Vintage Firestone Gold Line Tires Mounted

[Glenn B.]

After a very long wait, I finally acquired a complete set of the Firestone Gold Line Indy tires that Coker Tire is making in very limited quantities. Coker acquired the original specs and drawings from Firestone and is constructing them with modern materials...they are also "tubed". They aren't speed rated, so i appreciate that care will need to be taken. These are the same tires that the folks as Ford installed on their restoration of P1032.

They fill the wheel wells perfectly on my SPF P2270. I have attached pictures showing a comparison between the Firestones and the Avons....love the look. I need to lower the rear end 3/4" and realign due to the big difference in diameter. The rears are absolutely huge. I couldn't believe it when they bolted right on and cleared everything.

I had to fly out of town right after mounting them, but can't wait to get back and feel the sensation of the chassis with the vintage rubber just to get a closer idea of what the car was like "in the day". I'll report back.

 

[Kevin L]

Those tires look great, really fill up the wheel well nicely

 

[Ron Scarboro]

Cool! Why not lettered on one side?

 

[Glenn B.]

Ron,

The non-lettered tires are the Avons that were previously on the car. Sorry that my post wasn't clear on that point. These are before and after pictures showing the size difference between the original specified Firestone tires and the Avons that are commonly used by many SPF owners. The Firestones are lettered all the way around the car.

 

[Fabrice]

Wonderfull reality, she look like a die cast 1/1 scale!

Great add on

 

[Geert-Jan]

Becuase of the difference in diameter, I think your tacho reading will be off

 

[Jimmy P]

Makes the gold wheels and black paint really POP! Very, nice.

 

[Victors]

Glenn,

Are those cross-ply? Are they road approved (DOT)?

They make a difference!

 

[Glenn B.]

They are a Bias Ply, Non-DOT tire, requiring inner tubes. They truly are a 48 year-old design. Again, caution should be noted as I have no reports on the strength and wearability of these replicas. On close inspection, they appear to be very well moulded and they balanced very nicely, requiring very little weight for such a large volume of rubber.

If the guys who worked on P1032 are on the forum, please chime in with your thoughts.

My tach runs off my engine, so no issue on variance on RPMs, and my speedo is electronic, which can calibrate for tire size variances

Thanks so much for the positive comments.

 

[Cliff Beer]

Glenn, beautiful car. The new tires look great, perfect vintage look.

Is that four-post bolted down to the floor? I have the same four-post you have and it ain't safe not bolted securely to the floor....

 

[Ron Scarboro]

They are really cool. I looked on Coker's website and they sell the one size. Anyone know where they get tires for GT40P 1076 etc?

Thanks,

Ron

 

[Jim Glickenhaus]

They are really cool. I looked on Coker's website and they sell the one size. Anyone know where they get tires for GT40P 1076 etc?

Thanks,

Ron

Those are original. There are a few sets around. Pretty brittle by now. The smaller diameter is a serious issue vs. originals especially if fit to an original P4.

 

[Mike]

Really looks good on the MkII

 

[Glenn B.]

Exact same tires on the restored P1032, the car that was featured in Motor Trend Classics magazine. That article containing these photos is where I first found out about their existence.

 

[Mark H.]

Glenn, Would be interested in you comments vs the Avons as to ride quality, not so much as comparing grip and performance but general comments compared to the contemporary Avon .

 

[Adam C.]

Exact same tires on the restored P1032, the car that was featured in Motor Trend Classics magazine. That article containing these photos is where I first found out about their existence.

Actually the tires on 1032 in that photo shoot were the originals. We gave one to Coker to copy, but they didn't get them done in time, so we just put the originals back on when we returned the car to the museum in 2011. The car is currently rolling on Goodyears.

 

[Lee Patterson]

I thought the Coker was a "show tire" only??

 

[Mark H.]

Ok, thanks. I did see a comment on "originals" but misunderstood the thread.

Has anybody run the corker tires on their 40? Comments appreciated.

 

[Ryan L]

Actually the tires on 1032 in that photo shoot were the originals. We gave one to Coker to copy, but they didn't get them done in time, so we just put the originals back on when we returned the car to the museum in 2011. The car is currently rolling on Goodyears.

@christian.39 are the Goodyear Blue Streaks, or which particular goodyear tire is it that is on 1032?