Hi ya Rick,
Been followin' this thread and your restoration, in fact I even have a Rick's folder with the pics that you have posted in it. Nice job! I'm interested because I'm a fellow 3604 (1950) owner and can appreciate what you've had to go through in order to keep a 3/4 or 1 ton original. The guys that have the half ton trucks mighn not think so, but they are on a cake walk compared to us poor guys who chose the 3/4 and 1 tonners!!! Poor us!!!! Ha!
Just joshin’ guys, but there are, some added problems with the heavies that ya don't encounter with the light trucks, availability of driveline parts probably being the biggest one.
So lets get back to the vibration. What tires did you end up mounting on the original rims???
I spent a bunch blasting and painting the split rims and mounted a brand new set of 7.00 x 15” Power Master Bias plies, with new tubes and flaps. I drove the guys and myself at three different tire shops nuts rebalancing the tires because of vibration. Of course everyone has heard the tale of square bias ply tires. Since I’m an old timer that’s all we had when I first started driving and for two decades I drove on bias ply tires before I saw my first radial tire. I can only recall there being a little thump with them after setting over night.
That my friend has changed! These Power Master bias plies were the lumpiest tire I had ever encounter. On a warm day it took a good 8 or 10 miles drive before they rounded out and even then I would get a lot of shuddering at different speeds. I could park the truck for a half hour while I did a little shopping and when I came out they would run flat for a couple of miles.
If I didn't drive the truck for a couple of days I would get such a severe vibration at low speed that I literally thought the front fenders were going to be shaken loose. If I pushed her up to 35 or 40mph it would smooth out quite a bit. In other words I could drive through the vibration, you know, like going through the sound barrier. It was kind of embarrassing if I happened to be in slow traffic when I first started out on a trip because the front end was just a blur for the first few miles.
Now jump ahead a few months and I now have a set of 1980 C20 rims with new Cooper tubeless radials on her and if it weren't for the 216 hammering away you would think you were in a late model truck. The only vibration I feel now is from the bumps in the road. I do still have a little annoying throbbing at 46mph but it only comes in and goes out at the speed and I truly think it’s from the frame flexing. I even have similar shudders on my new GMC Sierra at certain speeds.
Although I have tried, I really can't begin to tell you what a difference there is between the two types of tires.
I am absolutely convinced that the quality of the bias ply tires being produced today is vastly inferior to the tires of yesterday. So, I you're biased, look there for your problem, if not then maybe this will help some other poor soul down the road who is having a problem.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
p.s. The split rims and bias plies are stacked in the corner and are to be used only for display while under the scrutiny of the VCCA judges.
