1962 corvette tire white walls turn brown ???

[Elwyn S.]

The white walls on 2 of my tires turn brown. The front left tire and the right rear tire. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I have checked the brake wheel cylinders for leakage and found nothing leaking. I have looked for a possible tire overheating issue and found nothing. I did have a bad radiator cap and I was losing coolant, but I have since fixed this problem with a new cap. Any ideas. Thank you in advance for any imputs.

[Steven B.]

Re: 1962 corvette tire white walls turn brown ???

Elwyn, the discoloration is often caused by the mold release used at the factory. We used the same release agent molding disc brake pads years ago and the "pucks", as we called them, would turn brown where they came in contact with the release agent. Blackwalls will turn brown, also. I have used mineral spirits and thinner to remove the brown from my blackwalls and white letters.

Steve

[Gary B.]

Re: 1962 corvette tire white walls turn brown ???

I used a steel wool pad and small stiff brush with Ajax.

[Elwyn S.]

Re: 1962 corvette tire white walls turn brown ???

Steve, Thank You for your response. I will try the mineral spirits, to clean the white walls, I used bleach with no luck. It just seemed odd to me that it was only happening to 2 tires. I was worried something bad mechanically may be going on. I will look for brake deposit dust when I pull the tires back off and pull the brake drum covers. I did inspect the rubber seal that plugs the brake adjuster slot and they seemed good on all 4 drums.

[Chuck S.]

Re: 1962 corvette tire white walls turn brown ???

Most retail tire dressings also accumulate with use and begin to make even the black portion of your tires look brown and dirty.

Tire dressings are an easy way to make your tires look nice today, but you'll pay in the long run. The brown accumulation can be scrubbed off, but not easily. The best way to make your tires look new again is to simply scrub them well with a stiff brush and strong detergent. Use a soapy sponge on the wheels and covers. If the tires are really bad, use SOS steel wool soap pads (tires only, not the wheels or wheelcovers).

[Richard S.]

Re: 1962 corvette tire white walls turn brown ???

I have had the problem on my 60' for several years and assume that it is just rust from the wheels that drains down under the hub caps. Have used bleach with a good scrubing with good results.