Author Topic: Firestone or Goodyear F70-14 tires (Read 52154 times)

kilroy · « **on:** March 22, 2007, 06:00:06 PM »

I'm putting the finishing touches on my 69 396/325/4-speed Pace Car. Everything is just right, and I wanted to put the correct tires on her.

It seems like most people have Firestone Wide-Ovals on their restored Camaros, but all the old magazine ads for the pace car seem to show it with Goodyear tires.

I've received conflicting opinions from those experts I've telephoned.

Some say the pace cars had Goodyear since Goodyear was a sponsor of the Indy.
Some say Goodyear with only "polyglass" and not "F70-14" raised white letters.
Others say Firestone was on all 69 Camaros, even if it was a Pace Car...

Would love to get an authoritative opinion.... if one exists...

Charley · « **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2007, 06:37:32 PM »

I would put on a Goodyear Wide Tread F70-14. "NOT POLYGLAS"!!!!!!! I can get you a pic of a spare out of a low mile 69 Pace car.

kilroy · « **Reply #2 on:** March 22, 2007, 06:57:46 PM »

Well, that helps. Now which Goodyear?
There are three raised white letter Custom Wide Tread Goodyear tires (which all have "polyglass" in the raised white letters)

F70-14 Goodyear Custom Wide Tread RWL
http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25143&category_id=345

F70-14 Goodyear Custom Wide Tread RWL NS
http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25144&category_id=345

F70-14 Goodyear Speedway Wide Tread RWL
http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25149&category_id=345

Here's the whole Goodyear selection guide at Universal Vintage Tire that I am working from:
http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=345

kilroy · « **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2007, 08:40:07 PM »

Well just got home and took a look at a old 2-page magazine ad from 1969 for the Pace Car to see if I could read the tire lettering. Sure can, but unfortunately rather than clarification, it introduces another variable.

The 2-page magazine ad (attached, though too small to be legible), clearly shows the tires labeled "Goodyear" and "Wide Tread GT".

Now Vintage sells a tire with that lettering, however, it is an E70-15, which would be not be correct for the factory 14" rallys on non-Z28's. Picture here: http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25152&category_id=345

Charley · « **Reply #4 on:** March 22, 2007, 08:58:51 PM »

Hard to tell from the pic on the site but it looks like this one I think. http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25149&category_id=345

Here s a pic of a orig virtually new tire from a 69 Pace car and a repo tire on my TA convert.

Mark · « **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2007, 10:50:14 PM »

Heres a picture from the track in May of 69. Track cars were running Goodyears.

Or this newspaper clipping of a Festival Car showing Firestone tires:

Pacecarjeff · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2007, 02:15:44 AM »

I thought I had heard that the tires were changed at the race.
Giving both tire manufactires equal time.
Or, maybe the 2 prepared track Cars used different tires.

Something like that

I know that both Goodyear, and Firestone were represented that day.

All my "official" track photos show the Goodyear Wide track.

lcmc · « **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2007, 11:43:40 AM »

The biggest mistake people make is putting polyglas or polyglas gt tires on a 69. From what I understand polyglas was not used until 1970 model. Check these guys out for your tires.

http://www.kelseytire.com/index.htm

Charley · « **Reply #8 on:** March 23, 2007, 02:30:44 PM »

Yes... The goodyear speedway rwl http://www.kelseytire.com/pages/preformancetires.html

Jerry@CHP · « **Reply #9 on:** March 27, 2007, 11:51:58 AM »

Another foot note to this tire thread. Regarding the Firestone tires, the reproduction Firestone tires available are not even correct for the 1969 model year, yet many install them not knowing any better. I have photos of the correct 1969 Firestone tires in my 1969 Camaro fact book on page 179 but uneducated people still seem to buy what is available which are 1970 and later versions of the Firestone wide oval tire. The correct 1969 Firestone tire is not available in reproduction. Why it is not made is beyond me.

Jerry

BillG · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2007, 05:30:51 PM »

I have what I think is an original spare in my pace car. It is a Uniroyal Tiger Paw. Could this be. Was that another tire option for 69?

Jerry@CHP · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2007, 05:55:25 PM »

Bill,

Uniroyal, Goodyears and Firestones were used during the model year, probably the real deal.

JM

Steve Shauger · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2007, 11:52:40 PM »

Quote from: BillG on March 30, 2007, 05:30:51 PM

I have what I think is an original spare in my pace car. It is a Uniroyal Tiger Paw. Could this be. Was that another tire option for 69?

