Antique tires

**Kdancy** · 07-27-2014, 07:53 AM

I've recently purchased 4 NOS Sears Allstate whitwall tires that were found in an abandoned warehouse, old bias ply made back in the 50's.
Which products do you recommend to clean and preserve them?

**57BORNTORUN** · 07-27-2014, 08:00 AM

You dont plan on driving on them do you?

**Setec Astronomy** · 07-27-2014, 08:09 AM

Pictures? I'd love to see some new/unused tires from 60 years ago and how they have aged. To the point that 57BORNTORUN made, you'd better think about whether they are safe to drive on at more than driveway speeds.

**Kdancy** · 07-27-2014, 10:38 AM

My plan is to clean them up and apply some type of protection. Prep and paint 4 stock Hudson or Studebaker rims and mount them with tubes on the rims. Then use them only for shows to have the period correct look without going to newly built tires. These have no cracks at all and are the correct stock size I want.
The guy that found them took the wrap off ):

**Setec Astronomy** · 07-27-2014, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Kdancy

Then use them only for shows to have the period correct look without going to newly built tires. These have no cracks at all

So that's just on and off the trailer? Because having no cracks doesn't really mean anything, they haven't been under any load, I'd hate for you to have a catastrophic failure in your Hudson or Studebaker while you were driving on the highway to a show.

Another member had a thread about using his 12 year old spare tire as a regular tire, and a lot of members told him he was nuts and was going to have a blowout. I was one who said it would be fine, and luckily, it was.

But using a set of tires that's perhaps 60 years old, back when rubbers and generally quality control weren't as good, is pushing it, IMO. Be careful.

**Kdancy** · 07-27-2014, 07:41 PM

Two years ago I was working on a 1937 Hudson Terraplane that had a couple of tires on it that were made in the 40's.
I drove it all over locally with those tires before installing new ones to finish the build. My experience has been that you don't have the dry rot issues with bias belted tires that you have with radials. radials get scarry, even unused ones, after ten +years.

**MPBGT** · 07-27-2014, 08:50 PM

We had a 62 Chrysler Newport that we bought as a parts car. It had brand new bias plus on it, still had the blue on the whitewalls. We pumped them up and they we're find around town. I would not do high speed.
As for products I would use a good protectant, I'm biased to 303 since I work for the company and it's what I used on the Newport. I'm sure other people will chime in with other options.

**geekdout** · 07-27-2014, 09:02 PM

Even if you say you are just using it for shows at some point you are going to be driving around town on them. I don't think it comes down to if they will fail but when they will fail.

You can get just about anything from Coker Tire.

**MPBGT** · 07-28-2014, 08:32 AM

I don't think that anyone is advocating using these for a dd, but there is a significant difference between radial and bias ply tires. Typical radial failure is tread separation and is almost immediate blowout and or loss of control. Bias ply will normally start throwing small pieces of rubber and falling apart. Usually it's not an immediate blowout.
Again I'm not advocating using old tires for a car you drive on any type of regular basis. however the collector car world does it all the time on either all original cars or cars that have been restored for years and the tires are now 10+ years old.

Back to the op's question I suggest a good cleaning and a quality protectant.

**Setec Astronomy** · 07-28-2014, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by MPBGT

I don't think that anyone is advocating using these for a dd, but there is a significant difference between radial and bias ply tires. Typical radial failure is tread separation and is almost immediate blowout and or loss of control. Bias ply will normally start throwing small pieces of rubber and falling apart. Usually it's not an immediate blowout.
Again I'm not advocating using old tires for a car you drive on any type of regular basis. however the collector car world does it all the time on either all original cars or cars that have been restored for years and the tires are now 10+ years old.

Thanks for that additional info. In the old days I would have been "cool! vintage tires!" but I seem to be getting more conservative and a little chicken &%@# in my old age.