15" Tires for my '63 LCC

[LithiumCobalt]

I used valve extensions on my ‘67. Seemed to work just fine. I bought a set of stainless steel ones

[frasern]

To be fair, my truck has the most awkward set up imaginable, and extensions will work okay an a simple hubcap. But one piece is still better than two, and now is a better time to think about options than after installation.

[RMAENV]

every time I checked a tire for pressure and put them back on the tire went flat. There is a seal on the inside that goes bad. The only thing I need them for is to keep the hub cap in place so I drilled the valves out of them. Now i take them off, check the pressure and adjust ad necessary and put them back on to hold the hub cap in place and for show and no problems.

[papawayne]

If you can, splain more. You got me fused. My mind is slow these days. Wayne

[mge825y]

Got the new 15” rims and tires on and it handles so much better than the 14” out-of-round Coker American Classics. I’m very pleased.

[Lee]

Don’t forget to check your speedometer calibration now.

[frasern]

Looking better all the time!

[bd94s10]

Looks awesome! Chris Dunn had his '61 near my house last Dec ('22) when we went to a local Concourse show. He had the '64/'65 caps on his car. I like the look!

[RMAENV]

Wayne, If you were speaking to me about expanding my thoughts, my valve stems are the rubber ones and stick out just far enough out to the hubcaps to check pressure and fill the tire when necessary. When you are driving the hub cap puts pressure on the valve and the soft rubber bends and lets the valve go inside the hubcap. The valve extensions lengthen the valve and are metal so the hub cap hits them but won't allow the valve to bend to disappear behind the hub cap and cause a leak. Inside the extension is a seal. The extension

There is a seal that is supposed to keep the air in when the extension presses on the valve stem. After you put the stem on the 1st time the seal never seals right again. by drilling out the extension valve it doesn't press on the tire valve, so no leak.

[TonyC]

Actually, the wheel cover is not supposed to do that; if it does, then the cover needs attention before it decides to become another UFO sighting. A properly-set wheel cover will not swallow up the valve stem, with or without an extension.

The 2" stems barely allow any checks or air fills, if at all. In my case, I'd need needle-nose pliers just to remove the caps. I had a 1" extension (only one) which was invaluable when it came to checking pressures and adding air. Then, I decided to look for a complete set. The set I have works just fine, without any of the issues Rob mentioned (which I'm not denying, it could happen with some stems and some extensions, just not with mine). They are a bit long, though...but as long as they work, I'm not in any desperate rush to find shorter extensions.

On another note, regarding Jason's posting, that was a nice picture. It's funny, but with the later covers the earlier cars look so much more similar to the mid-'60s cars at first glance. Closer exam of the profile will tell a knowledgeable expert otherwise, but the car in that picture could be mistaken for a '64 by somebody with less-keen perception.

---Tony

[mge825y]

Looks awesome! Chris Dunn had his '61 near my house last Dec ('22) when we went to a local Concourse show. He had the '64/'65 caps on his car. I like the look!

Jason - I spoke to Chris before I started down this path. He showed me pictures of his '61 with the '64/'65 hubcaps. I liked the look too. I then proceeded to buy my 15" CV rims from him that he sent out to be media blasted and powder coated. I'm happy with the results and appreciate his guidance / recommendations so that I could go up a tire size and away from the 14" Coker American Classics.

[frasern]

Wayne, If you were speaking to me about expanding my thoughts, my valve stems are the rubber ones and stick out just far enough out to the hubcaps to check pressure and fill the tire when necessary. When you are driving the hub cap puts pressure on the valve and the soft rubber bends and lets the valve go inside the hubcap. The valve extensions lengthen the valve and are metal so the hub cap hits them but won't allow the valve to bend to disappear behind the hub cap and cause a leak. Inside the extension is a seal. The extension

There is a seal that is supposed to keep the air in when the extension presses on the valve stem. After you put the stem on the 1st time the seal never seals right again. by drilling out the extension valve it doesn't press on the tire valve, so no leak.

If the valves are 2", they could pop under the cap if it's a little off center, I've had that happen before. The ones I used are 2.5".

2.25 would look better, but I couldn't get them. Some people complained about shearing them off on a curb if too long, and that is, in part, why tire shops shy away from them, better to shear off an extension.
Sometimes, the metal type are leaky, cheap plastic ones don't touch the valve core until pressed. but they break when you put the hubcap on a little crooked, this is what happens with my truck as they are very hard to line up .

[TonyC]

The ones I got at O'Reilly have done quite well by me. They are a bit long, would've been satisfied with half the length; but they've done quite well for two years. One even took a direct hit three months ago, and it held up, though the stem did not.

I have noticed some rub-wear on the sides of them from the covers, I admit; but it doesn't look serious, and I have not lost any air by keeping them in place. People don't even seem to notice how far those extensions poke out. Honestly, anybody who chronically shears off valve stems against curbs and then blames it on the stem's length, doesn't belong anywhere near a steering wheel.

---Tony

[bd94s10]

Awesome man. I'm happy for you. Stylin' and profilin'

Looks awesome! Chris Dunn had his '61 near my house last Dec ('22) when we went to a local Concourse show. He had the '64/'65 caps on his car. I like the look!

Jason - I spoke to Chris before I started down this path. He showed me pictures of his '61 with the '64/'65 hubcaps. I liked the look too. I then proceeded to buy my 15" CV rims from him that he sent out to be media blasted and powder coated. I'm happy with the results and appreciate his guidance / recommendations so that I could go up a tire size and away from the 14" Coker American Classics.