Oh it is quite fun on washboard roads. By and large the bias ply was a tire for driving comfortably/safely at 40 mph. Beyond that you are on your own. Stability does not come to mind with my bias ply. If they are holding air I feel confident. Beyond that I don't expect much from old bias ply technology.
Display them for the win! My COE sat 20 years on radials - and they most def developed flat spots. Felt like I was driving on a cobblestone road all the time. Furthest I drove on them was around the block while waiting on new wheels.
When you talk tires, you gotta talk rims - possibly 45 to 50 year old rims. Check rims for radial and axial runnout.
I know on gravel, this must be the case. I remember Dads 68 old Vista, cruisng down highway at 70-80 mph all the time, with bias tires. But of course that was with a better suspension than my 1955 Fargo truck. Mother even talked about some Kid she knew driving them all in a 1950 or so packard doing 100 mph, seems like a crazy speed with those old beats and bias tires to boot..
I know its a little weird but look into adding shotgun pellets inside the tire. They also make balancing compound as well. It will cover a multitude of sins and actually kind of a traditional idea. A few of the older Hot Rod magazines 40's-50's used to use the trick. It really will work.
The bigger the tire the less pressure it needs to carry a given load . That big of tire on a unloaded PU I would say 25 is more than enough and if empty most of the time I would try 20 or so in the rear. Too much pressure is as bad as not enough,tire can not flex as it should under impact and you break cords. Ask me how I found THAT out! When I was collecting KWs and Petes I usually ran only 40 PSI in the drive duals bob tailing against a sidewall pressure of 100 . When I would put my lowboy on I would go to about 80 as I was not hauling anything heavy.
Some say air soft pelets work very well, going to spin balance and see what i have, and check rims for tru at same time. I have 70s type rims, but those are old now too. okay, will try this out for a while at 26 psi, and adjust as required. Thanx Guys, at least ther are a lot of you who like Bias tires
I have 5.50-17's on the front; and 7.00-17's on the rears. These are Bias ply racing tires on a 1450lb. car. I filled them with 18 p.s.i. of nitrogen. They run great, well up to approx. 140 mph. They drift, controllably on the pavement. The car's suspension is early Ford. I put the car on jack stands after EVERY session on the track (much to the "catcalls" on some of my more mentally challenged competitors). I also put the car up on jack stands, when the car is stored for more than a couple of days. I don't use Radials because they are designed for a "ride", rather then the use to which I put the car. Also, because of their design, not only do Radials not drift easily, they put more strain on my ancient suspension. After you've addressed your suspension and balance issues, try putting your tires out in the sun for a day or so. It couldn't hurt.
Good point, When I worked in a Firestone store in the early 70's we usually put 26 lbs in the bias tires we sold for full size cars at the time. This set of tires may be flat spotted from sitting so long under the heavy car though. I'd balance them and put 26 lbs of air in them and go out on a hundred mile road trip and see how they felt then. You may end up swapping them off for someone who wants them for a parade only car or trailered show car if they look good where they won't get driven out on the roads enough to be a bother with vibarations.
Now you know how that truck drove when your Grandpa drove it. Welcome to the real old car driving experience. Your grandpa probably carried two spares for the same reason. Oh yeah. Balance the damn things.
I'm gonnna I'm gonna....LOL gonna have to use 2 radial spares, not the best idea I know, never that far from home anyway, and I have CAA...
I know you are waiting on tie rod ends, and that made me think of alignment, especially toe-in. Is your setup close to spec? Front tires toed in a little by your eye gauge? That may be most of the problem, as they can get real squirrelly if the toe isn't set close to right.
The notion stated above that "old age" doesn't apply to bias ply tires the same as it does to radials is wishful thinking! Rubber compounds harden with age and bias ply tires are not exempt from that fact. It may be a little less noticeable due to the stiffness inherent to bias ply tires, but it's there nonetheless. Add to that, bias ply tires were far more prone to failure, even when new, than are modern radials, and you have a recipe for, at minimum, disappointment, and in the worse case, an accident with who knows what outcome. You do what you feel is best for you, but if those were mine, they wouldn't be on a vehicle I actually intended to drive.
You cant see it with your eye, measurement, showed approximately 1/8 toe in, tape measure, front of wheel on line A and line b, measured on back of tire same locations. not an exact science but in the ball park, front end machine is needed for an accurate reading.... once tie rod ends are installed, will get an alignment at local small shop with new machine. Tires and wheels, have not made up mind, might just keep WW bias as mentioned for special occasions and get radials for regular cruising....
Here is an update so to speak. Just got off phone with Buddy,who is a long haul trucker, he gave me the tires. He bought His 56 Caddy 2 years ago, owner said the tires (topic bias of this thread), were brand new 1994, I have no way to confirm this, DOT date is pre 2000. Anyway , this Caddy has a tight aligned front end, rims were not bent, the car darted a lot with the tires,now Buddy is ole skool, had a lot of cars with bias tires back in the day. He tried different air pressures, tires did respond somewhat to a bit lower pressure as well as some time on the highway, which he stated he was going slow, meaning less than 55 mph. H e reported no issues with tires not balanced, but drifting darting, hard to handle. He has since installed new tires, albeit there radials, car rides like a brand new vehicle cruising 75 mph , the difference was night and day. So possibly there is something wrong with the tires, not just because there bias ply, but maybe as others have mentioned the heavy car sitting on them for years. Thanx all, gonna get some other tires and see what happens, not sure what type yet
Keep us updated on your findings. My car came with 900 14 Bias and I would love to put some on again as I love the look....
My bias-ply tires are 45-50 yrs old from a company called BEDFORD no longer around from my search and I run them on my 55 lincoln not the best ride ever but it's the look that I'm going for
Willys trucks were built with the rearend wider them the front...made it drive like it was on rails...cornered great, and i was running tall skinny Buck Shot Mudders.. Several cars and trucks have been built with varying front to rear wheel base widths...never heard the old saying...."GO WIDE TRACKING IN A PONTIAC"??? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I would run some tubes in them that are new just because they're old tires and may be prone to leaking, etc; at least then if one does decide to start coming apart, you have a chance to notice it before a blowout.
A couple of months I bought a 1949 Dodge Panel with some old bias tires on it. My king pins are worn and like you said anything above 50 mph is an E ticket ride. Parked it till I get my current project finished.
Brought all 4 tires and rims to work today. We have a vehicle maintenance shop, with a newer spin balancer. The tech could not balance these tires, rims seemed okay, but tires are either out of round or something. I quite ticked about this, wanted to use these tires. No wonder I had handling issues. The 2 tires that were on the front of the 56 Caddy were the worse, weight of the engine, sitting indoors for a long time. I dunno, though of a static bubble balancer, or maybe balancing beads. I have nothing into the tires, and may have to ditch them, and put radials back on for now. I most liley will sell them toa Guy locally that like to collect these tires and give the money to my Buddy where I got the tires from. No tire shavers in these parts, oh well I gave it was fuckin coin toss anyway, and I lost on this round....
If the tires are out of round no ammount of ballancing will ever cure them. You will have to have them shaved.
Thanx Man, I think you are correct, so no biggie back to radials for now. If there wereany outfits doing tire shavining, would give it a go, but no such luck in these parts... BTW, if the tires were out of round, would they not be bangining up and down like, or would or could it be a like any other tire that is not balanced the vibration feel?
I can't believe any anyone would post their running 45-50 year old tires on a pink Lincoln because they like "the look". I seriously hope he doesn't kill someone.
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