More on Tires

[JCantor791@xxxxxxx]

I've been reading - skimming really - with some interest the discussion on 
tires available for our cars.  What each person does is a matter of personal 
preference and circumstances with the obvious compromises between durability, 
traction, budget, and aesthetics.  I'll share my recent experiences in putting 
new rubber on my '56 Sedan.

The car came to me with 8 year old bias-ply tires that were in so-so 
condition and obviously not up to the performance of a modern radial.  Since my 
use of 
the car will be occasional pleasure driving under generally good weather 
conditions, but not always, and while I do intend to show the car, keeping it 
completely original is not my goal (I'd have a lot of work to do as the car has 
been repainted with a modern paint and reupholstered in good but certainly not 
NOS fabric), I wanted the safety and traction of a good radial.  However, I 
also wanted the 3" wide white wall that was original.  This lead me to two 
choices, Coker and Diamond Back Classics.  I choose the later for two reasons.  
First they deal only with redials and I felt therefore might know them somewhat 
better.  Second, they were willing to vulcanize the white wall onto any modern 
radial that I choose.  Therefore I was able to get Goodyear Regatta 2's with a 
3" white wall for about $165 each.  My spare is a $65 identical tire, just 
without the white wall.  Because of the process that DBC uses, there are no 
identifying marks on the outside of my tires (DOT numbers etc remain on the 
inside).

For someone looking to save some money and willing to sacrifice the looks a 
little, these tires (in 235/70R15) would be a reasonable solution.

Just my .02
Jeff
Trenton, NJ