all the rims offered by Dodge in 1974. It shows 5.5", 6", and 6.5" wide 15" rims for the c-body.

Attached Files

•  wheels.JPG   50.88K   3 downloads

[sigmfsk]

part numbers for the previous list

Attached Files

•  wheels2.JPG   66.47K   3 downloads

[scatpack01]

My Monaco has 3 original rims on it. I am gonna measure them when I get some tires for it. I am curious what they are. They should be 6.5"