White Walls or Not?

[mountainman]

What do you think, white walls???

 

[TFB]

Wwow,cant wait til I get to this point.
Personally, Ilike the blackwalls.What color top?Sometimes the whitewalls look real nice with a white top.I think I am goint triple balck,but my wife wants me to get white top and white walls to dress it up a little.Either way your car looks great.
have fun.
Tom

 

[tinman58]

Go with the white walls. I think with the beauty rings and the color combination you have the white walls work well. I think it gives it the old classic look

 

[mrv8q]

Either way, your car looks great.

I agree, but prefer the top photo, w/o whitewalls. Do like trim rings, though!

 

[angelfj1]

Greg: Both are very nice looking, but with the yellow I prefer the black side walls.

Regards,

Frank

 

[HerronScott]

I'm not a big fan of white walls, but for some reason I think it seems to work with your car.

Scott

 

[Geo Hahn]

My first TR3A had white walls... back when Disco was just taking off and Mood Rings were popular...

Tastes change but the essence of these cars is a retro thing so current tastes may be irrelevant. Please yourself, at least this is easily changed if you 'tire' of it.

Of course you could get a 2nd set of wheels and do both from time to time. I actually have sets steel, alloy and wires that I swap around between the 2 TRs -- good time waster for an old retired guy.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

When I bought my first replacement set of red line Michelin's for my TR6 I had the red stripes turned inward, which is something I would not do now.

Things and tastes vary. I remember as a young man when the TR3's were out and virtually all ran black walls. I also referenced "The Triump TRs, a collectors guide" by Graham Robson, and other references, all the photos of the TR3 and TR4 were with black wall tires.

That said, on your TR3 I think white walls add that little extra special look of class to the car over the first black wall picture you posted. When I asked my wife, after telling her white walls were not original, she said, "So what, the white walls look better".

So there you go.

 

[Brosky]

How about a picture of the car with the trim rings on the blackwalls?

This is one time that I like the whitewalls, but might not after seeing the trim rings on black tires.

 

[Twosheds]

Not.

 

[TR6BILL]

I say whitewalls, and spats, if you can find them. Seriously. My TR2 had both, a long time ago.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I also referenced "The Triump TRs, a collectors guide" by Graham Robson, and other references, all the photos of the TR3 and TR4 were with black wall tires....

The problem with Robson's book as a sole reference -- and it's the same problem with most books on Triumphs and other British cars -- is that they are written very much with a "home market" frame of reference. That's fine, but often it has resulted in a "portrait" that ignores the majority of cars built, which were export cars and especially those going to the US. There is a good bit of US sales and promotional literature showing TRs and other models with whitewall tires, wide until about 1962 and increasingly narrow (but still present) after that.

I love 'em, although I can't currently justify spending the $$$ to put a good set of wide whitewall radials on the Herald right now (and I won't revert to bias-ply tires, where the whitewalls are still quite expensive)! :wink:

 

[Perrymip]

I remember a high percentage of cars in the late fifties and early sixties having white wall tires. But I also distinctly remember that the serious looking black low-profile radials that began appearing on TR3s and other sports cars at that time were almost a badge of difference.

 

[NickMorgan]

I always think of whitewalls as being American! My two TR3s that were originally exported to the USA both had whitewalls fitted at the factory. Just about every period advert for TRs in the USA showed them fitted with whitewalls.
The UK cars just had plain black tyres as we are a conservative lot over here!
I love whitewalls as they look really '50s America to me!

 

[BRSLimited]

I like the white walls, the body lines of the TR3's and even MGA's ask for them. But they gotta be wide whites. Just my thoughts though.

 

[martx-5]

Just my opinion...I think white walls, whatever their width look awful on ANY car... :laugh:

 

[mountainman]

Andrew, I felt the same way as far as $$$$ and since the car had new tire when I purchased it. So I found a set of Port-a-Walls on the net for around 50.00. I sure some of the menbers remenber them.
Greg

 

[martx-5]

For those of you that just have to have those wide white walls, here are three methods of obtaining them on the cheap!

 

[Andrew Mace]

Andrew, I felt the same way as far as $$$$ and since the car had new tire when I purchased it. So I found a set of Port-a-Walls on the net for around 50.00. I sure some of the menbers remenber them.
Greg

I remember them very well! Definitely a palatable solution...and it allows you to still have a good and/or inexpensive tire with "the look"!

Gee, a set of 13" by 1.875" Portawalls is only $47. Hmm.... :laugh:

 

[mountainman]

Art,That's look like too much work and the for results
Greg