Radials for 71 Matador

Then it's probably going to be off to Coker, those big 14" sizes are near impossible to find through normal retail channels these days.

I can see sticking with all original for a show/collector vehicle, but for a driver I would side with practicality. (One could always install

15" wheel covers from another AMC model, like an Eagle or older Rambler, to at least keep the appearance in the family.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

Do you know what "Proletariat" means?

Roger Blake wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org:

I think that's a pretty good suggestion. He can try Hemmings Motor News for old AMC stuff.

I put Eagle wheel covers on my Ambo wagon and while obviously not stock they look just fine.

The rims are easy, a 15" set from a rear-drive Dodge Diplomat fit perfectly and are still not tough too tough to find. That's what I used, they were cheap and and it was a simple "plug and play" operation.

Ford rims from a Crown Vic or Grand Marquis have the same bolt pattern as AMC and it would be even easier to score a set, but the center holes are a little too small and would have to be enlarged to fit on an AMC vehicle.

Obviously 15" rims from an early Rambler would fit as well, but those are tougher to find and are also very narrow as they were designed for the skinny 15" tires used back in the day.

Converting to 15" rims is one of the best things I ever did for the car, tires are a consumable item and with this setup I can get them anywhere at reasonable prices. Ride and handling did not noticably change from the original 14" configuration.

Isn't your speedo off, though? Going from an E78-14 to a 215/75R15 has to be a pretty decent jump in rolling diameter, although I can't seem to find exact numbers for the former. It'll also raise your ride height, something that I tend to avoid on pretty much everything except the Heep... I'm usua lly trying to go the other way!

nate

o be a pretty decent jump in rolling diameter, although I can't seem to fin d exact numbers for the former. It'll also raise your ride height, somethi ng that I tend to avoid on pretty much everything except the Heep... I'm us ually trying to go the other way!

Just use the 70 series and be done with it.

Agreed, that is what I would do. Might even go to a 60 series if I swapped to 15" wheels. Nothin' wrong with that plan.

nate

Yes Tegger! Lol I just used it because it sounded "soviet".

Soviet? I once saw an old Soviet car on the web that I wouldn't mind if I owned that particular model Zis car. I think it was a Zis model A, something like that.

Do you even know what a "classic" car is? The CCCA lists that for you. Even calling my car a "special interest car" is more than sufficient. Why the hell would I want to buy a POS like a Kia? Is that what you drive?

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:26d4c4e9-47a1-4dda-aa89- snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

It's still the wrong word. You were looking for "Politburo".

The Politburo handed down the decrees. The Proletariat were the victims of the Politburo and its decrees.

Google,,, ZIS 101 A Sports car I like the looks of it, but the rest of it is probally crap.

sctvguy1:

My "POS" 2008 Kia handles the frickin doors off the 2005 Malibu I owned previously.

Oh, but you don't know about that. To Americans, "handling" = a quick quarter mile straight.

smh...

I still applaud your strive for authenticity with the Matador. Stock rims for my old 1981 Buick in college were 14". Yards should stock loads of them, and tire dealers should stock the correct fit for them.

N8N wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

except he doesnt want the stiff sidewalls. KB

This one?

I didn't see it in the site you linked

It was a Hudson, JR. Russia got an old Hudson plant along with all the tooling as part of lend-lease efforts before the war. For a long time they were just continuing to make stock Hudsons under the name ZIS, which is an acronym for "Stalin's Automobile." After Stalin got discredited the vehicles got renamed ZIL for "Lenin's Automobile" but they kept making them, with surprisingly minor production changes, well into the seventies. The ZIL plant is still around today but just making trucks now.

--scott

I thought most of the ZIS/ZIL limousines were knockoff Packard designs. Not straight copies but close enough that it was clear where they got their inspiration.

nate

Wider but lower profile tires will have more air volume in them and "probab ly" will be able to be run at lower pressures for the same load carrying ca pability - and sidewall height is determined by the overall diameter of the tire and also the wheel diameter, which is actually an argument for keepin g the 14" wheels unless the OP is willing to accept taller ride height and modified gear ratio.

In the OP's situation I would reach out to BF Goodrich directly and get the ir input (as likely he's looking at a BFG Radial T/A in the sizes we're dis cussing) on the proper tire pressure for his particular car in the sizes of interest.

nate

Whoops, you're right. It was the Packard 180 line, not the Hudson. However, looking at Wikipedia they claim the line was never shipped off, so who knows?

--scott