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Old 04-04-2015, 12:38 PM   #1
blucar
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Default Radial tires on a Early V8

I was recently talking to my brother about tires for his '37 Ford 4dr sdn. The tires he has on the car is a set of Firestone WW that I gave him in 1981/82. Since the car is always garaged and is only driven less than 1k per year the tires have held up well.
My brother has decided that he wants to drive the car to a car show, 250 miles away from his home on Fathers Day weekend, June 20,21.
Checking with the local tire dealers in Idaho Falls, ID produced varying opinions as to what tires he could use on his car. As most of us know, when you talk old car tires to dealers and or "your best friend" you will get as many opinions as there are days in a month. Most of this hype is based on cost and/or availability opinions. The forums are generally awash with threads about tire options for old cars.
My brothers car is dead stock, (almost)... It has a 59AB engine, hydraulic brakes and '37 Ford 16x4 wheels.
My brother has always had bias ply tires on the '37, however, he thought he would like to switch to radials. Brother was getting the impression that the tire salesmen were giving him conflicting info, he called me for my input.
I asked my brother if the subject of wheel size had come up? He knew he had 16" wheels, I told him that they were most likely 16 x 4, however, they could be 16 x 3.5 if someone had slipped a V8 60 wheel onto the car some time in the past.
I got out my 2015 Coker Tire Catalog, looking through the catalog for 600 x 16 bias ply tires designed to fit a 4- 4.5" wheel, I found that Coker only has one tire, the Coker Classic. I then looked for radial tires, Coker only has one 600R16 tire designed to fit a 4-5" wheel, the 16" Bias Profile Radial.
I called Coker Tire Customer Service, inquiring if the info I had gleamed from their catalog was correct, it was... The cost for four radial tires and tubes including s/h $1,200.
OK what does all of this tire mumbo jumbo mean, simple... If you use a tire that is not designed for the vehicles wheel size, you are on your own, if and when it fails, the results will be on your back, if you use tires that are designed for your application, you could have some recourse on the supplier/manufacture.
The basic rule.. "Don't let the directions on the can outsmart you" is something to keep in mind.
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Old 04-04-2015, 02:25 PM   #2
flathead 53
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

I just bought the coker bias look radials for my 40 deluxe coupe used original 16x4 wheels, 600x16 front and 650 x16 rear , $1200.00 correct, great ride great handling,heavy price tag.
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Old 04-04-2015, 02:34 PM   #3
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78300

These would probably work good on 4" rims

195/80-16 Bridgestone
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Old 04-04-2015, 05:39 PM   #4
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

Whatever you decide I would not rely on the 34 year old tires you have on the car now. I don't think how much you think "they have held up well", and only driving on them 1K per year, they are an accident waiting to happen.
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Old 04-04-2015, 08:11 PM   #5
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

Quote:
Originally Posted by woodiewagon46 View Post
Whatever you decide I would not rely on the 34 year old tires you have on the car now. I don't think how much you think "they have held up well", and only driving on them 1K per year, they are an accident waiting to happen.
Amen to that! That's why tires are dated to give you an idea of how old they are and have they outlived their service life!
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Old 04-04-2015, 11:03 PM   #6
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

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Yes age is a detriment. I replaced my tires as they were 15 years old. Looked great and performed well, but I drive my car on the highway a lot. Price vs safety -- I'll take safety. I have a friend who had 12 year old tires with less than 15,000 miles. Had a blowout at 70 mph, put the car in the ditch, sustained a broken shoulder and major damage to the car.
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Old 04-05-2015, 08:32 AM   #7
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

I bought the Coker bias look radials on sale through Mac"s. Coker would not match the price ( 15% off as I recall) but the tires shipped direct from Coker. Love the improved ride and handling on my F-1.
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Old 04-05-2015, 10:01 AM   #8
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

Another everyday way to save money on Coker tires is to buy them through Summit, no shipping charge. The price per tire is still the same (+ - a buck or two), but the shipping can be a steep cost depending on distance, so bypassing that is money in your pocket.
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Old 04-05-2015, 10:37 AM   #9
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

You are running wide 5s so you are 16" sized tires regardless. I have purchased and used Austone tires from Universal for the front - they run about $150 each - and use the beads and valve inserts from dynamicbalancing.com to balance my tires. You can also try trailer tires from Carlisle and others to satisfy your rear tires if you are running bigs and littles. I have used up to 235/85-R16s which are around 30" tall and really reduce your RPM at speed. Just something to consider.

That all being said, also look at Diamond back radials as well - they may be able to set you up. For me, spending $1200 for tires for one 500 mile round trip knowing there are other alternatives is something I would do my research on.

Finally, a spare set of rims would also allow you to have a "parade tire setup" and "long distance tire" setup. Just a thought ....
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Old 04-05-2015, 11:52 AM   #10
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

I am fully aware that $1.200. is a lot of money for a set of tires that will only get approximately 1k of use per year..
I learned a long time ago that tires are not something to fool around with. When everything is said and done, you are putting your life, and the life of your passengers/innocent bystanders, on the line under the guise of saving a few bucks.
In the early '50's I worked for a company selling tires. The Company came out with a program to increase tire sales. We were instructed to insert a dime into the tread of a tire, if we could read "In God We Trust" that was exactly what the motorist was doing. We sold tons of tires with that program. I still use a dime to check the tread depth on my tires.
I re-read the tire spec's in my tire catalogs.. All of the 16" tires listed, bias or radials, other than the 600x16 or 650x16, 4-5 inch wheel, are designed to be used on wheels that are 6 to 8 inches wide.
Tires that are designed for wider wheels will put stress on the wheel, thereby resulting in a possible split rim at the bead line. The narrow wheel will also pull the sidewalls in causing the tire to not have proper contact with the road surface..
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Old 04-05-2015, 11:58 AM   #11
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

I never cared for Coker's name on my vehicles. Aside from the fact that he is high in price and there has been some questions on reliability in recent years, plus some complaints on customer service, I prefer Diamondbacks. Although the pricing is similar to Coker, their customer service rep was top notch. I only have one vehicle that I use whitewalls on anyways, the rest are trucks which tires can be bought almost anywhere local.
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Old 04-05-2015, 12:01 PM   #12
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

I forgot to mention there is a radial version of the 600 x 16 and also have read that the bead on a radial is less stressful than a bias ply.
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Old 04-06-2015, 10:58 AM   #13
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Default Re: Radial tires on a Early V8

I believe it was President Lincoln that said.. "You can please some people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time"...
(actually the original quote used the word "fool" in lieu of please)
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