Wards Riverside tires

D

DHZIEMAN

Senior Member
Someone locally donated to me two Ward Riverside 4.75-500x19 tires! They look to good to be from the 50's and 60's!
Does anyone know if Coker (or someone else) did a tire mold using Wards Riverside on tires they sold in the past?
 
Those are my favorite tire.I just sold a car with a set still on it,I can't say they were 50 years old yet,but the car was parked in 1971 with them on it.I ran them for the last 18 or 19 years.I was going to have to replace them because they were finally wearing out.I told the car buyer about them,so he plans to replace them.
 
Didn't Garfield supply tires to Monkey Wards? I bought a set of Garfields for a 1946 Ford in 1972 and they always looked good,the whitewalls never deteriated or yellowed where they could not be brought back. I paid $125 for five tires out of a Hemmings ad to someone in Toledo Ohio. I saw them last at 40 years old and still looked the same.
 
Garfield supplied Sears.If they supplied Monkey Wards it was a different design.Much more open,beefier tread,and looks good.i have some Garfields,(Sears)on my sedan,that are around 50 years old.I figured I would wear them out and replace them.They are wearing like iron,and ride like iron too.It looks like the new owner will have to decide what to do with them.
 
MW Riverside tires, to me, are/were one of the nicest looking tread patterns.

We had them on the '29 Tudor we bought in 1971 they lasted forever.

Like Keith we are running a set of Allstate-Bedford-Garfield tires today (all the same tire, same Charly Brown shirt zig-zag tread pattern AKA ugly) and the dang things won't wear out!
 
Here’s s nice one that didn’t seem to like being in the sun.
 

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An old guy told me that after the world is destroyed by a nuclear blast,when the dust settles there will be some arch in Japan that has survived everything,cockroaches,and those damn Allstate tires.I have a car that was parked in 1981.When I checked the tires in 2003 to drag it out of the barn it had 32 pounds in all four tires,but the spare was flat.The spare was a Mobil-Socony-Vacuum.
 
I just replaced a set of Allstate tires on my 29 Tudor. Tread was perfect, but they had sat flat for many years and the side walls showed it. They do wear like iron, but have an ugly tread.
 
Jeff/Illinois said:
MW Riverside tires, to me, are/were one of the nicest looking tread patterns.

We had them on the '29 Tudor we bought in 1971 they lasted forever.

Like Keith we are running a set of Allstate-Bedford-Garfield tires today (all the same tire, same Charly Brown shirt zig-zag tread pattern AKA ugly) and the dang things won't wear out!
Click to expand...

I hate those tires but as you said they last a long time . I always say they wear like iron and drive like hell! They have to be 30 years old tho as they haven’t been made for about that long or more .

Larry
 
Keith True said:
Garfield supplied Sears.If they supplied Monkey Wards it was a different design.Much more open,beefier tread,and looks good.i have some Garfields,(Sears)on my sedan,that are around 50 years old.I figured I would wear them out and replace them.They are wearing like iron,and ride like iron too.It looks like the new owner will have to decide what to do with them.
Click to expand...

That is good news for me then.My roadster has Sears Allstate tires on it and I bet they are 50 years old easily.They probably do not have 1000 miles on them if that,hold air but I see a crack here and there.Guess the tubes must be good to hold air,I may give them a try but will probably worry about a blow out. I bought a set of BF Goodrich 18" for a '32 Plymouth couple years ago and I was not happy at all with the quality and size discrepancies.The diameter was well over what Coker stated and spares would not fit in fenderwells with air in them,3-4" larger overall diameter than old Cokers they replaced. I swear on a couple hard brakes I made that tires spun on rims.
 
Wards Riverside model A 19 and 21 inch tires have a completely different tread pattern than the Sears Allstate and Garfield tires . I have no problem with the tread pattern of the Allstate model A tires . As a matter of fact , I kind of like the zig zag pattern .I have some Allstate tires that are 50 years old and older and I have never worn one out . If the tire has nylon cord it isn't likely that they will blow out from weather cracks in the rubber . The strength of the tire comes from the nylon lining .
 
The Wards Riverside brand name tires are still reproduced for the Model T clincher rims in 30X3 & 30X3.5 but not in anything else. I've read that Montgomery Wards started selling them as one of their first automotive line (Riverside) products back in 1912. I've read the repros are manufactured in Vietnam so they aren't as tough as they used to be.

MW likely had them made more cheaply by the manufacturer adding more carbon to the tire compound which not only made the darker (black) but it also made them more tough. Tough to wear out but tough to install as well.
 
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