1964- original tires $$ Value

[Don M.]

Guys, I have found a man who owns the original tires taken off my 64 Corvette. He removed them in 1987 and put them in his attic. The car had 25,000 miles when he removed them. Now, I have no idea how much tread is left.(I'm going to try to get him to give me an idea what tread is left) Hopefully he will give me a feel for how dry rotted they are. Hopefully they will hold air, BUT I guess if I have to I will install tubes. What do you think they are worth?? What do you think they add to the value$$$ of my Bloomington Survivor, hopeful Bow Tie Candidate.??? I have to make him and offer, but I don't want to get foolish. I also have to consider that I am going on his description, hopefully he gives me a good description, maybe I can get a photo or 2. I think they will surely add to the origianilty of a low mileage survivor.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

Don,

They add points for originality for Flight judging, but may not help at all for Bowtie or Survivor judging.

Why?

If your car has 60 000 miles now, then the odds of the tires having stayed on the car for all those miles are zero. So, the judges will not believe that they are the un-removed originals, and will discount them during judging. I know of one 71 that had about 18 000 miles on the tires and 23 000 (?) miles on the car. Tires weren't believed to be original (they were, just removed for 5 000 miles) and were not counted during Bowtie judging.

If your car still has 25 000 miles then you may be OK.

Patrick

[Don M.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

wow, okay, the man bought my car with 28,700 miles in 1984 he sold it in 87 with somewhere around 30,000 miles. I maybe able to tell exactly when and miles at time of sale. It now has 35,000 miles 20 years later. I talked to 3 previous owners, when I asked why they sold the car, they all said they were afraid to drive it so they sold it. It mostly just sat. I think it would be cool to have the original tires

[Bill I.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

Can't help with a dollar number. BUT if you get them, DO NOT DRIVE ON THEM! It's a accident waiting to happen. Bill.

[Duke W.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

Unless the car was driven by an old lady, I can't imagine that the original 6.70-15 tires would have much useable tread left on them after 25K miles.

Plus, uninsulated attics can get hot and heat degrades tires, so even if they look okay on visual inspection, they may have significant internal degradation that you can't see.

If the guy is reasonable, he should just offer them to you and consider that his good deed for the day.

Duke

[Don M.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

I would surely not drive the car any farther than the showfield to the trailer, and put tubes in them at that.

[Lynn H.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

Guys, I have found a man who owns the original tires taken off my 64 Corvette. He removed them in 1987 and put them in his attic. The car had 25,000 miles when he removed them. Now, I have no idea how much tread is left.(I'm going to try to get him to give me an idea what tread is left) Hopefully he will give me a feel for how dry rotted they are. Hopefully they will hold air, BUT I guess if I have to I will install tubes. What do you think they are worth?? What do you think they add to the value$$$ of my Bloomington Survivor, hopeful Bow Tie Candidate.??? I have to make him and offer, but I don't want to get foolish. I also have to consider that I am going on his description, hopefully he gives me a good description, maybe I can get a photo or 2. I think they will surely add to the origianilty of a low mileage survivor.

Don,
I agree with you that they would be neat to have, mostly for the sake of conversation, and possibly for some of the judging awards that have been mentioned in the thread. I really have no idea of any exact value, but will relate this story. These were Camaro tires, but maybe it will give you some kind of idea.
I had a neighbor give me four tires an couple of years ago, and said, "these have been in my heated garage for at least 20 years, maybe you can use them on your trailer or something". They looked pretty nice and I accepted them from him. Upon further investigation, I figured out they were 1967 date coded, non DOT, Goodyear Speedway tires, but I thought them to be a goofy size (they were 14", and I think D-70). Being the entrepreneurial type, I decided the heck with the trailer, these are going on ebay. Might even be worth something, but I did not have any idea how much so I started them for $100 no reserve. Keep in mind these were truly MINT. Absolutely no dry rot or cracks, never been mounted. I figure the market finds itself with things like this, especially since I did not know the original application. Long story short, they sold for $1500. The guy that purchased them drove about 5 hours the next day after ending, and paid cash. After the money changed hands, he told me what they were correct for, the 67 Camaro pace cars, and 67 Barracuda's only. Reproductions were not even close to original from what he told me.
Days later a friend told me he thought they may have been worth $4K. I figured if they were worth that someone would have bid higher, and was very pleased with what they sold for, as I got them for free. As I stated the market "finds" itself.
I know the Corvettes are a different breed (see the thread from Roy Braatz earlier today about parts), but I think for the sake of comparison, and conversation a couple of "assumptions" can be made from this.
If they were never mounted, like new, and in mint condition they COULD also be worth $1500, and probably more. Since you know them to be in no where near that condition, the price would be drastically reduced from that, depending on just "how nice" they are. If I were having to make the offer, and they had 1/2 tread, no rot, and really looked nice, I cannot imagine offering more than $500. My guess is they probably show some definite signs of aging, and if so, I would think more like $200 max., if I really wanted them. From Patrick's post it sounds like chances are slim that they would pass muster for the awards mentioned, unless they were exceptional. If that turns out to be the case, I think it is just a matter of how bad you want them. I have been known to overpay for many things, just because I wanted them. After all that said, I think I have to say that I agree with Duke, this guy should just give them to you, or maybe just accept a free dinner.

[Tom S.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

Without seeing them it is hard to say. But I would not give anymore than $500.00 and then just for conversation sake. As stated above the judges might not believe they are the original tires.

[William C.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

I'm with Duke, 28K on original 6:70 15 tires??? Only thing left would be the cords if that.

[John D.]

Re: 1964- original tires $$ Value

I'm with Duke, 28K on original 6:70 15 tires??? Only thing left would be the cords if that.

Ditto. Original tires with almost 30,000 miles on them aren't worth buying. I pity the poor guy at the tire shop when he has to put air in them as they might blow up in his face. Whew!!!
And they especially are not worth installing except for the spare to pick up a few points. My 63, the LWC (501) has the original spare in it. Wouldn't want to use it though.

I have a set of original 84 tires. But I no longer have my May 83 car as it was stolen.

Read the Corvette Judging Reference Manual. Only a minor deduct for good repro tires. JD