Posted by Paul on Monday, December 18, 2000 at 21:35:51:
In Reply to: Radials V.S. Bias Ply posted by Ed C. on Monday, December 18, 2000 at 13:36:38:
I put radials on my '52 after getting some tubeless rims. The difference is like night and day. The old tires would get flat spots from sitting overnight. The truck got really squirelly going over 30 and the were hard as rocks.
I put a set of high traction tires made by Dean Tires on it and the truck rode smoother, didn't act up going around corners, and I was limited more by the gearing than the tires.
I've changed numerous old cars over to radial tires. You have to use later rims but on Mopars, they all use the same bolt pattern on the cars that need tube tires. The old tires would follow every crack in the road making driving a chore rather than fun. The radial tires also handled curves better, wore better, had better traction, even in the snow and were all around much safer and more comfortable. I have probably changed at least 8 or 9 cars over this way and have never regreted it. The only draw back on cars is the older wheel covers don't grab as well as newer ones and the flex in the tires will work them loose. I would keep new wheel covers on and swap them with originals at shows.