B F Goodrich Granite Coloured Sidewalls .

[Mark Gregory]

Has anyone ever heard of this side wall treatment in the 1930's ? Thanks 

 

 

[Taylormade]

There is an extensive article in the April 2016 issue of Hemmings Classic Car that covers this topic.  They apparently had them in red, blue, sandstone and granite, among others, with a mottled effect for some of the colors.  They were called the Color-Weld line of tires.

[Mark Gregory]

Thanks Taylormade I will look for the April issue . I am surprised they had this technology back then . We cannot make a after market white wall tire now without it turning yellow . Thanks again for the exact information .

 

 

It's in the April 2016 copy of Hemmings Classic Car.  This is not Hemmings with the ads,, but their slick cover specialty magazine with the large Classic Car logo on the front.  The article is on page 54 and is called "Walls Of Color."

Edited March 4, 2016 by Mark Gregory (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

I saw that magazine on the news stand and I bet it's an April Fools joke. Never heard of colored sidewall tires at that time. There were red, white, blue, black and gray tires around 1915 and blue streak and red stripe tires around 1968 but never heard of anything but blackwalls and whitewalls in the thirties.

[Curti]

Here is a yellow wall tire.  I suspect this is 30's - 40's 

[Rusty_OToole]

Mid to late 30s most likely. Was it really a yellow wall tire or was that just the ad? I don't see any mention of the unusual color in the ad copy.

[Curti]

Rusty, I really have no idea,    Those little brochures have been here  for many years.  I was intrigued with the horrible yellow side walls. 

[alsancle]

Yellow doesn't seem interesting as most whitewalls will look that way if you leave them alone long enough.

[Curti]

AJ, given our opinion of whitewalls, can you imagine yellow ??

[alsancle]

Curt,  I couldn't resist an opportunity to take a shot at white wall tires.   Yellow would be just as bad as would most of these colors. 

[Walt G]

Rusty OToole it is not an April Fools joke, I wrote the article and did extensive research using B.F. Goodrich factory issued publications, perhaps you should  look beyond the cover headlines . Just because you never heard of it before doesn't mean it didn't exist. Hemmings Classic Car wouldn't devote 6 pages to an April Fools joke ! Thanks to all who took the article seriously and looked beyond the cover title.

[Rusty_OToole]

I have been reading books and magazines on old cars for 50 years including trade magazines published in the 30s and never saw them mentioned before so you must excuse me for being skeptical.

 

By the way I believed the title on the cover, it was the article I didn't believe.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Guest bkazmer]

I had heard of the colored tires before the article. They were not commercially successful, obviously, but are real.

 Uncolored SBR rubber is off-white.  Most common mineral fillers are white, plus the boundary scattering of having a filler.  Carbon black proved to be an advantageous filler, so we are used to tires being black.

[John S.]

The article on different color side walls is a very interesting piece of automotive history. I had seen articles of color side walls that the tire companies tried to push in mid-fifties, even saw a couple for sale. They were color coordinated to match the cars and came in the following colors, turquoise, maroon, blue and red. Everyone knows Red Line , Blue Streak , Gold Line, tires,  used on different makes in the Sixties. The color side walls never caught on in the early Thirties or the Mid-Fifties, however, it is a very interesting little known fact that makes this hobby fun. Great article.