I am not so sure about whether or not whitewalls had to be "ordered"
from the Hambro Automotive Group, the U.S. distributor. I know that
mine as well as all other purchased from Bluff City Buick & Imports in
Memphis (yeah, it took guts, Bob) were whitewalls. Also, somewhere in
my library or files, I have a photo of all a field of Sprites ready for
shipment from Blighty to the U.S., and as I call they all had
whitewalls. (Think, for a moment, of the pile of plain black tires that
Hambro would have piled up in New Jersey.) Of course, most of us
swapped the Dunlops for Michelin X's when we could afford the $33 per
tire! (I still have the Dunlops out next to the garage only because I
can't throw anything away.)
When I was at Beaulieu last month, I learned that Dunlop is still making
the 520x13 tires, and they are available through the Vintage Tyre
Supplies at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Their U.S. branch is
Universal Vintage Tire at www.https://universaltire.com . (They also
have other vintage tires.)
Buster Evans
Anaheim, California
David Ramsey wrote:
>All Austin Healey Sprites came from the factory with Dunlop 5.20X13 "gold
>seal" crossply tyres. White walls were one of those options you had to get
>from the factory here in the States, like the heater, front bumper, and hood.
>When the Midget came out in 1961, or sometime a little later, they all went to
>a Dunlop 145X13 radial.
> Crash
>
>Anybody know the concours rules for tires? Bugeye, Mk I, Mk II. MK III, early
>Spitfire and/or Metropolitan... They all used 145 x 13 tires.
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