historical accuracy, was: <VV> Tire gurus

[BBRT]

Wait 'till you get the moss.................

:>)

Chuck S
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Underwood" <tonyu at roava.net>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: historical accuracy, was: <VV> Tire gurus


> At 08:14 hours 03/29/2005, airvair wrote:
>>Mike,
>>
>>All I can say is that you are definately showing your youth. You are too 
>>used to seeing modern cars with "rubber band" tires of 50, 40, 30, and 
>>even 25 section that you don't know any different. Cars didn't always show 
>>all rim and no tire. Way back in the bone age when Corvairs were new, 
>>tires were a large part of the profile looks of a car. The Corvair's 
>>7.00-13 tires have a HUGE sidewall, almost half the diameter! You need to 
>>see a Corvair with the correct 7.00-13 tires to appreciate that. Nothing 
>>today even comes close, which is the problem.
>>
>>Having been around Corvairs since their introduction, I can speak from 
>>experience. Which is why I have always maintained that even a 185/80R-13 
>>is too small for Corvairs. Bruce Schug presented a great assessment of the 
>>situation in a recent post.
>
>
>
> There's a set of Goodyear 185-80s on my '60 which check out as "just about 
> right" in diameter, when compared to the original spare which is still in 
> the trunk, which likely still has 1960 air in it... and although showing 
> some fine cracks in the sidewalls and between the tread, it still holds 
> air and it's been used a time or two in the 21 years I've had the car. 
> The Goodyear radials on the '60 are within about an inch of being the same 
> height as that original tire.
>
> I have a couple of original late 700x13 spares taken out of cars that got 
> parted or got new tires all-around etc and had the original spares 
> discarded for whatever reason.   The '67 500 has its original 700x13 spare 
> as well, which still works OK, although it leaks down a bit after a couple 
> of months, have to check it regularly.   Old as it is, the 700x13 
> blackwall carried the '67 over 120 miles to a show when the car had a 
> blowout on the way...  involving an obscure brandname tire that only had a 
> few thousand miles on it.
>
> A suitable replacement was purchased from a tire store while at the show, 
> and upon returning home the '67 got 4 fresh 14" upper-class radials from 
> Sears, along with 4 spotlessly clean 14" wheels which also mount the 14" 
> correct-year GM wire wheel covers that are on it now and doing quite 
> nicely after 30K miles (the '67 500 is also a daily driver)...  I didn't 
> trust the other three obscure brand tires that had been on the car any 
> farther than I could throw them.   They got recycled, didn't even keep 
> them as spares seeing as how one of the three remaining tires had also 
> developed a thump upon returning back to Roanoke after the show.   Junk 
> tires... even though they looked fresh with plenty of tread and decent 
> looking rubber all around.   A chunk the size of my hand flew off, taking 
> a layer of chord with it, tire went flat *right now* and the piece of 
> tread still clinging to the tire via some of the chord tried to pummel the 
> inside of the fender well into submission before I got stopped.     (I 
> took a photo of the DOA tire just for funzies as it lay in the garbage 
> container)
>
> The tires on the '60 4-door are about as close as any that I've seen, far 
> as being the right diameter.   They're out of production now, discontinued 
> last year and replaced with something bearing a different monicker and 
> slightly different tread but looks like the same tire...  for now... until 
> the manufacturers stop making 13" tires altogether.
>
> The Lakewood  needs a couple of tires...  I guess it's time to go shopping 
> around again for more 13" radials.
>
> ...IF it stops raining long enough.   This has already gone down as the 
> areas 3rd coldest and wettest March in recorded history.   Last summer was 
> more of the same,  rainy'est summer in decades and with fewer >80 degree 
> temps days than any summer in over 40 years.       Global Warming my 
> ass...
>
> I'll be satisfied if it would just dry out a bit so the ground doesn't 
> squish when I walk on it or let a jack sink through it if I should wanna 
> change a tire.    Weather that doesn't require a jacket would be nice, 
> too...
>
>
>
> tony..
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