Inflate them to about a hundred psi..... If they hold up you should probably chunk them anyways.... Either way your wasting your time messing with these but not if you want a loud pop and a new pair of shorts....
Old tires are only good for moving cars around the shop! Couldent you imagine doin 70 on the highway and have one of them blow out? You would be the next guy the fire fighters were scraping off a tree with a putty knife and hammer.
I had a front tire blow when I was doing about 60 and towing a trailer. No biggie, just took the foot off the pedal and let everything slow down. Changed to the spare and off I went. No big loss of steering. I think the thing that saved me was there wasn't much traffic. However, I would like to see some actual research regarding this topic. Is there anything available. Not that I doubt all the posts but I like to see data re: decomposition and how it relates to storage, UV exposure, etc. I wonder if the big problem is merely age and why or UV exposure, or perhaps other factors that come into play.
I tried once to run old tires...lost a 6 inch long strip of tread on a busy highway! I was lucky the tire didn't blow out! After this incident...I decided, "Never again!!!"
Read Don's post #19 regarding the difference between trailer and passenger cars tires. And please, don't complain about the price of new tires. As they say, "What's your ass worth?" Not to mention family and potential innocent vitims.
If you'd read my posts you'd know I did read Don's post and every other person who has taken the time to chime in. I don't know if your "too expensive" comment was directed at me, but I certainly hope not. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Heck even if it dont kill you when they do come apart,have you ever seen the damage an old tire coming apart at speed can do to your body work? I would not run them. Tony
I have old tires on 5 of my cars for 3 years now and no problems. I had 2 new tires blow out on me in the same day a few years ago, so go figure. If you are nervous about it, don't run em. If not, then go ahead.
NO,the only place i'd run em is in the burnout competition. A few years ago coming back from Back to The 50's we had a friend with an old unrestored 53' cranbrook who's front tire blew out. The tread separated and took out the headlight bucket and beat up the fender. Those old tires are called "MAYPOPS" for a reason and age and ozone can't be making them any better.
Nope, they look bad ass and I would hang them in my garage, but I wouldnt run them. Also, how could a hotrodder run a 40+ year old tire in the 50's? Real oldschool hotrodders ran old tires from 1910 cars on their hot rods?
I understand trying to keep things looking period correct and traditional but safety has to come first. I wouldn't risk running them.
Don't sell 'em either! They are still cool wall decor or prop tires. Not to add the shitstorm, butI will say I know the time and $$ you're putting into the new project. Human life aside, you don't wanna undo any of your hard work. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Daddio Aside from everyone's answers to your question I believe that you answered it yourself right here in bold. Rule # 27 in hot rodding: when all else fails use common sense.
I'm a bit twisted up reading all of this. Good ol 6 ply 700s, they don't look fresh, but they look better than what I've towed home for hundreds of miles in the past. What would I do? Dismount the fuckin things and make an informed decision. If the bead area around the rim looks shitty, hard and rusty, pass. If it looks ok, remount them with new tubes and enough powder to allow some tube movement to settle in, balance them and go for it. Still all of this "Oh my god you're gonna die!!!" and "You're gonna kill my family!!", I mean seriously fellas, WTF?!? This year we had a flat on a $300K Packard at 65MPH on a hot ass Fla freeway. Nobody died. Not a scratch on the car. Jerked the spare outta the sidemount and swapped it. Yeah, just like you'd have done back in the day. Where's all this fear coming from? I had a blowout on a DD at 70MPH in the left front. That was 3yrs ago so this must be my ghost typing? Get a fuckin grip already. I didn't see him ask if they were safe for the salt flats at 200MPH. Maybe some of the "pussy" comments aren't too far off? Just in case you think I'm full of shit on the Fla flat:
i would not run them on the highway. maybe if you want try them out on country roads an low speed to see if they fly apart. have some spares too. i would have no problem using them on a farm truck, farm trailer or tractor front but probably all there good for.
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