53-55 sedans fender skirts vs tire size

[greyben]

After finding a nice set of original fender skirts for my President State and repainting them to match I discovered the latches could not be secured due to interference with the tires. I am presently using 215-75R-15 tires. I am curious to see what size tires will actually work with original skirts. If you use original skirts on your 53-55 sedan what size tires do you use?

I'm not a big fan of skirts, but thought it would be nice to use them since they were standard equipment on the President.

[2moredoors]

205-75-15 are what I use on my sedan, They fit fine.
I also use the same size tires on my '64 Commander and '66 Cruiser.

[StudeRich]

It may be more about the Offset/Backspace of your WHEELS than the Tires. Are you running non-Studebaker Wheels?

[Studebaker Ron]

Radials make a difference in width as opposed to bias. I am thinking of getting a set if skirts for my 50 Champion and this may be a problem as well with radials. One option is American Classic Bias Look radials. They have the dimensions of the bias with what they say is a radial ride. Problem is that they are very proud of this tire.

Ron

[55s]

For a 1955 coupe and original 5" rims, I found that only 195-75R-15s would fit under skirts. 205s were too fat.

[55 56 PREZ 4D]

On my 55 State Sedan I have stock Ford Ranger wheels, 6" wide, 4" or 4 1/4" backspace.
P215/75R 15 tires.
The stock fenders skirts will not fit. Interference at the tire and the stock wheelcover.
I could cut and reweld the rim to increase the backspace on the 2 rear wheels, but chose to not use the skirts.

[SN-60]

Just wanted to mention,....Nice move finding and purchasing those '55 sedan skirts...To me, a 1955 Studebaker President Sedan simply isn't 'complete' without them....Sort of like the fog lites!