I have read that age isn't as important with bias ply as it is with radials. I'm no expert. If it was me, I'd keep a close eye on the tread and sidewalls for checking and delamination and use them. If you were in a vehicle driving highway speeds it would be a different story.

Years ago (late 1980s)  I got a chance to buy a set of six, new, never mounted, 6.50 X 20 Denman tires. They were cheeeeeep. Hoping that I would someday own a suitable vehicle for them, I brought them home and stashed them away in a dark corner of the barn. Around 2006 I bought my 1936 RD 1-1/2 ton Chevy. When it came time to mount tires, I found paperwork inside of them that indicated they were molded in 1963. 

As you stated, the truck rarely sees 45 mph and never carries a load anywhere near what it was built for. The tires look great, the truck lives inside, I keep an eye on the pressure (45 psi). There is no checking or sign of deterioration on the tires. I drove it on the Southern Fall Tour, at Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri in 2019. I drive it regularly for errands, light hauling and for fun. I drove it 25 or 30 miles today to drop off a couple of packages at the Post Office. One was to The Filling Station and another to Jim Carter Truck Parts. They were cab mounting kits that I make for them. I live 1-1/2 miles down a gravel road so 3 miles of gravel on every round trip. my typical speed on gravel is 20-30 mph. There is no sign of gravel induced damage to my tires.

About 6 years ago I removed 50(ish) year tires from my 1935 Chevy Standard Coupe. They were long over due for replacement. I had driven the car very little for the previous 10 years.

Thats more info than you wanted. Sorry.

Mike

I agree with the above.

If they look good... I'd run them.

Mike, no need to apologize, That helps a lot! I appreciate you and Tiny sharing your experiences. A year ago I would have scoffed at someone pointing out expired date codes on my vehicles. But last fall I was bebopping along I70 with my '28 one ton on a trailer, when i heard a very loud bang. Looking in the rear view mirror, I saw pieces of tire flying everywhere. It was so violent it significantly bent the trailer fender. I don't know what gauge the metal of the fender is made of, but it was a special order when I had the trailer built, that I could drive 5k pound tractor over them because the tires/wheels are too wide. That was the second tire failure of the day on that trailer. (the first failure was a huge bubble on the side wall of the spare that found in the morning when I was doing my pretrip, checking the air in the tires) The date code on the tires was a few years OoD. (WOW, talk about TMI! LOL)

Anyways, that kinda scared me concerning Date Codes. But, as you guys pointed out, big difference between a loaded trailer doing 65, and unladen truck doing 35-45.

Thanks guys,

Lou

@lou,

Carry 2 spares, a good jack, and loosen the lug nuts before you travel. Ask me how I know. PS. Keeping your AAA membership paid up won't hurt either. 

Bob

Bob, sounds like good advice! thanks

I've had a lifetime of fun with Lurch's old tires! 

From 1994 into 2022 Lurch's front tires were from the 1930s. 😉 AND, they looked it! The rear tires were much newer, probably from the 1960s. 

At car shows, where people look at the vehicles closely, Lurch holds the world record on the Spectator Gasp Meter!!

I did put brand new inner tubes in them and didn't drove over 30 mph on modern roads.

So, yeah, run 'em and enjoy!!

Dean