Help ID the year of these TIRES

[johnnyrock70]

Barn Find.. had fun cleaning them today : )

Sears Allstate. NYLON 4 PLY 

[edinmass]

Junk.......

 

 

Ok for rollers, not for the street.

[johnnyrock70]

Thanks for telling me they are junk Ed 🙂. I already knew that. I'm asking what year they are 

[F&J]

34 minutes ago, johnnyrock70 said:

what year they are 

They definitely will predate the modern era date code requirement.  I just cannot recall when Sears stopped selling tires for antique cars, not even a good guess on which decade. (it had to be "last Century") LOL.  They will sell fast if inspected properly, if they are for resale.  New vintage tires are very overpriced and some sizes are backordered right now.

 

In Oct, I bought 10 WWW bias tires, a pair of 15", and 2 full sets of big 16"; at a vintage tractor & engine swap for $10 each. The seller found them...YES, in a dusty Barn at their family members estate.  I only wanted 2 15s, but the price was too hard to pass on the rest. I figured somebody would want them.  Yes a lot of scrubbing, and during that work I questioned if this was another dumb resale investment 

 

Holy cow... they sold so fast when my son put them on Marketplace for me. (all were sold by the end of the same day when listed) The "too late" callers said to call them if i get any more!  The oldest looking set for 100, 300 for the best set, the 15s kept for my car. I wish that estate had 100 more. My son was swamped with messages all that morning, all saying they will come right now!    I fully expected any calls would first ask how old they were before driving here, or after they came here. I did tell them exactly where they came from, and that I knew they must be at least 2 decades old, but they didn't care.

 

They are not junk if not rock hard or not cracked anywhere, including the bottom of the grooves in the treads when you squish the tire from the sides. Bias tires in good condition are not dangerous "just because they are old" like some brands of radials can be. 

 

Disclaimer:  deep cracks in sidewalls should not be used even as rollers IMO, as they can rip open instantly when you are inflating them.... even at 20PSI.  Here is a badly cracked 70-80? year old tire that started to rip open from just driving outside to photograph the car (and I doubt it had 15PSI).   I had to ratchet strap a piece of steel over it so i could get it back in the shop before I ruined the tube. Yes, an old thick USA tube is better than a thin chicom new one, IMO.

 

 

[edinmass]

2 hours ago, edinmass said:

Junk.......

 

 

Ok for rollers, not for the street.

 

 

 

Best guess as to year.......late 60's to early 70's. 

[Gunsmoke]

2 years ago I got a call from someone who had 6 tires just like these for sale, Sears, still wrapped in original plastic coverings, double white walls, same size as these, and I was looking for 525-550's-18's for my CD8 Chrysler Roadster project. They had been stored in his father-in-laws attic for 40 years or more. Bought all 6 for about $300USD (about the price of one new tire today). No cracks, but treads are hard. Will use as rollers, may use for trial slow speed runs working out kinks etc. I have had some experience with old tires. My 1931 Chevrolet came to me in 2008 shod with 6 brand new 475-19" Goodyear tires purchased in 1967!(2 still had the original GY stickers)! I eventually restored the car and drove it for 7 years on those tires before recently selling it, never had an issue. Those tires were still soft regarding the rubber, no cracking. Having shared my limited experience, I'm with Ed and some others on this one, old tires can be a risk, and use only as you carefully deem fit. The key is to have high quality tubes, to check tire surfaces regularly, and keep speeds slow. 

[ply33]

Tread pattern looks the same as on the Sears Allstate tires I purchased and used in the late 1970s. I would not be surprised if those tires were at least 40 years old.

[JFranklin]

Those tires will outlast you.

[28 Chrysler]

420, is that one of the compounds ? If so some guys would think those would be  good tires for smoking.