GR70-15 Radials

[Steven B.]

Re: GR70-15 Radials

I have an old AF buddy who is a Firestone/Bridgestone tire engineer. I posed the question to him after the previous posts a few months ago and he told me he personally will not drive on tires over 5 or 6 years old due to degradation and separations that are not always easily visible.

[Michael W.]

Re: GR70-15 Radials

Question: Would these tires score better than the Goodyear GTII in size P225/75-15 that are now on the car?

I've never seen evidence that they were supplied on any '73 so would think that you would do worse with them during judging.

As other have said I would use them for driving.

[Joan W.]

Re: GR70-15 Radials

My '73 Top Flight has the original Firestone 500 spare that is unique without the white lettering. I have never seen anything close to this at any swap meet or judging event. If you had your tires recalled back in the day would they have replace all 5 tires including the spare or just the four sneakers? I used a Firestone 225 size replacement for the judging. One other mention to people looking for original tires is that these were all date coded. Even if you find an old set of 500's you will get a deduct if it has the wrong date. So why would anyone in their right mind spend a grand on old rotted tires that should have been recalled in the first place. I really feel in our instance this is a dangerous proposition for NCRS to ask any one to put on their vehicle recalled tires that are over 40 yrs. old.

I want to also give a shout out to Lyle in assisting me with advice and parts in achieving my Top Flight. I consider Lyle the premier expert on '73's.

[Steven B.]

Re: GR70-15 Radials

I can't speak to the recall for the '73 tires but when my '77 tires were recalled all 5 were to be replaced.

[Michael W.]

Re: GR70-15 Radials

So why would anyone in their right mind spend a grand on old rotted tires that should have been recalled in the first place. I really feel in our instance this is a dangerous proposition for NCRS to ask any one to put on their vehicle recalled tires that are over 40 yrs. old.

Which is why there is a generous allowance for driving points. Install modern tires, drive to the meet (that's fun in it's own right you know), save the worry of using old dry rotted tires, save the 1K you would have spent, and save the cost of pulling a trailer. The driving points will offset some/all of the points docked for having the 'wrong' tires.

Nobody says that cars must be restored without regard to common sense, budget- or especially safety.

[Oliver B.]

Re: GR70-15 Radials

I also still have my '77s white lettered spare. (Without any separation problem visible from the outside...)

I am keeping it with the car, but in case of a tire losing air (hope this will never happen on the roads) I rely on a spray to seal the hole and resupply pressure instead of using the spare tire.