My truck has been finished for 2 years and I thought it might be useful to report on my tire experience. During the 4 years I spent restoring the truck I was usually on the site multiple times a day but somehow life, work, and other projects eroded that to an occasional visit. I still have the greatest appreciation for all the help and knowledge available here.
One of the things I followed closely during the restoration was radial tire choices. There were several favorites whose profile came close to a stock bias ply. At that time only Coker seemed to offer a radial that really looked like a bias ply but it didn't seem to be a popular choice. I decided to try them anyway. Things didn't start out all that well. As I was having them mounted the tire guy called me into the shop to show me how out of round one of the tires was- he said it was really bad and to only use it on the rear. Another one took a whole lot of weight. Two weeks later I had a flat. Turned out neither I nor the tire shop looked inside that tire where the plastic sticker was placed and it had rubbed a hole in the radial tube. However, that was the last of the bad news.
I have a few thousand trouble free miles on them now and have been very happy. Despite the out round and balancing issues the truck goes down the road straight as an arrow and I don't feel any vibration. I don't know how long they will last but they still look new. When these do wear out I will likely replace them with the same thing unless there are better options then.
Another big accomplishment for me (simple for many) was figuring out how to add a photo link to my signature and thanks again to forum help I was able to do that. If you are interested in how my project turned out follow that link and double click on any picture to get rid of the extra info below it.
