Okey dokey, time to end the guessing game and Ken, your entry makes more sense then anything I've heard so far so you get my vote. This was a transitional period for the tire industry and I’m sure there were discrepancies in the interpretation of the new standards. Since the manufacturing plant was in the British Isles my guess would be that they were made to comply with the specs of that country at the time. If they were made specifically for use in a foreign county it kind of surprises me that they would have a US "DOT" standard stamped on them, I thought that was strictly a US rather than a world wide agency.
Well, anyway, it’s no big thing guys, it was just a simple question about a discrepancy or variation from the DOT labeling standards. These split rims and tires are headed for storage along with my other set of bias plies from my ‘50, 3604. Before I do any serious driving with the truck I’ll be looking for some one piece 15” rims to mount up a good set of new (fresh) radials. I’ve had my share of bias ply Nylon tire technology for everyday driving on the other truck. Lucky I’ve still got any teeth left as badly as they would shake the first ten miles.
Part of my research on a restoration of this sort is to try and establish details of proper provenance. So somewhere by the end of the year I’m going to try to find the original owners son, if he is still alive and in the area. He was the one who took care of the truck from 1988 to April of 2010. Hopefully he will be able to fill in some of the missing facts about the trucks history and maybe even come up with some pictures or stories about it out on the farm in Nebraska. If I find him I’ll ask him about the tires and where he bought them.
Been interesting, thanks for the discussion guys.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
