Muscle Car Tires - Muscle Car Of The Week Episode #354

preview_player
Показать описание
Muscle Car Tires - Muscle Car Of The Week Episode #354

They say it all happens when the rubber meets the road… either you go up in smoke, or you hook up and win the race! Muscle Cars have evolved tremendously since the 1960s, with tire technology making some of the biggest advances. This time, we’re taking a look back at some of the skins you could get on first generation muscle cars.

Tires were more of a necessity and a safety item in the mid 1960s. Tire companies went out of their way to advertise traction in poor weather conditions, like deep snow, heavy rain, and slick ice. Check out the Frank Sinatra look-alike in his ‘67 Fairlane 500 sporting Firestone Wide Ovals in the snow! Come to think of it, we rarely see snow tires even advertised anymore, as most tires are of the all-season variety. In 1965, you swapped on snow tires or even studded rubber for the winter.

But as the performance of Muscle Cars began to take off, tire companies saw a need for hi-po rubber to match. In those days, tires were constructed using a bias-ply design, where reinforcing cords ran diagonally across the tire’s section width, forming the buldged-out sides and crew-cut flat tread surfaces. 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustangs came equipped with Goodyear Blue-Dot specials, advertised to handle 130 MPH. (Ep 17 for b-roll of Shelby & tires) While these might have been considered high-speed skins, their narrow width looks more like a pie-tin than a race tire.

Wide white wall tires gave way to white pinstripes, which turned into red lines in the mid 1960s. ‘65 Corvettes even offered gold stripes with knock-off wheels, and blue stripes appeared as well. Some tires featured multiple white or red stripes, with the ‘65 Thunderbird having both red and white lines. Redline tires have always suggested high-performance.

But the next craze in tire design was the raised-white-letter style, often times calling out the size, and also advertising the tire company on the sidewall. Tires were starting to become fashionable, as this outrageous ad for Goodyear Wide Tread GTs - or Wide Boots as they call ‘em! THAT, is an awesome tire commercial.

Goodyear and Firestone were in a racing tire battle, and they took it to the streets with the Goodyear Polyglas and Polyglas GT versus the Firestone Wide Oval and Wide Oval 60s.

Goodyear Polyglas tires were introduced in 1967 and combined the polyester cord material with fiberglass belts under the tread, and were factory installed on the Pontiac GTO, Dodge Charger R/T, Ford Mustang Mach I, and Chevrolet Camaro Z-28.

This spot featured an AMX, and the “squirm fighting” Goodyear Polyglas tire, note the Spyder Motor Wheel used in this commercial!

Goodyear Polyglas GTs were similar, but in the shorter 60 series sidewall ratio for better cornering.

The Firestone Wide Oval was also available on brand-new Muscle Cars. Firestone Wide Oval Super Sports are shown on this 1967 Camaro, and featured a similar bias-ply design, and were also sold in 60 series.

There were many other performance and racing tires available for Muscle Cars, like the M&H Racemaster and JC Penney A/FX slick tires to the Mickey Thompson Indy Profile street tires. Other performance raised-white letter bias ply tires included the General Grabber and Atlas Mark IV. General Grabbers, seen on this Mercury Cougar, featured a triple redline design.

Atlas tires were Esso gas-station replacements, but their Mark IV featured redline styling and decent performance for the price.

Bias-ply designs evolved to higher-technology radial tires, with steel cords going straight over the top of the tire from rim edge to rim edge. These provided better cornering and wear resistance. Popular tires included names like Goodyear Eagle, Pro-Trac, and Firestone 500, among many others. Problems with the Firestone 500 coming apart triggered massive recalls and almost buried the company in the 1970s. Perhaps the most popular raised-white-letter Radial is the BF Goodrich Radial TA.

Some of these cool vintage bias-ply tires are reproduced today, but many are original on some of the cars we’ve featured from The Brothers Collection, like the Goodyear Blue Streaks found on the 1968 Shelby GT500 from episode 249 of Muscle Car Of The Week.

