In '72, Chryslers came with bias-belted Goodyears as standard equipment. They were not stellar-handling tires, but were better than bias-ply tires, by observation.
On our '66 Newport Town Sedan, it had Goodyear Custom Power Cushion 8.55x14 whtiewalls. Tread was about 5.25" wide, which probably helped that earlier tread design do decently well in the rain. Being polyester cord, they rode well and handled well. Kept the air pressure at 28-30psi all of the time, too. Treadwear ended up being close to 40K miles.
Replaced them with BFG Silvertown Belteds in H78-14. The ride and handling increased a big lot. Smoother was one main difference.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Hankook's sidewall graphics, BUT they ARE available in whitewall (correct for '72 width) and are AFFORDABLE. A KEY consideration for a car that will be driven a good bit rather than not.
I really liked the way the '66 drove and handled with both the OEM Goodyear bias-ply tires and the later belted BFGs, but never did put radials on it back then. But by '72, the OEM Goodyear PolyGlas radials had yet to appear. On the C-bodies I drove with then, they were good. Probably better than what was optional in '72 a bit, too, I suspect.
The older bias-ply tires would seemingly last forever. In our area, old car tires ended up on grain drills and such, as long as they'd hold air. Many (incl. BFG) claim that a radial over 6 years old is on borrowed time, but in the fine print of the Hankook Master Catalog, I believe they state their tires can go 10 years.
Back when the cars were "just used cars" and many tires would last 40K miles with decent care, my orientation was to not over-spend on tires, but not under-spend either. Usually figuring on new tires every 3-4 years of normal use (up to about 50K miles), back then. Which usually meant bias-belted tires. Back when radials were still "too expensive" for normal use. Although Ford had Michelins as an option on many of their larger cars.
The "over-spend" would be putting Michelins on a vehicle which only went to the grocery store, church on Sunday, and maybe out to eat every so often. Accumulating about 7k miles year, but the owner had "the best" tires, too. Otherwise, a mid-line brand tire would have lasted well long enough to wear down to about 50% tread before the car was traded-in or became "an estate car". Only thing was that I observed that "M" brand of tires seemed to be known for "weather cracking" of the sidewalls after a few years of time. BTAIM
In reality, you're not going to find any modern radials which might have the complete look (in whitewall) of the OEM Goodyears. But what's out there now is probably much better than what the '72 radials were, too. Do the Hankook Kinergy whitewalls and enjoy driving the car. DO keep the air pressure about 32/30 f/r (cold).
Enjoy !
CBODY67
www.cokertire.com
I've never driven a car with bias tires, I am looking for comparisons between ride quality, smoothness, noise, cornering, wet weather, flats etc.
