I must also comment. I used to manage a tire store and work on front ends.
I have done a fair amount of research on the subject of radials. I have a 54
New Yorker, a 57 Windsor, a 62 Imperial and a 63 Lebaron and 68 Crown Coupe
and a 73 Newport. All of them except for the Newport were made with bias
ply tires as standard. I have run bias on them and I have run radials. I
will NEVER buy a bias ply tire again. The advantages of having a safe,
durable tire on my collector cars greatly outweigh the original look. They
are all "fat" white tires. I have purchased them mostly from Firestone. (
No, I didn't work for a Firestone dealer) They are a 721XL. The XL stands
for extra load sidewall. They work great for the 15 inch tires I need and
are quite reasonable when compared to some of the other brands available.
While the whitewall wide isn't correct by any means (1 7/8") they do set
the car off. They look especially nice on the 62 & 63. The 57 Windsor has
radials from Coker on it, mainly because the only 14's I have found are
narrow stripe tires. I even considered putting the Firestones on it and
changing to 15's. I decided to keep the 14's for that low look.
We don't have the best roads here in Oregon. Lots of potholes and grooves
in the roads. My cars are nice and I want to keep them that way. With bias
plies, it is a constant fight to keep the car in one lane and not a
pleasurable experience. The radials make a huge difference. Yes, I know
that these cars don't have a "radial tuned" suspension. Rubbish.
The ride is going to be different. It may be a little mushy, something that
can be addressed somewhat with gas shocks. The braking will be better -
better contact with the road. As a former front end mechanic and tire guy,
I honestly cannot see the value of bias ply tires, other than being correct
equipment. In my opinion (I will probably step on toes here), the advent
of radial tires was one of the greatest advancements in the industry. These
cars drive great with radials, handle better, ride better and are SAFER!
Kudos to the manufacturers that have come out with wide white radials. Bad
points to the manufacturers who have made wide white retreads
(remanufactured tires). No matter what the process, a recap is a recap. It
will come apart. I've seen it and I've seen the results.
There's my nickel ninety-eight!
Mark
MoPar Man on the Oregon Coast
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mjh@xxxxxxxxxx [SMTP:mjh@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 1998 9:34 PM
> To: 'Forward Look Mopar Discussion List'
> Subject: RE: [FWDLK] 15" tires on a 58 Plymouth
>
>
> I had bias plys on my '57 Fury, but bought the radial wide whites from
> Coker, and it drives 1000% better with the radials. And they don't even
> look like radials unless you look closely.
>
> Mark mjh
>
> 15 inch fit fine but the late 50s early 60 s cars drive lousy with
> radials.
>
>
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