I have an old set of 7.50-7.75-14 General tires with triple thin white stripe sidewalls. They are in surprisingly nice shape for their age and very little tread wear. I would guess they probably around 40 to 45 years old, there is no date coding on the sidewall. I think they would look great on a custom that rolls on 14" chrome reverse wheels. Does anyone know when this style of tire was last produced, I haven't seen any in quite some time until I came across this set.
Those look amazing! IIRC, the triple ribbons came out in/around 1965 (they were used on '66 Imperials IIRC) - I think they were offered on some GM 'luxury' cars until 70 or 71...will check through my 'archives' of old tire ads to see what I can find about those Generals specifically.
Correction, those tires were introduced around 1962; here's a link to a General "Dual 90" ad in the August 24, 1962 issue of Life; http://books.google.com/books?id=DU...PA12#v=onepage&q=general dual 90 tire&f=false Looks like (per General advertising) they were replaced by the "Dual S-90" (slightly different tread pattern & 'stripes') in 1967-68, so there's your range for that specific tire. '67 Adverti*****t (snagged from ebay) '68 Adverti*****t;
Thank you for the info, now I have a better idea on what era car these would look best on. Viva la H.A.M.B. !
The Hurst wheels have been reproduced, however their construction is completely different. They sell for a little over 2K for a set.
General Dual 90's. The ***y setup in 1966. I had a set of dual 90's on the rear of my '57 Fuelie BelAir hardtop in the '66-'67 era of my street rat days. They looked very cool and were ultra sticky. The downside was being miserable to balance. I think it had something to do with the puncture sealant goo inside them. They did have cl*** though. I used to see luxury barges running them, Imperials, Cadillac's, Lincoln's and the local Boston pimps. Big status tire for that crowd. There is a guy in my county that still has a set on his Maroon '65 GTO with those original Hurst wheels. He's the only one running a set I've seen in probably 35 years. I'm going to see if Diamond Back can make a set up for my Model A street rod I'm finishing. I like being different.
Diamondback Tires repops a 3 stripe radial in 235 75R15 series, but they have two narrow outer bands and a thicker inner band. Pricey though. $254-$264 ea. No bias plys or 14"er's, that I know of. I'd be leery of running a 45yr old tire, though, but that's just me. Do what thou will. Those are sweet looking though and those wheels!!
Had a set of 40 year old Bias wide whites I put on my T-Bird a couple of years ago and drove them 3000 miles without a problem and the car still has them in it! Old Radials is a different story!
I have had a few old cars with like new 40-50 year old bias plys. Non showed ANY rot. Never had a problem. ( but I never exceeded 50 mph)
Yeah,I'm not saying you cant run 40+ year old tires, I'm just saying, I aint gonna. Especially on my 5400lb Lincoln. lol
I drove the T-Bird at 70 mph all day on some pretty long trips no issues. And it drove better than it did with the radials that were on it when I bought it. I now own the tires that started this thread and will run them on my next project.
The tired argument of "old bias-ply tires are dangerous" is just that, an old argument. If a tire is soft, then it'll work just great. I've mounted some "used" radial tires that were mighty hard, and to my knowledge they lasted just fine. I've jammed 50+ year old motorcycle tires, with no problem. If the rubber is soft, it'll work just fine. If it crumbles, then it'll fall apart. Those tires look RAD.
Damn. I didn't mean to start a great debate over old bias ply safety, that's why I stated in my original post, "do what thou will". I'm sure there are plenty of Chi made radials out there that are less safe than 40 year old bias tires. I think any owner of old tires can use sensible judgement as to if they are safe to use or not. I personally just aint gonna run em on my vehicles. I love the look of the triple stripes and if they are useable, have at it, because more then likely, you aint gonna find another full set any time soon. PEACE!!
A local old junkyard has a few cars with double and triple thin white wall tires on them,most look to have been sitting since the 70s and I was also wondering when they came on the scene. I had a 71 country squire that looked to have the original spare and it was one.
Sid drove his dads model A coupe that was built in the 40's with WW bias tires from the 40's to our store, tires look great! It was featured in one of the magazines last year. And the bias WWW tires and wheels I bought from Toast several years ago I drive interstate often.
When I bought the Ron Hing 56 chev convert last fall it still had its original 1962 General dual 90 triple whitewalls on it. while they looked pretty good, they were flatspotted pretty bad and I changed them out right away
Holy moderator batman, you just Lazarethed a 10-year-old thread. If this was about radials, they don't even last ten years.
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