With the Great Lakes Regional and Flint National looming on the horizon, I am leaning toward replacing my bias ply tires, with radials, to inprove my driving experience. My question is, Coker Tire seems to be the only supplier of after market vintage tires. The tires will be red line, for my '67 GS-340. The two tires they offer are either Firestone or their own brand. I believe there both manufactured by Coker. My question is, is there a difference between either one, other than cost. Maybe someone out there has had first hand experience with their products, and can lead me in the right direction. Thank's
Tom

I will never buy Firestone. Had the 721s on my 65 Skylark. Luckily for me I made the decision to trailer the car rather than drive it. One of the rear tires had a split through the treads you could put your finger in. Also these were recalled, but mine were not part of the recall....they were O.K. according to Firestone. Also had a belt seperate on my 72 Centurion--Firestone.

I don't understand how putting radial tires on your car will "improve your driving experience." If you want a car that handles like a new car, drive your new car. If you want to have a car that looks vintage, but handles like a new car, drive a PT Cruiser, Prowler, Mustang, or Mini Cooper.
The "experience" of an old car, bias-ply tires and all, IS THE EXPERIENCE.
No, it's not a safety issue. DRIVE ACCORDINGLY.

Right on, Vertigo! I plan on driving my 61 Electra with the correct bias ply tires from Texas. The way I look at it, what did they do in 1961 before radials? Would a family back then hesitate about driving cross country, worried about their tires? If the car has the correct suspension and steering gear, it was designed to handle with bias ply tires. There's no doubt in my mind that radial tires are safer at high speeds, braking, and cornering then bias ply tires. But, like Vertigo said, drive accordingly, and you'll be fine. I plan on staying off the major Interstates as much as possible, so I don't expect a lot of dangerous conditions. Radials were official optional equipment in 1967 so Ice Man's car should drive like new with them.

I replaced the bias redlines on my '66 GS with Coker redlines 7 years ago. Been very happy with them.

There's another source besides Coker, Kelsey Tires They were recommended to me by a long time tire expert/consultant/Buick Club member for replacement original tires for my '68 GS 400. I've had their redline bias plys on my car for just around 10 yrs. They have original Goodyear molds and use updated compounds for making the tires.
I have driven the car, drag raced it once or twice a year with these tires. Sure it still drives like a 40 yr old car with bias plys, the front end was rebuilt last year, so that also helped. Check them out, also owner is also a BCA member, so is Corey Coker, by the way.

and that's no expediant exageration there Vertigo. My 54's handle just fine with bias tires. They were designed for bias tires, so why shouldn't they. You can sure tell when one or two get low in air when cornering but other than that I love the feel. When (read as if) I ever finish Buttercup I have a set of new General's to replace the radials that were on her when I bought her.

Vertigo, TXbuicks, & Mr Earl...
I'm glad to hear some support for bias ply tires on classic cars!

I think the problems people have with tires on their old cars are more likely due to the manufacturing methods/quality, than whether they are bias or radial construction. A low volume specialty product, like a reproduction tire, will never compare in quality and consistency with a high volume premium tire. Unfortunately for us "bias ply guys" the only high volume premium tires are modern radials!

As to the original question, I would not get hung up on the "Firestone issue" when buying a Coker reproduction. Coker merely has molds that put the Firestone name on the repro tire...it is really not a true Firestone tire, in the same sense as if Firestone had manufactured it.

Good point. All the Firestones I had trouble with were actually made by Firestone, as far as I know. They were not specialty tires at the time.

Thank's for all the reply's. I realize that everyone has their own opinion when it comes to bias ply versus radial tires, and I don't expect an old car to handle like a new one. When I bought a '67 Skylark for my wife, it had radial tires on it. The seller also gave me the original bias tires the car came with. ( car had 34,000 original miles)
For a judged show, be it a regional or national, if it was near by, I would put the bias ply on because of the correct rims. Well I'll tell you, be it back roads or highway, that car wandered all over the road with the bias tires. For me, trying to keep a vehicle going in a straight line, for hours on end, isn't an enjoyable experience! It's not because the bias tires were old either. The red line bias I've got on my GS now were fairly new, and it doesn't handle any better. It's a wonder I haven't been pulled over by the cops, wondering if I've had one too many. Maybe you enjoy the thrill of catching a seam in the road and having your car swerve to the left or right unexpectedly, but I don't. If a tire improves my control of a vehicle, then that's the way I'll go.
With that said, I'll check out Kelsey tires too, and I figured the increased price for the Firestone versus Coker brand comes down to having to pay Firestone for using their name. Coker Tire will be at Dunkirk next week, so I can save some shipping charges by picking them up there, if those are the one's I decide on.
Tom
Tom

