Panelman, Do I run those w/o tubes? I think I am getting closer to making a decision. All of this information has been very helpful.

 

Original wheels vs Radial Tubeless Tires
The original wheel has two issues
1. The wheel was designed to run tubes and is not manufactured to hold air - Yes some will hold air if it has corroded properly.
2. The wheel lip is angled out further than a radial design wheel - While a radial will seat there are reports that under certain circumstances (Sharp turns, fast speeds) that the radial tire will roll off the original style wheels
Ya pays your nickle and ya takes your chances

 

I have been running radials on all my old Fords for 15 years. I started in high school with my old '52 sedan. I put 30,000 miles on that car and no tire troubles.


Next I put radials on my 53 sedan. I must be up to 20,000 miles on this car by now.


Keeping with the trend I put radials on my 66 short bed on 15 inch wheels from a 56 pickup. I put 15,000 miles on this truck before I sold it.


Then we put radials on my brother's truck.

Finally I put radials on my 37 sedan. I only put about 2,000 miles a year on this one.


I checked each wheel carefully before having the radials installed. The wheels on the 37 I had sand blasted and painted. None of these run tubes. I have never had a safety issue with these tires.

You can get reproduction trim rings from vendors like Dennis Carpenter and C & G among many others.

 

This is a new one on me. AFAIK they both have the same 5° profile.

A while back I spent more time than I care to admit Googling the radial/bias ply subject as relates to passenger car/light truck wheels. This debate has raged for years. Some, like Diamond Back, claim radials are easier on old rims than bias ply while others claim radials place more lateral loads on old wheels resulting in stress cracks and lost hub caps. I never found any scientific evidence supporting one side or the other. What I found mostly were opinions given by sources that "had a dog in the fight".

If the subject was big truck wheels having the tubeless 15° profile and half inch sizing (16.5", 17.5", etc), I do have SAE and manufacturer evidence showing that, when first introduced, radials caused stress fractures in these early tubeless wheels. Specifically, Budd had to redesign their rims to add strength. The earliest wheels were not covered by warranties if used with radials. Budd added the letter "R" to their part numbers to show the wheels were approved for use with radial tires. Stu

 

Modern wheels also have a safety retentiion bead that the early wheels didn't need with tubes. It's designed to keep the tire on the wheel if you lose air pressure. Some repro wheels come with the new bead design.

If you don't ever lose air, it wouldn't make a difference, but if you're planning to drive on the interstates at 70 mph, it may be worth the piece of mind.