`65 Tires

[stevenfkennedy]

Okay, here's one for you REALLY old guys out there. I'm restoring a 426W powered `65 Coronet back to showroom condition and I'm trying to determine the manufacturer and type tires that originally came on these cars. G. Govier's little book, lists a 7.75-14, 4-ply tire with a thin whitewall; I'm looking for the manufacturer and model (Firestone, Goodyear, Silverstone, etc.). I've often heard that each assembly line had a different tire supplier, maybe several different for the same car model. So I'm thinking close counts here. I have some connections with a guy back east that has a huge stash of NOS tires from back in the 50's, 60's and 70's but need to give him a brand name to search for. Any of you old guys out there remember what came on your `65 Dodge?
Thanks,
Steve

-By the way, I'm one of those really OLD guys - just one with a very bad memory of just about anything prior to my drug-addled college days (only joking about the drug thing...)

 

[bluefury]

Bias whitewalls

From one 'ol guy to another........

I try to pay attention to things like OEM tires and things like that and my thought is that Firestone was the main supplier for tires on mopars in 65, with Goodyear and U.S. Royal right behind. Any of the above will likely be concidered correct.

I think the correct whitewall is the 1 1/2" band.

 

[HitIt]

You are probably looking for Firestone Silvertowns.

As far as the whitewall, your car may or may not have come with them from the factory. If you have your build card and it's important to you, it will be indicated as to the tire type. something like "42-8.00x14 White". I'm not sure what the "42" means, maybe someone else knows. That might be a code for the exact tire?

 

[chignikred]

And the wheels are 14 x 5.5 just to be clear on that detail.

 

[yellowdartdave]

This is for a Belvedere but it should be the same for a Coronet.....

http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/dealerships/DealershipDataBook/1965/65_Coronet0001.jpg

 

[696pack]

Due to anti-monopily laws the auto makers could not use just one particular tire brand. They were split up sometimes buy body style and sometimes by assembly plant. Back in the day when customers would order a car they would ask what brand tires it would have but dealers could never assure them of a particular brand.

 

[65belv]

65 Tires

Steve,

Here's a shot of the original spare tire in my 65 Belvedere II convertible that came with Goodyear Power Cushion 7.75 x 14 whitewalls (1 1/16"). This has been with the car since November 1964 but I don't know about other makes of tires.

Arland

 

[stevenfkennedy]

Thanks for all the great replies and info! As suspected, it appears that there were probably several different tires that could have come on my car. I do have the 14x5.5 wheels. The original ones (still on the vehicle when I purchased it) were in very poor condition. Finding good condition replacements was a big challenge.

Looks like 7.75x14 was the standard size for my 426W Coronet w/ 8.25x14 as a factory-available option. I have an original 1965 Dodge dealer "options update" manual that showed 8.55x14 tires could be supplied but not sure whether the factory provided the tire or the dealer installed them after receiving the vehicle. All of the tires on my car (when purchased) are 8.55's but a mish-mash of suppliers. It could be possible that the owner(s) stuck with the original tire size but but wasn't choosey about the type replacement tires were used. The car had reasonably low mileage on it - 79k - when purchased but it would hard to believe that any of the tires were original. I do have a set of date-correct NOS 8.55x14 Firestone tires (still in their original factory packaging) but the design looks a bit to sporty to have been used on a Coronet.

There is a current listing on e-bay for a pair of NOS 7.75 white strip Goodyear tires but unfortunately they are 15". Finding NOS 14" tires is a real challenge.

Again, many thanks for the great feedback.

Steve

 

[HitIt]

Have you looked at Coker Tires? The have many reproductions of 60's fitestone goodyear and more if you don't really want or need an NOS set.

 

[65belv]

65 tires

This is just one person's experience with Coker tires so take it for what it's worth - every Coker tire used on my old cars has either cracked a side wall or separated the tread. These cars are driven not trailered or pampered so if you are building a show car to be trailered or a sunny day short drive car, they will probably be fine. For my money, there are better alternatives for cars that are driven..............just my .02