Lets see all the rods with radials!!

I'll show you mine...and I like'em!
DD

 

Just sent you a PM....I'm sure liking those tires....

 

Nate,
You blew my mind with these pics. These are the exact tires on our DeSoto. I have been looking for replacements with no luck. At least now I know I'm not the only one with a set.
BTW...these are great looking radials and I'm not a fan of radials at all.


BloodyKnuckles

 

I was thinking of your car the whole time I was reading this thread. Looking good. Did you ever get the upholstery fixed? Is the pic with the girl (God forbid I say it on here) from the OSR photo shoot? See ya around.

 

Same car, radials vs. bias... you be the judge.

 

Those tires are quite a bit like the ones I was going to use on the back of my street buggy. The tread was nearly perfect, they were Firestones with a pretty large Firestone logo embossed on the smooth sidewall. other than the tire sizing, etc. they were really cool, early radials with a bias profile and look. One day I went out into the garage and found half the tread coiled up next to what was left of the tire. Lasted for years unmounted but I had mounted them a week prior and....surprise, surprise. Glad the buggy wasn't running yet (or now, for that matter)!!

 

hotrod rubber those tires are awesome!

Joeybysc, I dont mind the radials on that roadster. I think it looks good both ways

 

I agree, I think it looks fine either way, I really like both!

 

I can't say from knowledge or experience, but it seems a tire that wandered all over god's earth (bias) would be a little rougher on those parts. No?

 

Radials on this one, drives really solid and smooth. Next project has bias tires 'cause I thought I'd try them out.

 

Radial Footage of flight... they don't smoke as much as bias plies!!!!!!!!

 

Why yes it is. How's the progress on your car?
DD

 

Dad's A coupe

 

whats the deal with mixing radial and bias ply tires? when i was in school we went over tires but its been awhile and i dont remember as to why its dangerous?? like radials in the back and bias up front?

 

I believe Michelin, a very old tire company, one of the first, never made anything but radial tires, then and now. BUT radial construction of tires was not accepted by the US tire giants until the late 60s. American consumers, and industry, are often the last to accept a new technology, and oddly, the new technology was often developed by American inventors and/or companies but the powers-that-be passed on using it and sold it to international competitors. Thus the demise of our steel industry, electronics industry... the list goes on.

 

Why are a mixed set of tires dangerous? The theory was that the old bias ply tires with their stiff sidewalls and wiggly tread(improved by the "belted" technology in the 60s) gave warning of impending loss of traction in handling BUT the newfangled radial ply tires with their flexible sidewalls and much stiffer tread brought you to the edge and broke loose without warning. Thus a mix of the two styles of construction could prove disastrous with mixed signals in handling being sent to the driver.

 

Sometime radial look worse than they should just because they are not sized correctly for the car. Big, fat, low profile radials with just look like shite on an open wheeled car.

 

here's one. more of a 60's style i guess.

 

My rpu on "Diamondbacks" www's.

 

If I could buy ww radials for my 17" x 3.5" artillery wheels that were tall enough (mine would need to be about 29" in diameter) I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'll be running bias plys because radials aren't available in anything close to that size.

I didn't check with the "traditional police" before I decided to go with disc brakes up front either.

Bottom line is there are plenty of examples of great looking traditional rods here running radials. Use them if you want to.

 

Why is damn correct, radials on a hotrod, especially a fenderless look like hell, but hell its just my opinion.

 

'32 RPU, wow. Nice, Mick!

 

Coming along all right. Got the fenders painted and the splash pans painted and on. The only thing left is the hood and the garnish moldings. Do you know if there is a cruise night or something this weekend? My dads on a 3 week vacation. Ellis Grove car show is Sunday but it is hot and boring.

 

If radials were available in the 50's everyone would of used them. I have been using them for close to 40 years and will never would use bias. Ryan you have had 6 sets in how many miles? I can get 50,000 or 60,000 miles out of a set of $300.00 radials, I do not have money to piss away on stuff that I can not get my monies worth out of.

 

True, that is just your opinion.

I think the cars and trucks on this thread, fenders or not, have shown just how cool they CAN look.

Also, since starting this thread I have figured out that (just for me) its not really a matter of bias or radial after all. I think they both look excellent! I think it has more to do with tire SIZE, and stance of the tire to car.

It looks to me that if you have a skinny tall WW radial with ribbed tread and not alot of tread spilling over the sidewall, it looks great!

Again, Im going for 60's style rod. lotsa chrome, light green heavy metal flake, chrome steelies, big block, hand formed headers, long wheel base, suicide front, crazy interior.

Im thinking of having the front and rear wheel/tire combo the same. Like a 16" wheel and a 31" tire with 5-6" tread. I'll need to see what it looks like tho with all four the same size. I know it looks great using early spoke rims!

 

I like my rods to look more 60's race so I like a wider tire in the back and a "Bob McCoy" type rake. The tall skinny look of the 40s - 50's is cool on that type of car, but my taste go more with the 60's as that's when I was growing up and was most impressionable....some day I would love to put a set of pie crust slicks on it !!

 

I like this one.

 

I'm running lil' michelin radials on the front, and cheater slicks on the back, but my sedan is more late 60's "Early Times" style, and it has fenders. On the other hand, I'm building a highboy phaeton now, with lots of early parts, and I will be using bias ply firestones on Kelsey Hayes bent spoke rims.

Just today at the swap meet, Bobby Green and I were looking at a really nice traditional roadster, and the one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb were the radials on it. A traditional fenderless car pretty much has to have bias ply tires to look right. There's just something about the silhouette of a tall, skinny bias ply tire that just completes the "time machine" look of a hot rod.

 

managed to squeeze in 285 75 15 inside a set of fenders. not much room for anythig else,kept the buggy spring also. had bias ply at first but the ride quality became a issue after 5 hours of drive time. back couldent take it any more

 

Amen and Coop your sedan is like right on man.