[Rachelsdad]

Hi, all...

So, after last year's debacle on the way to the POCI convention in Arkansas, where one of my 19-year-old "new" Diamondback radials blew out and the other rear one was getting ready (belts shifted), necessitating an overnight stay in Greenville, TN and the procurement of four new Venezia Classics (big shout out to Rusty's Tire Shop there, for all the help and attention to detail!), I finally sprung for a set of Coker Classic Star Series bias-look radials, with 1" whitewalls.

Much as I hate to observe Memorial Day by taking advantage of sales, I got a great deal on these from Lucas Classic Tires (thank you post coming) and they arrived on Monday.

Breaking down and balancing 8-lugs is always a bit of a chore, but my friends at All Weather Tire in Huntington, NY did a great job (special thanks to Angel, who was a quick study when I showed him how to properly remove the trim rings and mount the balancing plate).

Anyway, in case it may not be clear from the pics, the 1" whitewall (which actually would be slightly narrow for '63) actually measures about 1 1/8", which is about right.

These seem to ride very smooth, though perhaps not as soft as the Venezias. Anyway, we'll see how they hold up.