Original tire care

[lowmile]

What is the best way to preserve the original tires off of a car? They are 30 years old Firestones and have VERY small cracks in them but are still in great shape and they're still on the original wheels. They hold air very well but I took them off of the car and put a set of radials on it for now. Thanks, Mark

[lowmile]

Tire pic

[jbclassics]

Good move taking them off the car Mark, don't ven think about driving on them they sound like they have dry rotted
pretty badly and road heat from driving will cause them
shread apart....(I have experience /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif)

If you want to save the old tires for shows use a tire dressing that does not contain alcohol, it dries out
the rubber and causies cracking.

[Nova Research Project]

lowmile,

Does you spare still have the orginal 4 letter marking on the tread?

Greg

[lowmile]

I'll check the spare. The tire pic is one that is off of the car.

[lowmile]

Yes, the markings are still there, but they are very hard to read. I think the last 3 letters are TEA. I'll look at it in the daylight and see if I can see it any better. Do you know the deal on the aqua line on the tread? It goes around most of the tread and is about the with of what an ink pen would make. Mark

[Nova Research Project]

Mark,

I think the aqua (or other color) line was on most tires. It was applied in the mold like the other lettering. Other than that I do not know what it signified. Any chance of emailing a picture of the code?
Thanks, Greg

[SS427]

Mark,
If by chance you have a build sheet, the tire code is listed in box 93. Those numbers/letters are stamped on the tire. If you have the sheet, check it against the stampings.
Rick

[lowmile]

I'll try to get a pic of it. It might not show up. Mark

[lowmile]

I've had a good many Nova's and have usually been able to find a build sheet, if I looked. You think it would be a sure-thing to find one in a 5000 mile car but no luck so far. /ubbthreads/images/icons/confused.gif And you know how important it is to have when your trying to document a real 6 cly three speed on the column car. As we all know there are a few people out there trying to pass off their old big blocks cars as real 6cly cars. Good doucumentation is everything...... /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif Mark

[SS427]

Dennis Cumby just forwarded a photo of an original spare out of his Nova to me. He stated there was no letters/numbers on the tread only a stripe so the build sheet code may not apply like it does to the Chevelles. In some cases, they were a different manufacturer and maybe the white wall vs raised white letter tires might have something to do with it.
Rick

[Nova Research Project]

NNN had a picture on a low mile car with an intact spare with KODB (I think) on the tread. This is the 70 broadcast copy code for the BF Goodrich Silvertown dual white stripe white walls. Different manufactures could have coded them differently. The broadcast copy has 4 spaces for tire code. Boxes 266-276 on the Chassis Broadcast. Greg

[ORIGLS6]

OK, I know this thread started about the care of original tires and we've deviated some but I'm going to display my total ignorance of this matter. When were the stamping/markings placed on the tires? Were these done at the tire manufacturer or were they applied at the assembly plants? If done at the manufacturer, were the specs supplied by GM and were they different markings for each supplier, i.e., Goodyear, Firestone, Uniroyal, General? A lot of questions, I know but this is getting interesting. Anal, but interesting!
(Hi, Rick) /ubbthreads/images/icons/crazy.gif

[Mr70]

Hi Dennis
I watched a 16mm 45 min. movie I found titled "1967 Chevrolet and Uniroyals".
It is a great feature film showing the Tires being made from scratch,then tested on Chevrolet cars.It looks like the codes (Like L8DS in my 70 application) were applied to the tread during tire assembly.The codes appear to be different,but it is hard to see them all in this fast moving movie.
I also have 12 B&W Polaroid pictures of tires taken during assembly in Oct 1966 at the Baltimore tire assembly plant.They clearly show the codes being applied during tire construction,then mouned on rims for shipping.
I am not a tire expert,but it looks like these tread tire codes were done by the tire manufacturers,then shipped to prospectve Assembly plants where they were put onto the cars.

[SS427]

Rick,
Do you recall, were these codes roll stamped prior to the tire tread being formed or afterwards?
Rick

[ORIGLS6]

Do you know if GM set the specs for the codes? I'm just wondering if they related to the manufacturer, the tire size, the application (Chevelle, Camaro, Nova), etc. Has anyone seen identical codes, such as "L8DS", on different brands of tires?

[Mr70]

It looks like the code was applied after the tread was formed.I think the codes designated the tires application to what car.But not certain.

I have a picture of a 1970 Monte Carlo with 1-7 code on its spare.

L8DS seems to be on almost all my 1970 Chevelle buildsheets.But a few have L8DM. And one odd ball has L9DM.
Bill Bonhams Survivor LS6 has L8DM 5 in box 93.Yet the photo I took of his Chevelle in Atlanta 95 shows His Original authentic spare tire says L8DW.I believe this is an M upside down.

[SS427]

Thanks to mr70 for loaning me his paper stamps which I used as a template to make more permanent ones. This is a shot of the markings on a yet unfinished spare tire.

[SS427]

.........and a shot of the front tire mounted on the car also showing the markings and color bands. Talk about anal!

Thanks to Chuck Hanson for the use of their HPTV studio.

[ORIGLS6]

Gotta love the details! /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif