Can anyone tell me where i can buy the correct tires for my 65. I need the correct ones that might have been on the car. I need the name of the company. Thanks
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Re: 65 Tires
About as close as you will come is with Kelsey tire company, I don't have the address, but I believe he has a website -
Re: 65 Tires
Ronnie,
When you say "correct tires for my '65" do you mean a 35 year-old set of NON-DOT, Bias Ply, 7.75"x15", Firestone, US, General, BF Goodrich, or Goodyear's? If so you better be sitting down, they could run you several thousand dollars! If you want reproduction tires of the correct size and manufacturer check with any of the bigger Corvette Restoration Catalog business's (Eckler's, Corvette Central, Mid America, etc) I believe they all carry them. Good Luck.Comment
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Need to clarify....
When you say 'correct' tires for your '65, you open Pandora's box as this can be a case of asking, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin"....
Fit and function is one sense of 'correct' and there's a wide range of rubber you can put on your car, from $50/tire to $150 depending on what level of deduction you will allow in a factory concours judging environment. Modern radial service replacement tires work great and get you a little less that 50% credit as they differ in tread, sidewall markings and profile from the factory original 7.75x15 bias ply tires that Chevy installed at St. Louis in '65 on your car. You can get replacement radials (P205xR75-15 if I remember what's called out as acceptable in the Judging Guide correctly) from Firestone, Goodyear, Etc. (the exact specs and acceptable mfgr brands are listed in the NCRS Judging Guide for your car).
Next, you step up to reproduction original tires. These are made today by licensees and differ from factory originals in that they have DOT emboss (by law) and some take liberty with width of white wall, placement, size of sidewall font, Etc. In this category, you're up into the $100-150 per tire range and staring at a 10-40% originality deduction based on specifics of the source/brand you buy. The biggest guy in this area is Corker Tire, you'll find 'em in Hemmings, on the web, and in the NCRS Driveline magazine from time to time.
Last, you want to be a purist and have ORIGINAL/ORIGINAL tires on the car. This is a labor of love! Individuals find the real McCoy rubber one at a time getting out of the trunks of scrap yard oldie-but-goodie cars. These do NOT have DOT marks and it's a real art to find and gather correct sets of 4-5 of each -- expect to pay $300/tire for rubber that's TRULY NOS and never been on the ground (original injection threads still hanging from tread pattern) with your best source being NCRS Driveline magazine and Hemmings Motor News.Comment
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Re: 65 Tires
Bill and Ronnie-----
Kelsey is at www.kelseytire.com. They are located in Camdenton, MO but you can buy their Goodyear reproduction tires through your local Goodyear dealer for the same price as direct from Kelsey. You will have to pay shipping from Camdenton in both cases. Corvette Central has had a deal in the past in which if you purchase a complete set of these tires from them, they will pay the shipping. Of course, then, you'll have to pay someone to mount them unless you have a tire machine in your garage.
Coker Tire (www.cokertire.com) of Chatanooga, TN sells reproduction Firestone and B. F. Goodrich tires.
All of these reproduction tires will cost you in the $150-200 each price range. You will not find them to be very good road tires, either.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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