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I've heard the "flat-spotting" stories for decades and don't doubt that it happens. My cars sit in a unheated garage from the end of November to about late March or early April, and I can say my 7:00 x 17 bias ply Lesters have never flatspotted that I've noticed, though they are 6-ply rated (original tires were full 6-ply) and inflation pressures for them are fairly high, 35 psi or so. Knowing the tires will be staying cold during the winter I usually give them an extra 3-4 psi for storage and bleed out the excess in the spring.

I've read several places that some makers of name-brand radials recommend replacing them every 6-8 years regardless of treadwear. I don't know of any recommendation by bias tire makers, or if there was one in their heyday, but my Lesters are 17 years old, probably have 60% tread left, and were just VERY thoroughly inspected - no signs of age whatsoever. Not a trivial expense to replace them, with metal-stem tubes and gutter strips easily $1200 or so, probably more, but I guess I've got to consider it soon.

Thank you for the quick feedback. If there is only a minor difference between a radial and the bias ply then I will stick with the bias ply like what's on it now. I had only heard that there was a great difference with the radials. The car handles and drives great-the Flint area roads aren't so awesome but that's beside the point. I currently don't have any flat spotting or cracking in the tread but there are some splits setting in on the sidewalls. I'm not sure how old they are, at least 6 years. I may not have a perfect car but it's pretty darn close to original so I'd rather maintain the look than change it. Speaking of that, brings up another question:

Does anyone know what the original width for a white wall in '56 was?

Does anyone know what the original width for a white wall in '56 was?

1956 saw just the very beginning of the narrow whitewalls and Packard used them as well as others - see the enclosed picture of new Packards in a showroom. That said, the narrow whites look out of place and era to most folks, judging visually I'd say whites of about 2-3/4 inches or so were typical of the era. Packard, also like other makes, used several brands of tires including General, Firestone and GoodYear.

Hope this helps you with your decision.

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Good question. The most accurate answer, I believe, is "it depends." I have a '56 auto show picture of a Caribbean equipped with new "narrow stripe" tires. They are at least as narrow as any of the tires from the '60s and '70s ww tires. A period pic of a '56 Clipper has very "wide whites" but most of the pics from '56 are sporting something more in what I'd call the medium range of white walls. For my money, they look the best. It's a matter of taste, I suppose.

So you're near the old Buick Town? Cool. How are things around Flint these days? Is the Blood Plasma Center still open on Mondays?
And also Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays? I've hear that on Saturdays and Sundays they're closed.

Interesting how some of the cars in the picture have Wide White Walls, and the other Narrow White Walls. The narrows give a sporty look.

Well Owen, you snuck that one in on me. I was basing my comments on similar pics.

Crap, now Kevin snuck in on me. What is this? A competition?

Regarding "flat spotting": My 91 year old uncle bought a Miata in 2000 and it had Michlien Pilot tires. He put 4500 miles on it then he couldn't drive anymore so the car sat in his garage for a bit over 5 years. I had the task of selling it for him, so after I changed the fluids and got it started, I took if for a test drive. I didn't think I was going to be able to get it back up the driveway - dang thing drove like it had square tires. Fortunately after about a mile they rounded out again and all was fine.

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Wow...that is telling especially considering how light a Miata is.

Ooh, I don't like the narrow W.W.. Sporty maybe, but not for me or my car. I'll stick closer to the 2 3/4"-3" point.

"So you're near the old Buick Town? Cool. How are things around Flint these days? Is the Blood Plasma Center still open on Mondays?
And also Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays? I've hear that on Saturdays and Sundays they're closed."

LOL Indeed I am right outside of Flint. Flint is Flint. You know how it goes: not enough jobs and too many bullets but the plasma center has all the job security they could want. Although, even Flint is appalled over that poor little boy in Argentine.