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The following email is from Jim Reed, long time VTCI member and owner of many Tbird over the decades. Here is what he had to say about 14" tires. This email was mainly addressed to the Edsel Forum, but he included me in it because he knows the information also pertains to us Tbird owners. I am putting it in Anything Goes because it applies to more than just Squarebirds. Here is what Jim had to say. It is published with his permission.
"There is an error on your website (the "tires & wheel covers" sections for the 1958 & 1959 Edsel cars) regarding the "today's radial tire equivalent" sizes.
I have occasionally seen this same error elsewhere in print or online for decades ever since the "P" 75 (& 70) series sizes have been substituted for vintage tires. This misinformation has resulted in some people buying modern radials that are too small on their vintage cars. Not only do they not "look right" (too small), they also result in additional speedometer error due to the smaller diameter and circumference. Even some vendors (vintage and/or mainstream tire stores) have had this same misinformation in their catalogs and websites.
Here is the quote from your site with the errors:
"Conversion chart
8.00 x 14 became G78-14 in the 1970s. Today's radial tire equivalent is 205-75R-14. (NO!)
8.50 x 14 became H78-14 in the 1970s. Today's radial tire equivalent is 215-75R-14. (NO!)
(Thanks to Gary Lancianese for the 2003 tire code update.)"
The correct sizes are P215/75R14, not 205 for the 8.00 x 14, and P225/75R14, not 215 for the 8.50 x 14. The attached chart is correct.
I have several 1958-60 Thunderbirds which use the same size tires. I have driven & owned these cars since 1967, including many years when they were my daily drivers. I am very anal retentive about tires in general (for all cars), about the sizes, the "right look", whitewalls, performance, etc.. You can trust me that my information above is correct (I am 100% sure).
Decades ago when I was buying my 14" tires on a regular basis, the 8.00's were replaced by 8.25's and the 8.50's were replaced by 8.55's. In 1969, the G78 & H78 bias tires came out and I began using them. The 78's were usually bias belted (and had a wider and flatter tread) and were a major improvement in handling. In the early/mid-70s, radials became more popular and affordable, and I began buying GR78's & HR78's, and they were another major handling advance. In the late 70s, the "P 75" series radials began to replace the "78" series.
Every time newer size tires came out, they got wider but slightly smaller in diameter & circumference, almost to the point that today's "correct" equivalent "75" sizes don't look quite right (too small). A 215 tire is noticeably smaller in diameter & circumference than the 8.00. In recent decades, I have been using 225's instead because they look better and have less speedometer error.
IMO, the "70" series tires never look right on our vintage Edsels/TBs, etc., even with wide whites. They are even shorter in diameter. The "equivalent" 70 series sizes are wider 225's & 235's respectively (8.00/8.50), but still don't look right. Vintage 1967+ muscle cars with "wide-oval" original tires look fine with them, but not our cars.
For many years beginning in 1974, I have used (and still use) G78 2 3/8" wide whites (Customwall & Remington brands--no longer available) for my cars that don't see freeways. For longer highway travel, I have been using P225/75R14 radials (Cooper narrow whites).
It is impossible now to find any 225/75R14 narrow whitewall radials (in recent years, only Cooper made them but now they stopped). It's even getting difficult to find 215's. 205's are what many people are buying now, and they are way too small. I plan to go to 15" wheels for highway use (P215/75R15 tires with the 1" larger diameter look better, albeit with a non-original wheel cover and a narrow ww).
BTW, I am not happy with any of the radial wide whites currently sold by any vendors. They are either too small (215's), wrong series (70's), and/or the whitewalls are too big. A 2 1/4" ww is correct--imo anything bigger than 2 3/8" does not look right. I personally prefer a narrow whitewall than one that is bigger than 2 3/8". Also, some modern wide white radials I've seen are pathetic in their widewall quality too--rough, uneven, dull (my ancient Remingtons look better). Not to mention their ridiculous $$$....
