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[ranger_blackhat]

I am looking for a source to get 5 new tires for my 1954 TR-2.  I live near Raleigh, NC.  Can anyone give me some sources?

thanks....

[TomMull]

Wow! 54 TR2 great car. Is this new to you? If you had a TR3A like mine it would be easier to find tires. I bought Michelin XZX 165 15s, which are readily available and not too expensive, even with the mail order shipping fees. They just fit in my spare tire compartment but I don't think they will fit in yours. In addition, if your car has original wheels and an early 1954 commission number, they were narrower (4 inch) and your original tires were probably bias ply 155 15. While those tires and wheels look wonderful (at least in my opinion) they simply don't perform like radials and are very expensive. Finally, 155 15 radials are available through mail order (Internet). They were fitted on the later TR2s as original and will fit in the compartment (I think).
Tom Mulligan

[tr3bGeorge]

See if you have a Vredestein dealer in your vicinity.  I just equipped my TR3 with a full set of 155HR 15 Sprint Classic for $68 each.  (I wanted 165s, but they were still out to sea and might be months before getting here, and I wanted a set for our regionals in Oklahoma City.)  They are great tires, and have a very "original" appearance.  I have wire wheels, so I also ordered tubes, which were $8 each. 

Then you need to find someone to mount and balance them.

It is worth a shot.  They are very popular - in my area - with classic car owners, and will surely be cheaper than Michelins.

I hope this helps.

[ranger_blackhat]

thanks George.

I remain confused as my current tires are 2 at 5.60x15 and the other 2 are 6.85x15 and can't figure out the width of the wheels.  are they marked somewhere?

thanks....

[TomMull]

As I recall, they are marked on the inside, tire off. It is, of course, quite common to have a miss match of wheels and/or tires on a 55 year old car. Either rim will accept the 155 and the 165 tires and probably your 6.85's, which seem quite large. Your 5.60's, I think, are roughly equivalent to the 155's. Try a 165 in the spare compartment if you go that route, at least if you buy 5, or get the 155's without worry. Tom

[tr3bGeorge]

Ranger, there is one MAJOR concern that Tom mentioned.  SEE WHAT YOU CAN GET INTO YOUR SPARE WHEEL COMPARTMENT!!  I learned this the hard way.  First, to qualify my predicament, I have a completely rebuilt TR3B that required some new body panels, so I am not sure as to which spare wheel compartment I have, the earlier one or later one. 

Anyway, back to my story:  the ONLY size spare tire I could get into my spare tire compartment was the Vredestein 155.  (I bought a 165, which was WAY too big, and the Vredestein dealer swapped me for a 155.)  In fact, I had to order a "special" wire wheel from Dayton to get it to work.  Eventually, I will end up with 165s all around and the 155 spare.

On your car, the original 5.50 tires are equivalent to the 155s now available.  (Although, all TR groups and tire manufacturers recommend the 165 as a replacement tire.  This is probably equivalent to the old 5.90.

I also agree with him re. your 6.85s.  I AM SURPRISED THAT THEY WILL FIT ON YOUR CAR!  My first TR3, as a teenager, had.......get ready....... 5.50s on the front, 5.60s on the rear, and a 5.90 spare.  Also, the PO threw in a pair of 6.40 snow tires.  These things were scary, as they JUST fit into the wheel well.  I had a "minor accident" with them my first winter.  I did not realize it at the time, as I did not have the Spare Parts Catalogue for the car) that I was missing the stabilizing bracket that ran from the rear fender (right behind the wheel) to the chassis, that held the fender in place.  In the snow, I hit a bad bump that shook my fender enough that it was caught by the big snow tire and pulled it in behind the tire.  Luckily, I was going very slow, heard the problem and got out and temporarily fixed it.  I was able to straighten out the slight bend in the fender, but it completely removed the black paint from the wheel-well portion of the fender.

Sorry for the tangent, but things started coming back to me.  I remember when Susie...

[TR3driver]

Depends on the tires, and the wheels they are mounted on.  I have 205/55 tires under my TR3, which are roughly 8" wide, and they fit under the fenders (just barely).

Since of course they have no hope of fitting into the spare tire well, it has a 135/70 "Compact spare" tire mounted on a stock TR3 rim.

[tr3bGeorge]

Randall, are you the "Randy" on British Car Forum?  I hope so, 'cause he is the smartest man in the world.  I was on that forum briefly, until I got booted off, and you/he were the biggest help to everyone on that forum.  Bless you.

Then, OTOH, if you are NOT that Randy, you had better "shape up," 'cause you have a tough act to follow!

Best wishes to all.

[TR3driver]

I'm not sure how to answer that, George.  I am on BCF, but my handle is TR3driver and my signature is the same as I use here (or was, until I updated my TR3 status )

But since they gave me the Dave Russell award this year, I kind of think maybe I'm the person you are thinking of 

Sorry you got booted off; 'Basil' can be a bit er, authoritarian at times.  But I know he allowed someone else back on, after a brief suspension, so I'm guessing he would allow you back as well, if you promise to work and play nicely with others.  You'd probably have to use a different screen name, tho.

[tr3bGeorge]

Hello Randall!

Yes, you are probably the guy.  Congratulations on your award.  I have always recommended the BCF to Triumph folks, as there were TWO guy on that forum that literally knew every nut and bolt on the car.  You were one of them.

Actually, I don't want back on BCF:  Basil and I had a parting of the minds.  I just got my TR3B and had numerous questions to ask.  After asking many questions, I got irked with all the crap on there.  So, I started off a question with "If you do not know the answer to this question, DO NOT ANSWER, as I don't want to hear a lot of crap."  Something sweet, to that effect.  Well, a few folks got offended, and I received a nastygram from Basil.  As he still didn't get it, I gave him an example of what I was dealing with on his forum.  I would ask a question about the vacuum advance.  The first response would be "I don't know anything about vacuum advances, but I got a bee sting in a TR3."  Then 53 responses would follow, all talking about bee stings.  And yet, I still had to sift thru all 53 bull$hit responses to see if anybody actually addressed my question.  I told him that he ought to clean up his forum by getting rid of the bull$hit, and he cleaned it up by getting rid of ME.  I never looked back and neither did he. 

Again, congratulations on your award; it was richly deserved.

P.S.  I hear that the bee sting responses are over 2,000 now.

[TR3driver]

Well, to be honest, I felt your attitude on BCF was a bit over the top myself.  After all, you were demanding expert advice for free, and then complaining that some folks try to be helpful with their own level of knowledge/understanding or even just try to be friendly instead of being as expert as you demand. 

It's kind of like walking into a bar and announcing "You guys are all idiots, which one of you is good enough to be my friend ?"  Chances are, they won't be too friendly.  Of course, some of them might be idiots, but they still don't like being called out on it!

Yes, there are a few gadflys about, but that kind of comes with the territory.  You can't just tell them to go away and not bother you.

Was you ever stung by a dead bee?