Tired...Tire

J

jg61hawk

Senior Member
I bought my Model A in 2014 and noticed Garfield Tires were on the car. They looked real good and I never gave them much thought. The other day I noticed the driver's side front is getting worn (No, I never rotated them).

I put the spare on and ordered two new front tires from Mike's. I then realized the date code was from.....1981!!!! Yikes the tires are 45 years old. I did a little checking and found out Garfield tires are no longer made. They sure did last.

I guess I should replace the rear two now that I know how old they are. I can't believe they wore that good.
 
You also get killed while driving a Model A with 45 year old Garfield tires. Get rid of them.
 
We had those tires on the '30 Roadster for ever, yes they looked awfully good! I replaced them only two years ago after I found out they were made in 1972:p:p

I never gave them much thought at the time because they looked really good!

Made with Rayon that must have been the secret.
 
Hand layed up tires made in U.S.A. the best tires ever made. Many stories of them lasting forever and still looking good.
 
Date codes ? 3 numbers 1971-2000 , 4 numbers 2000 - present , I replaced my BFG’s that I guessed 20 + years old , need to look for the 3 number code , yes I still have them they still look good too good to trough a way , very stiff sidewalls
 
I have a set of 5 Riverside tires from Montgomery ward from the early to mid 70s they still hold air and they're still wearing just fine but because they're 50 plus years old I'm replacing them with a set of firestones with new tubes!!!
 
When I got my ‘30 Town Sedan in 2021 it had a set of “Riverside” tires. I could not find a date code, which meant that they were pre-1971. I drove that car for a couple of months before I started taking it apart for restoration. So far I’m about four years into a two year resto and haven’t started reassembling yet, although I’ve rebuilt almost all the mechanical subassemblies (engine, ******, rear end, front end, brakes, steering box, etc.).
 
Flathead said:
I often wonder if all the panic over older tires is really more of an effort to sell new ones. :)
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I took a tyre retailer to task once over that very thing. They were saying that there was a 10 year limit on the age of tyres. When I asked him to show me the regulation, law or whatever, he couldn't.
I walked away smiling!
 
I had a flat in a tire on my Mom's car, which rarely got driven, and the first shop gave me that crap - "We're not allowed to work on tires over 10 years old". I do think that it's a good idea to carefully assess older tires to see if there is any evidence of aging (for example, sidewall cracks) but I also think that this "10 year rule" is something that has been dreamed up by retailers. And unfortunately, enough people buy into it that it becomes self-perpetuating.
 
I have known a number of people who have had tire failures on trailers and their antique cars, so don't take a chance. I say this as someone who had some very old Garfields on one of my cars for a long time. They were pretty hard and didn't stop well so I replaced them with new radials.
 
If I'm not mistaken somebody had posted some years ago That the riverside tire molds were destroyed I believe in 1977 so they obviously predate that mine actually have date codes I believe they're 73 or 74 vintage.
 
Here’s two of the date codes off my Riverside tires.
 

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JayJay said:
I had a flat in a tire on my Mom's car, which rarely got driven, and the first shop gave me that crap - "We're not allowed to work on tires over 10 years old". I do think that it's a good idea to carefully assess older tires to see if there is any evidence of aging (for example, sidewall cracks) but I also think that this "10 year rule" is something that has been dreamed up by retailers. And unfortunately, enough people buy into it that it becomes self-perpetuating.
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I thought the same thing for many years. So did my friend, Mike, who owns a Merlin Muffler Shop.
Not any more... it IS a real thing.
I own a number of exotic cars that rarely get driven. The last time I swapped the tires out on an Aston of mine, they were five years old and had less than 6000 miles on them. They appeared beautiful.
On the inside the ugly truth showed. There were cracks and upon very close inspection, ply's were just beginning to separate.
He told me he sees this quite often on cars similar to mine. That is, cars that are stored carefully and driven minimally.

Guys, believe what you like but tires are not what they once were.
Me? I'd rather drop $2k for a new set before one blew out.
 
Five years old and only 6000 miles! I would call out the manufacturer, that doesn't inspire much confidence in their product. Good that you found the interior problems before they let go. :)
 
Flathead said:
Five years old and only 6000 miles! I would call out the manufacturer, that doesn't inspire much confidence in their product. Good that you found the interior problems before they let go. :)
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Rest assured these are very high-quality tires. Same thing with our Carrera although they had close to 8000 miles.
My friend that owns the shop told me he sees this frequently.
He believes it is the compounds used to produce tires these days.
 
I think that these kind of tire problems might be the same as the well known inner tube problems.

1. Making tires with recycled rubber from old tires.

2. Just like some Babbitt engines fail because of reused Babbitt chucks, old lead fishing sinkers, old lead tire weights and etc. being tossed into the melting pot. I saw this done at a now defunct shop.
 
Benson said:
I think that these kind of tire problems might be the same as the well known inner tube problems.

1. Making tires with recycled rubber from old tires.

2. Just like some Babbitt engines fail because of reused Babbitt chucks, old lead fishing sinkers, old lead tire weights and etc. being tossed into the melting pot. I saw this done at a now defunct shop.
Click to expand...

Most likely. Like a lot (most?) things these days, quality is much poorer than it once was.
Recall when a refrigerator lasted decades? Now? Maybe ten years if you are very lucky.
That list is long...
 
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