My 1953 F100 project still has the original tires from the early to mid 60’s. They are a combination of Allstate and Penney’s. The four on the truck are 6.00-16 and the one on the spare is 6.50-16. My first question is whether these wheels accommodate both sizes and which size is the most correct. I am looking for recommendations as to size and manufacturer for new tires on the truck. I am keeping my truck as close to original as is reasonable, but I am OK with radials if that is the best recommended. Any and all advice and experience will be welcome. TIA

 

The 53-55 trucks came with 6.00x16 wheels and Firestone tires with 6.50x16 as an option.

In 1999 I put radials on my 54. It ride nice but was a bear to turn at slow speeds due to so much rubber in the pavement. It was very hard to park. I kept the fronts over inflated to help the steering. When they wore out I got bias plies. I'm glad I did. I can now back into my garage with my left hand in the wheel and my right arm on the seat back.

New bias ply are much better than old bias plies. And they look correct too. I got tires with the pie crust edges.

 

The Ford parts catalog specs the standard rim as 16x4.5, used with 6.00x16 or 6.50x16 tires. Either size tire would be correct for your application and used on your stock rim. The 6.50's are slightly larger and fills the wheel opening a bit better and looks better, imho. If you want that stock look, you can't beat original type bias ply's. Be prepared to pay for it, though. The down side is they're only available from specialty tire makers and they charge accordingly. They'll be double the cost of a similar sized, common production tire.

https://www.cokertire.com/tires/650-...blackwall.html
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...t-kl51/p/24183

 

Minor thread hijack. Is it worthwhile to have a tire place do an alignment on our straight axle?
I'm going to get new tires and I figure the techs will be clueless. I asked a tire shop if they did straight axles and they said yes. Then I mentioned they probably couldn't do camber or caster and he mentioned control arms.
I think they can only adjust toe in, not sure it's worth $90 for that. Thoughts?

 

Proper front end alignment is just as important on our trucks for good handling or road wandering as it is in our modern cars. It's just takes a different set of tools and knowledge base because most guys at the tire store today have never done it. Caster adjustment takes shims between the spring and axle, camber is adjusted by bending the axle, but toe is simple and still adjusted the same way today by adjusting the tie rod ends. If they can do it right, it's worth it. If they're lying to you and truly have no clue, then it's not. Find someone else who can. Larger truck shops should be able to help you.

 

These might be another option.
https://www.tires-easy.com/6.50-16/p...tirecode/WLD32

 

I too have bias ply Firestone from Coker. 6.50x16. I love the look of the bias ply on an old car especially a truck. After driving with them for a couple of years and reading some info about bias ply, especially the firestones on forums I decided to find a shop that would shave them. These tires are notoriously out of round. Found a British sports car resto shop in Bethlehem PA. drove out there dropped em off. The difference before and after was astounding. Truck rode much more stable at higher speeds you could feel a big difference.

 

Abe where did you find your bias tires for your truck and what size are you running? Thanks

 

Several years ago I put on Excelsior bias plies. I bought them from a local fire store. Last summer I needed new tires for state inspection. I called the tire store but Excelsiors were back ordered. So I ordered Firestones from Coker. I paid more for my own procrastination by not ordering Excelsiors early.

Mine are 6.00 × 16. I wish I had bought 6.50 × 16.