Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I ran Diamondback radials on my 1941 120 Club Coupe. These were built up with bonded white walls in the usual way, but I think started life as Toyo light truck radial tires. Had to run them with tubes in, which were a bit fragile, but they were excellent tires for travelling longer distances and suited the car well. Sometimes, Diamondback or their dealers have specials on these. I think mine worked out at less than US$200 each a few years ago. Not too different to quality cross plies.

They're hard to tell from cross plies, with the name removed.

As others have said, if you expect to drive the car over reasonable distances, this is the way to go.

Cheers

Brian

We have Diamond Backs on our '55 Caribbean. Completely happy with their performance.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have several friends that have tried to use Cokers on their car. One person got a set installed that was so out of round that it could not be shaved into rounds. To make make matters worse they would replace them.

A question was raised about the how long tires last. I have a set of Diamondback radial on my 53 that are almost 20 years old and they are still in great shape. The biggest enemy of your tires from an age standpoint is the sun. So if your car is garaged most of the time, your tires will last many years.

Tire manufacturers have a different opinion however, and you will find recommendations that tires be replaced every 5-8 years. Many tire shops will not fix flats on tires older than this. Keep in mind however that their recommendation is to cover their ass for liability purposes. They have to base their recommendation on the worst case scenario.

I have 39 120 sedan that has a set of Lester bias plys. I have been very happy with these tires. A lot of the "road wander" that bias plys exhibit is due to tread design. The '39 was terrible before I got new tires but now I realize that most of it was due to the old tires being worn out.

Ultimately I went with the Coker Goodrich. Now, the issue I am having is finding someone to mount them. I have tried a national chain store near me but they say no, their chain and probably all chains are not allowed to change tubed tires. I checked with a little independent discount tire store that does new and used tires. There was a language barrier there, but the end result was clear- No. I then found another near by independent shop that said yes, but that they are still getting moved in from their old location where they had been for 25 years and to come back next week. Well, at least I got a Yes.

When I bought my first Packard, a low mileage but rough condition 1939 Six, I understood that the spare in the trunk was the original and was made by Armstrong. Whether true or not I don't know.

Armstrong was and is an aftermarket tire manufacturer originally based in New Jersey, later as I recall in Florida. They date back to the early 1900s. In the 60s their premium rayon cord tire was marketed with the trade name "Rhino-Flex", I believe the rhinoceros is still their mascot. To my knowledge they were never an OE supplier.