Thanks to all for the warm welcome. I thought I would post this in a new post... I'm just starting to do my research but I have to start somewhere! It appears that in '53, the original steel wheels were painted black? If true, was it a gloss black or semi gloss black? Next, I got on the Coker Tire website and looked at tires. Coker offers black walls and approx 3" white walls. Was the 3" white wall a '53 option? Thanks... Tony
1953 tires Tony, I have been running those COKER wide white radials (6.50x 16) for 5 years now and the ride and handling are great(I keep em at 35 psi). They are mounted on 16" original wheels painted body color (an option where the std was semi-gloss black same as running brds). From what I could find out, During the Korean war, copper was a rationed commodity and since it was used in the chrome plating process, the painted gray bumpers, grill and those hubcaps were also STD. I think that wide whites would have been an aftermarket item available in the period - for a country gentleman or a dude. Also, The 216 that was in my truck was painted that same black as your engine, but I have seen few "restored" versions painted in that manner. Taking many pictures of each and every detail will be very reassuring once you begin the re-assembly process. This is a great "hobby" (mantra) Have fun, Terry
Thanks Terry. I appreciate your insight. I'm working up the learning curve on my truck, and I've got a long way to go--just taking as many photos as I can to see what my truck will "teach" me. With few exceptions, I want to go back to period correct. My truck sat in a dry southern climate for sometime, so it seems pretty original and in pretty good shape--no rust cancer, though you can see where the paint has run a little thin in places, so some light surface rust has appeared. I'll post some chassis photos if anyone wants to see them too. Best, Tony
Trucks wouldn't have had whitewalls because they were there to work. That said, whitewalls look sooo damn good on them. Factory was a blackwall. If you go whitewall, I HIGHLY reccommend Diamondback Tires, www.dbtires.com, they are the only tires I will run. I have had bad experiences with Coker tires.
