Fossil Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 This winter I plan on replacing the king pins on the DeSoto and putting some new tires on her. Matt has stated that all tires for these old cars are produced in one factory overseas. My tires are nylon and square on one side from setting to long. No amount of balancing with cure the ride from square tires and I'm not crazy about purchasing another set of tires that will end up being square. Would radials (if available) be a better option? I'm not afraid to spend the money on good tires if they will improve the ride and stay round. Any other suggestions? Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Cocuzza Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 If my car(s) sits for long periods of time between use I jack up the car to get the tires off the ground and take all of the weight off of them. Radials might fair a little better but if left sitting in one spot for extended periods will also develop "flat spots". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Your Nylon tires might smooth out if you drive it enough. That's how they work. Radials are less susceptible to that particular problem, however if you are going to let it sit, take Joe Cocuzza's advice and jack it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I just rode in a friend's 36 Ford with radial www tires. Wow!!!! After 48 years of bias ply www tires on our 34 Fords, I going to radials next time. I have them on our 35 Buick and our 66 VW (Makes a sports car out of a VW Beetle) I bought a 57 Ranchero with new 14" bias ply www tires, rides like a truck. When I buy radials I use Diamondback Classics. Only drawback to radials is the shorter life of the tires, but the ride is so superior, I live with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 "Only drawback to radials is the shorter life of the tires," please explain, my experience is that radials last much longer than bias ply tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, padgett said: "Only drawback to radials is the shorter life of the tires," please explain, my experience is that radials last much longer than bias ply tires. Well Padget, here goes. Though Ed and Matt will kill me for this. The "Baby", '40 Buick LTD is riding around on "Martin's" and the '31 Imperial is shoed with "Denman's", and I'll be darned, I can't find a local dealer for either brand. The wife's '02 minivan has radials, and she's gone thru several sets of Kuhmo's, and though they wear like iron, we just keep buying a new set every couple of years. Guess they don't make stuff like they used to. Mike in Colorado PS for Fossil, I do store both of mine on jack stands. Hers just sits in the garage. Edited June 19, 2020 by FLYER15015 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61polara Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 1 hour ago, padgett said: "Only drawback to radials is the shorter life of the tires," please explain, my experience is that radials last much longer than bias ply tires. Because of their flexing, radial tires will give much greater mileage than bias-ply tires, but belts seem to separate and the tire starts cracking at about 5 years of time. Bias-ply tires tend to last close to 10+ years before they age out due to cracking. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Guess it depends on the quality of the tire, not radial vs bias. Any more I buy only BFG (comp-2), Michelin (mostly priced out of my hobby anymore), and Contis (DWS06) and maximise for stopping in rain. Have dumped OEM tires before because they started slipping in the wet. Usually I replace tires because of age and not problems or appearance (sually between 12 and 20 years (have some 05's that look perfect) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Agree, BFG is just about the best bang for the buck out there. I usually run them on all my vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 BTW Uniroyal (low line), BFG (performance mid line), and Michelin (luxury) are all parts of the same company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTR Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 15 hours ago, Fossil said: This winter I plan on replacing the king pins on the DeSoto and putting some new tires on her. Matt has stated that all tires for these old cars are produced in one factory overseas. My tires are nylon and square on one side from setting to long. No amount of balancing with cure the ride from square tires and I'm not crazy about purchasing another set of tires that will end up being square. Would radials (if available) be a better option? I'm not afraid to spend the money on good tires if they will improve the ride and stay round. Any other suggestions? Thanks for your help. How straight and true, incl. balanced are the wheels (without tires) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 4 hours ago, TTR said: How straight and true, incl. balanced are the wheels (without tires) ? The rims look good but one of the tires does have a small amount of runout. Haven't had the tires off so unable to comment on wheel balance. I did install balance beads in the tubes and that helped. I would guess the King pins, brake drums, and steering gear box have never been touched. I was able to remove a lot of slack in the steering by adjusting the steering gear box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Fossil, Start at the wheels and work your way back to the box. Tie rod ends and drag link are the first components I would check. Tightening up the steering box would be last, unless you have a lot of play in the steering wheel. Setting it up tight will not make up for loose tie rods. But then you knew that. To check king pins, jack the front wheels just off the floor, put a bar under the wheels 90 degrees to the wheel and lift up. If you see the top of the tire move inward, it's the king pins. You can check the rim's run out with a couple of boards and a nail set up like a dial indicator on the rim. Just give the wheel a spin and check for run out. Mike in Colorado 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 There was excess play in the steering wheel. Ball joints on the ends of the drag link and tie rod feel OK. The king pins are worn and will be changed this winter. I've driven far worse but this is getting to the point that it's not fun to drive in a hard cross wind meeting other vehicles. Not dangerous but not relaxing either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 22 hours ago, FLYER15015 said: Well Padget, here goes. Though Ed and Matt will kill me for this. The "Baby", '40 Buick LTD is riding around on "Martin's" and the '31 Imperial is shoed with "Denman's", and I'll be darned, I can't find a local dealer for either brand. The wife's '02 minivan has radials, and she's gone thru several sets of Kuhmo's, and though they wear like iron, we just keep buying a new set every couple of years. Guess they don't make stuff like they used to. Mike in Colorado PS for Fossil, I do store both of mine on jack stands. Hers just sits in the garage. Martin tire I believe became the basis for Lester Tire - that means anything with Martins are pre- late 60's to perhaps 1970 manufacture. And, in the early 2000's Denman's were discontinued in a business buy out or merger and while I am told the molds survived I am also told they probably will not be made again (which is unfortunate as they were a well built