Neighborhood troublemakers slashed one of my tires on the sidewall, a good 1" gash.

These tires are bfgoodrich control plus, 600 tread life, have about 30k miles on them now.

I've heard the "should replace 2 at a time" and the "must replace 4 at a time" and "one is ok as long as its close enough to diameter" theories. I believe all 4 at a time only applied to full time awd vehicles.

If I have to buy two tires, so be it. Will uneven tires in the rear stress the (open) differential too much? What if I change to a limited slip type later? Or is it preferred to have the uneven tires in the front since they turn on their own? Won't affect steering issues? And this brings up rotation pattern issues too... Any input appreciated.

Put it one on the right front.....the left front gets less wear leaving the ground on hard launches....

Seriously though....you will be fine just getting one. The diameter difference is negligible.

_________________
Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

What shape is the spare in?

If the existing tires are in better shape than the spare, get 2 and make 1 of the existing tires the new spare.

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes