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Technical Do folks collect really old tires?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by greenie-reddy, Jan 18, 2026.

  1. greenie-reddy
    Joined: Nov 23, 2009
    Posts: 1,166

    greenie-reddy
    Member
    from maryland

    I came across this really old, and unusual Firestone Gum Dipped 6.70-15 tire. Never used. Obviously it was intended to serve a taxi cab. It is heavy and well-built, most likely to survive rough city streets.
    If you’ve been to the America on Wheels car museum in Allentown, PA they have the taxi used in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”- where the thoughtful taxi driver stops Jimmy Stewart (George Bailey” ) from jumping into the icy river near the mystical Beaver Falls. The taxi is an original from the Yellow Cab Company- a part of GMC trucks.
    Maybe I’ll donate it!
     

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    Last edited: Jan 18, 2026
  2. It always surprises me when something as mundane as a tire survives all these years brand spanking new .

    it’s a tire , nothing special when new , a product designed for a purpose , to wear out and be discarded . What happened , what’s the story that this tire not only survived but survived in new condition ?
    You would think at some point it would have simply been installed on a car , a boat dock , a tire swing , dog chew toy !!

    nothing at all special about this tire when it was new . Finding it now, in the shape it’s in …. Pretty damn cool .
     
    cfmvw, clem, ClayMart and 1 other person like this.
  3. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 14,451

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

  4. dwollam
    Joined: Oct 22, 2012
    Posts: 2,842

    dwollam
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I have some old tires but they are not NOS. A couple of them are really old Non Skid tires. Wall hangers.

    Dave
     
    winduptoy likes this.
  5. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 739

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    This well surviving model T tire found me a while ago. “PHARIS ROADGRIPPER CORD”. Apparently I’m a couple generations too late to fight over the family fortune…:rolleyes:

    IMG_3535.jpeg
     
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  6. There is a whole thread somewhere here ***led "show your old tire " or something similar.
     
    winduptoy likes this.
  7. 5window
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 10,034

    5window
    Member

    Wrong movie ***le, but here's an interesting link:
     
  8. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    Man I love old tires IMG_3756.jpeg IMG_3754.jpeg IMG_3753.jpeg IMG_3751.jpeg IMG_1468.jpeg IMG_1472.jpeg IMG_1470.jpeg IMG_1469.jpeg IMG_1473.jpeg
     
    tractorguy, Squablow, jet996 and 9 others like this.
  9. Adriatic Machine
    Joined: Jan 26, 2008
    Posts: 957

    Adriatic Machine
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Some people collect tires, others are just tired of hoarding sh!t:D
     
    southerncad likes this.
  10. rusty valley
    Joined: Oct 25, 2014
    Posts: 4,370

    rusty valley
    Member

    I had this one for a while. Sold cheap at my auction. Only one I've ever seen. 81646CB5-53B6-44BE-ACDB-A5E60BF9FCEF.jpeg F2EF2075-2482-427E-8BA1-BF27E52DB3D5.jpeg
     
    Squablow, jet996, loudbang and 5 others like this.
  11. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 60,070

    squirrel
    Member

    I keep these hanging around, mostly because racer-x wants them, but I don't want to ship them to Wisconsin.

    tires.jpg
     
    jet996, Tickety Boo, BigRRR and 2 others like this.
  12. lothiandon1940
    Joined: May 24, 2007
    Posts: 32,579

    lothiandon1940
    Member

    What causes old tires to get hard? Is it something at the molecular level? Seriously, what in the aging process causes them to get so hard? On another thought, I was always told to not store tires near any electric motor due to the ozone emitted by them which causes tires to age pre-maturely.
     
    Tickety Boo likes this.
  13. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
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  14. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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  15. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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  16. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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  17. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    Goodyear rally gt N50-15 on 15x14 Ansen sprint slots IMG_7142.jpeg IMG_7141.jpeg IMG_7140.jpeg
     
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  18. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
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  19. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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  20. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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  21. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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  22. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    When I was building the zinger clones I needed wide Indy tires, I bought a few more than I needed

    IMG_7135.jpeg
     
  23. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 8,294

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A little more trivia; the "thoughtful taxi driver" named Ernie was played by Frank Faylen, who was later to gain fame with us older folks by playing Dobie Gillis' long suffering father, Herbert T. Gillis, owner of Gillis's Grocery on the "Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" in the late fifties and early sixties. He was a veteran of WWII "The Big One" as was verified by his appearance in the end of "Yankee Doodle Dandy", where he asks James Cagney's character George M. Cohan if he doesn't remember his own songs.

    As to tires : in the 1980's I was at a business meeting at the Cargill Inc. main office. There, in the lobby, was a 6.00-16 tire prominently labelled "Cargill", with a placard saying that it was made of soybeans as a replacement for rubber during WWII. It was very deteriorated, which indicated to me that it was not a successful subs***ution.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2026
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  24. 29Sleeper
    Joined: Oct 25, 2023
    Posts: 569

    29Sleeper
    Member
    from SoCal

    Old good condition race tires bring big money from restorers for museum cars. I imagine other OE tires also would bring good money to someone restoring a car to trailer queen day 1 condition.
     
  25. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 38,163

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
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    tires are pretty easy to ship, cut circles of carboard that cover the openings wrap tape around them to hold the cardboard on. put the tires in a large yard size trash bag and wrap arount them with strapping tape, if the tires are narrow enough, 2 can go in one bag. Tape wrap so the bag is tight. attach a label and call the Fed X or UPS man for pickup or take them to their shipping store
    IMG_3696.jpeg IMG_3698.jpeg
     
  26. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 17,226

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I’d like to sell them but who knows?Firestone Bonneville 820-15’s never mounted IMG_6291.jpeg IMG_6285.jpeg IMG_6287.jpeg
     
  27. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 65,032

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I should have known Mark would collect old tires, amazing collection! HRP
     
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  28. dwollam
    Joined: Oct 22, 2012
    Posts: 2,842

    dwollam
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I forgot a couple oher old tires! I have the original Ford tire that was the spare for my '40 Ford Tudor. 6.00x16 and also have an old Fisk tire 32x4.

    Dave
     
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  29. RodStRace
    Joined: Dec 7, 2007
    Posts: 9,287

    RodStRace
    Member

    Curios, collectors and if OE for some expensive old car. The rest are a waste of space for almost everyone, but make sure you've got at least one to toss in the bed before you drop the engine in! :D
    A set of rollers in the sizes you want are handy, too.
     
  30. Carter
    Joined: Mar 18, 2006
    Posts: 1,540

    Carter
    Member

    Yes, especially old Wards Riverside and Firestone tires.

    IMG_20221015_205207209.jpg


    20250912_183433.jpg


    IMG_20221015_205241524.jpg


    IMG_20210831_190808980.jpg


    20250528_163336.jpg


    Still looking for some 6.00-18 Firestone Indy half treads and some 17" and 18" Wards Riverside in a few tread patterns and sizes!
     

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