Tire to fit spare tire well in 1963 made Avanti

[Stormy]

The subject has come up before about trying to fit a 670-15 modern tire in the Avanti's spare tire well.  I searched for quite a while among literally hundreds of tire offerings for a full size spare that would fit in the spare well.  All of the 670-15 tires I looked at were just slightly too wide when inflated on the factory 5" rims. Tires needed to be less than 7" [actual measurement, not "list" measurement] to fit and allow the spare cover to close.  Finally, I found a tire by Coker that would work .  It is Coker American Classic Collector Radial Tire 6.70-15 Radial 700312.  Price is very high at $250 delivered, but I've spent worse money.  The tire has the bias look, but they say radial construction.  Section width is listed at 6.59", but I think mine is very slightly larger, but just under 7".  I believe they offer a similar tire [maybe the same number] in bias construction.  Sorry, no whitewalls.  Several vendors sell the tire on ebay, amazon, and the Coker website.  All seem to be the same price. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by Stormy

[mfg]

If the tires on your Avanti are in good condition, chances are that you'll not ever have a flat......especially if it's a 'limited use' vehicle.

I'd look for a 'donut' type spare tire at a local auto graveyard (with the correct bolt pattern) and use some of that newfound extra space in the spare tire well for other things.... (tools, etc)

Edited September 13, 2019 by mfg

[Avanti83]

I used a temporary spare for my 74 as in this post. As Ed said, it will leave room for the jack and other tire tools.

https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?111352-Avanti-Temporary-Spare

[JLBKY]

I'll weigh in on this..............I use the exact same Do Nut spare as does Bob in the response posted just above this post. My reason for going in this direction is that I have a Twin Traction Rear End and I was concerned that the rear tires on my car are 215/70 X15 and IF I had to mount the  spare to get it off the highway, I needed a spare that is the same overall diameter of the 215/70 X15 tire, as the clutches in the rear end will become "confused" with a smaller tire on one side, and result in self destruction............so I'm told.

BTW..........I went to a local Pull A Part and found the same Do Nut that Bob described above for around $10.00 as I recall.  Brand New. Never been on the ground.

One other thing as long as we are discussing spare tires. My '63 had no prevision for securing the spare tire , jack etc. and consequently those items would rattle. My solution, some 20 years ago or so, was to weld a washer to the bolt  ( remove the bolt to weld the washer.........but before you remove it, mark it with a sharpie as to the direction  you want the washer when you reinstall the bolt ) in the tire well that goes through the fiberglass tire well and threads into the rear crossmember, and use a "J" hook and Winged Nut, to tighten the tire down. I place the folding jack handle under the tire, so that when the tire is tightened down it holds the jack handle in place with no rattles. I have the original jack, and I keep that from moving around and rattling, by using  Heavy Duty Velcro ( from Home Depot ) to cover the bottom of the jack, and the corresponding depression in the tire well. Bottom line .......No Rattles. As I recall the "J" hook and related parts I used to do this came from an early Tarus,

John