I once was chatting with a tire executive, and we both agreed that burning rubber is one of the best smells for gearheads, but for different reasons. For me, it was the thrill of speed and racing. He just said “Tire smoke smells like money.”

We hope our look at vintage Muscle Car rubber didn’t tire you out… don’t worry, we’ll be back with something else cool from The Brothers Collection next time on Muscle Car Of The Week!

#WideOval #Tires #Polyglas #MuscleCar #V8TV

Рекомендации по теме
Комментарии
Автор

That was very nostalgic! That presentation should gain a lot of traction with viewers. 😄

jeffreyrubish
Автор

Great info and fantastic vintage footage! Loved this episode!

michaelclarke
Автор

On the "wide boots" ad I was waiting for Austin Powers to drive up in his Jag and say "Yeah baby" Awesome old commercials.

tonypoore
Автор

Great video again 👌
Reminds me of great times with my 71 Camaro Z28. What a car.
Thanks for showing and Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹👍
Stay safe.

stefanmayr
Автор

Thanks Kevin,
great overview about history and usage of those tyres on the muscle cars.

gatormcclusky
Автор

We aren't "tired" of this series, keep them coming!

kenh
Автор

My 1968 Lemans H/O came with optional radial tires, its on my PHS sheet. Right now I have Firestone G70-14's in Redline form...I love the look, have gotten SO many compliments on the tires...people saying "I haven't seen those tires for decades" or "I remember those". Mine are bias ply and I actually like the ride they have.

bobsilver
Автор

My 1st car was a '68 Firebird 400 convertible that had Mikey Thompsons on the back. In order to fit them it had air shocks on her. I had to air those shocks up everyday in the Wisconsin winter. I ordered a '76 Cutlass Supreme with the Olds ralley wheel and it came with RWL" Goodyear steel belted radial". My '67 Chevelle has been riding on RWL B F Goodrich Radial T/A's for the last 30 years and is my pick for the best looking muscle car tire out there.

marka
Автор

The Goodyear Boots ad even featured my car, an AMX! You don't see that everyday...
Whoa! And a Gremlin, too!?! I must be in heaven - well, car heaven, anyway...!

unastamus
Автор

I learn one little tidbit every episode. I love them all

JESJACKDAD
Автор

Snow tires are still a thing sir, repectfully. A canadian neighbor

brob
Автор

This trip down "memory lane" regarding tires was a nice addition to the already excellent uploads you share. Throwing in the pop culture and social history of the era add to the appeal of this YT channel. Keep it up, and thanks for the quality work.

andyk
Автор

Those old commercials were awesome. I was born in 1963, but I don’t remember commercials like those.

rickintexas
Автор

Great video! I am enjoying your informational ones, special the one on compression ratios. Look forward to more.

JokerS
Автор

I used to buy a set of Goodyear recapped g-60-14 tires for the rear of my 73 Dart Sport 340 every weekend. Wore them to the cords.

scottste
Автор

Tidbits... When Goodyear stopped retailing the Polyglas GT, the molds were sold and it became the Lee Manhandler. In my old stomping grounds, Caldwell Tire in Pasadena, California, used to buy up worn bias ply tires and retread them with a very soft rubber for the street racers. Soft enough to stick your fingernail into, they made a heck of a difference in hook on my 455 442. No warranty, though!

x
Автор

Great episode! Growing up in Europe, my dad's cars had radial tires on them from the mid 60s onwards. I was astonished when I found out, that e.g. Corvettes didn't get them until 1973. One thing I don't get: It's become really hard to find decent street tires for muscle cars in 14" or 15" sizes. Don't get me started on the quality of BF Goodrich, Cooper Cobras or similar rubber. I wish Goodyear would have continued evolving their Eagle line to today's technology in sizes for our vintage cars.

Yankeededandy
Автор

Melted rubber smells like $$$$, gee what a surprise!!!

enerrivers
Автор

Very informative.Kevin Tires are an important part of a car, no tires mean you ain't going nowhere.Much like oil, water and gasoline in a way, plus of course the electrics.

TheFokker
Автор

Nice to feature car related items. It breaks the ice and I hope to see more.

duradim
welcome to shbcf.ru