tire, ride nice, look very appropriate on many cars, and they also made great vintage military vehicle tires (a huge loss to collectors of military). And, Mike, I will ride your case on the Martin's too - this Packard Darin had a set on it and we were driving it everywhere city and highway and we decided to trade out the tires to find the beads had near separated at the rims and there was not much holding the tires together - looked fine, but very dry rotted. Here is a photo of it with the old martins (they were a neat tire, but UNSAFE via their age) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 John, Cool Packard, looks like a giant Singer. Yup I know about the tires. Ed thinks I'm nuts for even using them for "the show field". My local tire store had all 4 off last fall, and they inspected the insides, the beads and the side walls, installed new tubes and rebalanced them. They did not see anything that was a concern to them at that time. We drive mostly around town and rarely get above 35 MPH and NO hard cornering on the mountain passes, as we don't use guard rails out here very much. No place to push the snow in winter. I've been looking at the Lester's for both cars (4.5" WW) but searching thru the forums, I'm getting mixed reviews . MY APOLOGIES TO FOSSIL Did not mean to hijack your thread !!! Mike in Colorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 43 minutes ago, FLYER15015 said: MY APOLOGIES TO FOSSIL Did not mean to hijack your thread !!! Your fine. Makes for interesting reading and I'm learning from it. Here are some photos of my sidewalls. is the HVB the date code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 I am not sure what the HVB stands for. the tire size though tells me you most likely have these on a Model A Ford, though the rim suggest possibly a Model T. The tires are possibly older as there appears some cracking around the Bedford name. The first set of Bedford tires we bought were around 1985 or so and they were a pretty new brand of tire around that time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 1 hour ago, FLYER15015 said: John, Cool Packard, looks like a giant Singer. Yup I know about the tires. Ed thinks I'm nuts for even using them for "the show field". My local tire store had all 4 off last fall, and they inspected the insides, the beads and the side walls, installed new tubes and rebalanced them. They did not see anything that was a concern to them at that time. We drive mostly around town and rarely get above 35 MPH and NO hard cornering on the mountain passes, as we don't use guard rails out here very much. No place to push the snow in winter. I've been looking at the Lester's for both cars (4.5" WW) but searching thru the forums, I'm getting mixed reviews . MY APOLOGIES TO FOSSIL Did not mean to hijack your thread !!! Mike in Colorado I am partial to Goodyear's if a size is available and my second choice is Firestone's. Lesters are ok and run pretty quiet, but I have more recently thought of them as a lower grade tire matched to I thought they were squirrely in the rain. In the 1970's Lester's were a key player via not much available - I think it went Martin became Lincoln and then Lincoln become Lester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 Tires are supposed to be 5.25 x 19's. These look a little narrow for a 1930 DeSoto CF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) On 6/19/2020 at 1:17 PM, padgett said: "Only drawback to radials is the shorter life of the tires," please explain, my experience is that radials last much longer than bias ply tires. I'll explain: My experience is that I can wear out bias ply ties in 10 year of frequent driving, Glidden Tours Sentimental Tours, Nickel Tours, Regional Tours and many local tours. With Multiple cars, (none of which are stored on jack stands) i keep them all inside and out of the sun light, ready to go. I have never worn out a radial tire on a antique car, but I have had them age out and the cords separate, sometimes blowing out in the garage.. Life expectancy is 7 to 8 years at best for radials, I do have a 35 Ford Pickup with rock hard bias plys that are 40+ years old. I will not tour on them or go over 40 MPH and I may never wear them out. My choice for driving is the comfort of radials. I've often wondered if they make a motorcycle radial tire in a 30 X 3 or something close for Model T's? Edited June 20, 2020 by Paul Dobbin Can anyone explain why the site always rearranges the text? (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 10 minutes ago, John_Mereness said: I am partial to Goodyear's if a size is available and my second choice is Firestone's. When the time comes I will look into these as the dealers are local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, Fossil said: When the time comes I will look into these as the dealers are local. You will probably not find locally (a goodyear dealer use to tell me he had no access though his local channels) - you need to go to someone like Lucas, Universal, Coker, Kelsey, or such as amazon or Summit Racing for such as shipping discounts. There is also such as historic Michelin's, Excelsior's, Dunlop's, and ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 If late enough to have a DOT sequence, the first two letters are who made them and where. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 " Life expectancy is 7 to 8 years at best for radials" and I'll say that depends on who made them and how much time they spend in the sun. I have some '01 Michelins that look perfect in and out (and back then the "Michelin One" had no time limit, just miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, padgett said: " Life expectancy is 7 to 8 years at best for radials" and I'll say that depends on who made them and how much time they spend in the sun. I have some '01 Michelins that look perfect in and out (and back then the "Michelin One" had no time limit, just miles. I like Michelins too, on modern cars and they look new until the explode. Once had one in a tire cover explode on the back of our motor in the 1980's. Keep an eye on the bottoms of your tread groves, for dry rot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Just saying it all depends on how they are kept. Not saying I'd use for anything but roll around but (Michelin X club tire 225x60x16) Really need to demount and dispose of about thutty tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 8 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said: I do have a 35 Ford Pickup with rock hard bias plys that are 40+ years old. I will not tour on them or go over 40 MPH and I may never wear them out. " the doctor call me crazy, some says I am, some says I ain't.....................", "Born in a desert.........." Bobby's vocal, "New New Minglewood blues" some old Good Old Grateful Dead But speaking of rock : ROCK hard ? 40 MPH ? I don't think I would drive over 10 MPH on ROCK hard rubber. Don't even think of trying to WEAR 'em out. Replace ASAP, and enjoy touring that '35 as you like it ! Can you get an acceptable size to radialize it ? Safety first, - Carl 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 On 6/21/2020 at 12:13 AM, C Carl said: I don't think I would drive over 10 MPH on ROCK hard rubber. No guts no glory! I might go some over 10 mph but the thought of driving much over 40 for any time at all would be out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now