I am surprised that Vintage Tyres said that the Ensigns were 4-ply. I remember asking them before I bought mine and they said that they were identical to the Dunlop 5.50x18s, and were 6-ply.
I have just looked at my tyres and they are clearly marked 6 P.R.
I phoned Vintage Tyres and they confIrmed that the Ensigns are 6-ply, and made in England, so they have given you incorrect information in the email.
Denis
Hi Denis,
Perhaps Ensign made both ply ratings in size 550 x 18. I know that Dunlop Gold Seals came in both ratings.
Peter
Hi Peter,
That could well be true but the man at Vintage Tyres only said that the Ensigns were 6-ply and there is only one type on their website. They also have a 5.25/5.50/6.00x19 which would be a bit wider and should still fit our wheels and not foul the wings.
Denis
Presumably you meant 5.25/5.50/6.00x18 ?
Hi Peter,
No, I meant 19. I have seen a couple of Mk IVs with 19” tyres, I believe with original wheels.
Denis
Hi Denis,
Ah! You mean by changing the wheel size to 19" like on Michael O’Shea’s Peking to Paris car?
My 18" wheels are only 19.5" diameter to the outer edge of the rim!
Peter
I was thinking of that car, but wasn’t sure whether you could get away with fitting 19” tyres on 18” wheels. From what you say it would not be possible.
Denis
It would make tyre fitting very much easier.
Peter 
19"!! Now we’re getting silly. I can’t even close the door on my 18" spare tire.
Guess I need a 17" space saver tire. 
The wheels in the pic, the green wheels , are not MK IV ? SS wheels. Presumably he had them mad eup for the event. [ If you can afford to enter, you can afford to make wheels up] The spoking patter appears to be neither SS of MK IV.
The trouble with relying on MWS for information is exemplified by their SS Wheels[ SS100 / Ss Jaguar] The spoke pattern they supply is post war. When I enquired that were " well we have the original Dunlop drawings"
I sent them back a couple of pics taken at the SS factory ofnew cars showing the pattern was different.
Their response was’well we are still going to charge extra to spoke them that { SS] way “We call it a special order.”
Hi Denis
It gives me hope that you have confirmed the 6PR rating for the Ensigns as they have the highway tread I am looking for. Can you please take a measurement of the tread width.
Regards
Mike
Hi Michael,
I have measured the width across the tread in contact with the ground at 106mm, or 4.17”.
Denis
Thanks Denis - at this stage think I will stick with the Goodrich with its near 5" tread albeit only 4 ply.
Mike
Given the larger diameters of drums on big cars pre-disc brakes, this could be very true.
It is indeed true, More so fprMk IV than SS. Some of the MK IV drums were machined so off cnetre that the balancing place refused to take enough off them.
I had a set of pr war 14" drums balance, They machined dead end holes on the inside of the vertical face withaaaaan end mill. [ flat bottomed holes. needed qute few to balance them.
Finally ended up having new one smade, Machined theouter section [ rubbing surface and fins from the right grade of centrifugally spun cast iron and the flat faces laser cut from 6mm aluminium. and the 2 parts spigotted together with counter sunk Unbrakos
They work very well, Inherently balanced and a little less prone to fade… and over 1 kg each lighter.
But it probably a waste of money balancing the wheels without doing the drums.
Hello Peter,
I’ve just returned from a vacation with no internet - bliss! Anyway, thank you very much for the suggestions. I have very experienced people helping me with the car so I know that the wheels, tyres and drums will be well balanced. A little exciting development has been the application of the Lavender Grey paint after many months of painstaking preparation. I’m not using the wheels on the car at present as I have new MWS rims.
Merry Christmas to you,
Tim (Rev’d)
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Hi Tim,
Your lavender grey looks very good.
Merry Christmas,
Peter
Yes, looks very, very good! 
Happy New Year 2020! 
Tim,
Lavender grey look absolutely great!!
is it possible to give me the supplier?
thanks
Polti
Thank you for the positive comments Peter, Pekka and Polti. 
Polti, I will ask my spray painter for the name of his paint supplier and the formula which was used, then let you know.
Best wishes for the coming year to all of you.
Cheers,
Tim
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