I have had several big Buicks with bias ply ties. And some with radials. I have had some that track all over the road, like Ice Man mentions. When I get one like that, the first thing I check is steering links and ball joints. If they are shot, the car is not going to steer right no matter what tires you have. My 61 Eletcra has 65,000 miles and the correct wide whitewall bias ply tires and it rides as smooth and straight as any car I've ever owned. By the way, I buy my tires at Wallace Wade's in Dallas. I've never had a problem with any of them.

Exactly. I think Iceman has some other problems there, and I don't think radials are going to solve the problem. I had a 1962 Porsche that didn't handle well at all. Thinking the same as Iceman, I purchased a set of radial tires and it did not handle much better. Checking into the steering, I found a problem that would have led to catastrophic results if I had driven much more.
On my 1940 Packard, I just replaced or rebuilt everything in the front end; king pins, tie rod ends, center steering link, shock absorbers, front-end alignment, etc. With the bias ply tires, it does not wander, and does not have me wondering if radial tires would make my "experience" any better.
I do drive accordingly, though. Especially when the road is wet. Stopping distance when the tires are locked up is not good.

Don't forget that alignment settings are different between radial and bias ply.

It's true that the factory specs on your Skylark will reflect bias ply tires, but when you actually take it to alignment shop, notice that the mechanic usually sets things to where he thinks it should be. (And this is based on his career of setting alignment on cars with radial tires!)

It's very common to have minimal (near zero) toe-in on radial tires, but this will cause bias-ply tires to wander. Note that original specs for our old cars usually include a healthy amount of toe-in. This needs to be set properly for a good, safe, driving car.

Great comments from all. I switched from radial tires to bias ply tires for my '59 Electra, and am delighted by the result. The car handles beautifully and does not wander. I have participated in numerous multi-day tours with the car, and have never found myself wishing for the radials.

I followed Greg's (70 Electra) input regarding alignment at the time the tires were mounted.

I have heard others complain of wandering with bias ply tires on the same year and model Buick, so agree that the condition of the car's suspension and proper alignment are crucial elements.

Funny how this question brings out the purists. My opinion is buy the radials. I know that when I asked about Coker radials previously it turned into a forum about using blackwall, bias plies. Not what I asked and from what I can tell- not what you asked either. Speaking for myself, I intend to replace my tires with WWW radials because I wish to take advantage of the advantages that radials offer and I like the look of WWW on my 40 Buick. I've owned cars equipped with OE tires and I did not like the nibbling at pavement cracks, etc. They were in tip-top shape and were not lacking in any maintainence.

Ed

I've never experienced this "nibbling" with my Packard, though I have driven vehicles that act very "squirrelly" on certain roads.
It makes me wonder more about what Brian has said about proper alignment between radials and bias-ply, and how many bad experiences with bias ply-equipped cars are caused by alignments set up for radial tires.

In my case, the various bad behaviors were exhibited in the late 70s- early 80s before radial settings were as ingrained as they are now. So I am pretty sure that was not an issue.

Ed

Tom
You should get whatever tire you feel the most comforable with.
Two other points that I cannot believe have not been discusssed
1- Some radial collector tires can cost nearly twice the bias-ply equivalent.
2- Radial tires after 6 years are old and deteriorating (google "tire expiration date") It will be harder to drive your investment out of them.
Willie

THANK'S ED, my feelings exactly!
First off, my car has been rebuilt from the ground up. As a matter of fact, it was a 27 year restoration. Everything in the front has been redone, so I can understand the alignment point possibly being a factor. I'm sure there is a difference between an alignment for a bias ply tire and a radial. My alignment was done on a laser machine, but I'm unsure what criteria they use when they programed the unit. Something to look into, if possible.
I do appreciate all the responses because most of them contain logical information in reguards to the questions asked. I'm still going to go radial, it's now a matter of who's tires I'll use.
Tom