a can of worms: tyres

[smokystove]

I know this is an "apples or oranges" topic and no doubt discussed before, though my searches on the forum don't seem to turn up much surprisingly.
I've just bought a 1950s saloon that I intend to use primarily on the road but also for sprints/regularities/etc. and am agonizing over what rubber to put on it. Have two sets of wheels: 4x15 (original) and alternate set of 5.5x15. In both cases I'd prefer to keep something close to the stock tall original fit because I like the feel and the look of the taller profile tires on classics (of course that's personal preference).
I'm curious as to what folks are running on their classics considering use for both mild "sporting" applications but still usable on the road day to day if such a thing exists.
I've heard many people talk about running road-legal/race historic tires on road cars but I'm a bit reluctant to do that due to the fact that I'm unfamiliar with these tires (dunlop historic, avon CR, etc.) and also live in Germany where there's plenty of wet weather, so I do wonder about their usability. Any thoughts/suggestions?