I appreciate all Fomoco vehicles of our era. Your Edsel website is fabulous...congrats!
Jim Reed
(Vintage Thunderbird Club International member since 1971)
www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net "
Here is the chart that Jim also sent me.
"There is an error on your website (the "tires & wheel covers" sections for the 1958 & 1959 Edsel cars) regarding the "today's radial tire equivalent" sizes.
I have occasionally seen this same error elsewhere in print or online for decades ever since the "P" 75 (& 70) series sizes have been substituted for vintage tires. This misinformation has resulted in some people buying modern radials that are too small on their vintage cars. Not only do they not "look right" (too small), they also result in additional speedometer error due to the smaller diameter and circumference. Even some vendors (vintage and/or mainstream tire stores) have had this same misinformation in their catalogs and websites.
Here is the quote from your site with the errors:
"Conversion chart
8.00 x 14 became G78-14 in the 1970s. Today's radial tire equivalent is 205-75R-14. (NO!)
8.50 x 14 became H78-14 in the 1970s. Today's radial tire equivalent is 215-75R-14. (NO!)
(Thanks to Gary Lancianese for the 2003 tire code update.)"
The correct sizes are P215/75R14, not 205 for the 8.00 x 14, and P225/75R14, not 215 for the 8.50 x 14. The attached chart is correct.
I have several 1958-60 Thunderbirds which use the same size tires. I have driven & owned these cars since 1967, including many years when they were my daily drivers. I am very anal retentive about tires in general (for all cars), about the sizes, the "right look", whitewalls, performance, etc.. You can trust me that my information above is correct (I am 100% sure).
Decades ago when I was buying my 14" tires on a regular basis, the 8.00's were replaced by 8.25's and the 8.50's were replaced by 8.55's. In 1969, the G78 & H78 bias tires came out and I began using them. The 78's were usually bias belted (and had a wider and flatter tread) and were a major improvement in handling. In the early/mid-70s, radials became more popular and affordable, and I began buying GR78's & HR78's, and they were another major handling advance. In the late 70s, the "P 75" series radials began to replace the "78" series.
Every time newer size tires came out, they got wider but slightly smaller in diameter & circumference, almost to the point that today's "correct" equivalent "75" sizes don't look quite right (too small). A 215 tire is noticeably smaller in diameter & circumference than the 8.00. In recent decades, I have been using 225's instead because they look better and have less speedometer error.
IMO, the "70" series tires never look right on our vintage Edsels/TBs, etc., even with wide whites. They are even shorter in diameter. The "equivalent" 70 series sizes are wider 225's & 235's respectively (8.00/8.50), but still don't look right. Vintage 1967+ muscle cars with "wide-oval" original tires look fine with them, but not our cars.
For many years beginning in 1974, I have used (and still use) G78 2 3/8" wide whites (Customwall & Remington brands--no longer available) for my cars that don't see freeways. For longer highway travel, I have been using P225/75R14 radials (Cooper narrow whites).
It is impossible now to find any 225/75R14 narrow whitewall radials (in recent years, only Cooper made them but now they stopped). It's even getting difficult to find 215's. 205's are what many people are buying now, and they are way too small. I plan to go to 15" wheels for highway use (P215/75R15 tires with the 1" larger diameter look better, albeit with a non-original wheel cover and a narrow ww).
BTW, I am not happy with any of the radial wide whites currently sold by any vendors. They are either too small (215's), wrong series (70's), and/or the whitewalls are too big. A 2 1/4" ww is correct--imo anything bigger than 2 3/8" does not look right. I personally prefer a narrow whitewall than one that is bigger than 2 3/8". Also, some modern wide white radials I've seen are pathetic in their widewall quality too--rough, uneven, dull (my ancient Remingtons look better). Not to mention their ridiculous $$$....
I appreciate all Fomoco vehicles of our era. Your Edsel website is fabulous...congrats!
Jim Reed
(Vintage Thunderbird Club International member since 1971)
www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net "
Here is the chart that Jim also sent me.
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