Vintage tires- any value?

Stingray70

Stingray70

Senior Member
My coupe came with a set of Sears wide whites. No cracking, tread is very good. A couple of guys from my local club suggested using them since they looked good. Well yesterday I found the date code on them. MARCH 1971! I was still an infant when these were made. LOL.

Needless to say, since this is a driver, I will be replacing them right away.

My question is before I waste time trying to sell them, do you guys think they have any value? Maybe to someone who wants the look but doesn't drive much?
 
I have bought many in your condition, as long as they are not damaged- 20.- 25. each in useable condition
 
Stingray70 said:
My coupe came with a set of Sears wide whites. No cracking, tread is very good. A couple of guys from my local club suggested using them since they looked good. Well yesterday I found the date code on them. MARCH 1971! I was still an infant when these were made. LOL.

Needless to say, since this is a driver, I will be replacing them right away.

My question is before I waste time trying to sell them, do you guys think they have any value? Maybe to someone who wants the look but doesn't drive much?
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I'll meet your Sears and up you a couple of Montgomery-Ward (Riverside), no date code visible. ;)

JayJay
 
Old tires are very hard to remove from wheels by hand sometimes they need to be cut off. Also very hard to install by hand, no thanks even if for free !
 
This is a riverside sitting in the sun a few years ago outside a club workshop meeting. It sounded like a black powder gun when it blew.
 

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I tend to be a bit realistic when it comes to tires on my collector cars. The A especially. He's the deal. All tires have a shelf life (including on the car) of 6 years. After that they are suggested to be replaced. Now having said that, I have had my firestones on my A with new tubes and rim lines I'm sure for at least 12 years.

I had a front tire blow out this past summer on my streetrod this past summer. Blow out meaning a HUGE HOLE in the tread contact area. I was going 45 MPH.

As far as 1971.... These are fine for the museum, and that's about it. maybe as a spare.

Tires, mile for mile, are very cheap insurance. Heck we get more for our money from tires, than we do for batteries. I never buy the cheapest battery I can find for a car. I sometimes give ACTUAL NEEDED PARTS to club members, if they are going to use them, and drive their cars. They are your tires, but I think you should give them away if someone needs them.
 
Old Ford 2N, 9N and 8N tractors with 19" wheels sometimes run these tires. I have a pair on my latest 8N. Low speed....they'll last forever. Advertise on CL under Farm and Garden.
 
when going to university I worked summers in a rubber laboratory. Let me assure you at 50 years of age those tires are not safe and the only value is garage art. Virtually worthless if you intend to drive on the road.
 
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denis4x4 said:
Out of date tires are an accident waiting to happen. Irresponsible to sell them to someone else.
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I think with the proper caveat of age they can be sold in good conscience. Many in the day were turned into swings for the kids. Restorers always need roller tires during work at times. You can't cure stupidity in others. $25.
 
Friend of mine bought a Model A in 1990 and put 5 new Firestones on it.
He kept the car 15 years but drove it very little- probably less than 200 miles.
Always garaged so no excessive UV light exposure. (is this really the cause of tire degredation?)
When I bought the car from him in 2006, the tires still had the nibs on them.
Over the next 7 years I moved them around to different As and drove them frequently but no long trips.
Sold them (on a car) in 2013 and they were still on it when I bought the car back last September and drove it home 400 miles.
They are just now starting to get some fine cracking on sidewalls.
Guess I've just been lucky- I plan to replace before making any more long trips.....
 
Old tires make good rollers when working on a multi year project. I have a set of brand new tires on my project car which will be too old and will be replaced when/if I ever get it finished. In this case I couldn't find a set of correctly sized old tires.
 
Rollers yes, I see a lot of projects just getting started with new tires on rollers are a good idea.
 
I have had model As for the last seventy years in my early days we run anything that held air.. rarely ever had a flat , a few years later I found that cotton cord tires when weather cheeked the cotton would rot and blow out .nylon cord did not.So I ran nylon firestone tires on my 29 Tudor for over twenty years,till they wore out with never a flat.this was a common thing with other A people back in the late fifty’s early sixties.i joined the MARC in 1957.when Bill Hall was director.enough babble will git off.
 
Well, I replaced the old Sears tires the other day with new Goodyears. Surprisingly the old tires came off the rims easily, they sure are stiff but no cracking of the sidewalls. I found the date code on them:
March 1971!! I was still an infant when they were made. LOL

The other interesting thing is the tubes (also Sears) which I assume are the same age feel and look as good as the new replacements I just bought. I am keeping them for spares.
 
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