Bill, Uniroroyal was indeed another supplier. I know they were used from 69 to at least 72, however the small raised script was unique for each year. Let me know what the script states such as "Rayon Dynacor" or Rayon Dynacor Nylon " or Dynacor Rayon Fiberglass". Attached is a link to my survivor car with the original Uniroyal tires, scroll down the thread and you'll see where I attached a pic of the tires.
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/128375/an/0/page/10#128375

[Quote problem fixed by Kurt]

KurtS · « **Reply #13 on:** March 31, 2007, 03:44:01 AM »

Quote from: Pacecarjeff on March 23, 2007, 02:15:44 AM

I thought I had heard that the tires were changed at the race.
Giving both tire manufactires equal time.
Or, maybe the 2 prepared track Cars used different tires.

Something like that
I know that both Goodyear, and Firestone were represented that day.

All my "official" track photos show the Goodyear Wide track.

The latter one. From http://www.camaros.org/69pacer.shtml:
"One car was equipped with Firestone tires and the other with Goodyear tires to give both companies equal promotional time."

BillG · « **Reply #14 on:** March 31, 2007, 04:06:01 PM »

Paceme, This spare says Dynacor Rayon on the white letter side and Dynacor Rayon Tubeless on the black side. Date code is YAO143, but I don't know how to read it.

Steve Shauger · « **Reply #15 on:** March 31, 2007, 05:07:04 PM »

That tire was made in 69. BTW they do not reproduce these F 70 14 Tiger Paws. What is amazing about this tire is that the don't seem to dry rot. They wore out very quickly, not a very high mileage tire, even for standards back then.

KurtS · « **Reply #16 on:** April 02, 2007, 06:59:36 AM »

Quote from: BillG on March 31, 2007, 04:06:01 PM

This spare says Dynacor Rayon on the white letter side and Dynacor Rayon Tubeless on the black side. Date code is YAO143, but I don't know how to read it.

Does the tire say DOT on it?
Thanks!

BillG · « **Reply #17 on:** April 05, 2007, 12:06:35 PM »

Kurt, There is a small DOT in the center of the tire looking like this:
LOAD RANGE B DOT MAX LOAD.......
Thats the only one on it, but it's not near the Dynacor Rayon wording. If I am able to post a pic, I will.

Jerry@CHP · « **Reply #18 on:** April 06, 2007, 06:48:37 PM »

We have 11 NOS 7.35 x 15" Good Year red line Power cushions, all non-DOT and none of them are dry rotted. All are in mint shape.

Very hard tire to find!

JM

Ron C. · « **Reply #19 on:** April 07, 2007, 08:55:01 PM »

Jerry are those redlines for the 67Z?

Jerry@CHP · « **Reply #20 on:** April 07, 2007, 09:04:28 PM »

Yes they are but none are for sale at this time.

JM

Jonesy · « **Reply #21 on:** April 08, 2007, 12:35:49 AM »

Quote from: Jerry@CHP on April 06, 2007, 06:48:37 PM

We have 11 NOS 7.35 x 15" Good Year red line Power cushions, all non-DOT and none of them are dry rotted. All are in mint shape.

Very hard tire to find!

JM

Are those style tires being repo'd yet? I would like to get a set for my 67.

Oaklyss · « **Reply #22 on:** April 17, 2007, 02:08:28 PM »

I talked to Kelsey, they said Polyglas with no size on tire was correct for 69 SS. My spare is a Polyglas, but white stripe (04A). Is the Wide Tread and not the polyglas the correct tire for 69 SS for raised white letters? What about optional tires like PL5 (standard on SS?), PY4 (white stripe, fiberglass belt=Polyglass?). I need new tires and want raised letters but also want the correct tires.

68Tom · « **Reply #23 on:** July 03, 2008, 07:06:31 PM »

So is it a consensus that, of the available tires, THIS tire below is the one that we want to purchase and not the tire with just "Polyglas" (no size) on it?

Oaklyss · « **Reply #24 on:** July 07, 2008, 12:44:29 AM »

I think it is an Urban Mith in the making that Polyglas was not availible on 1969 model Camaros. My original spare is a Polyglas. I have takled to Kelsey who make both Wide Tread and Polyglas tires and they say Polyglas N/S is correct for 1969. The internet info I have read says Polyglas was on 1969 cars (and Mustangs) .

william · « **Reply #25 on:** July 07, 2008, 05:20:38 PM »

F70 x 14 fiberglass belted RWL tires [option PL4] became available as a 69 Camaro option as of the 1 April 1969 ordering info. Considering order lead time it is unlikely a Camaro built prior to 1 May 1969 could have had them as original equipment. Most OE tires were poor in those days so it was not at all unusual to immediately upgrade tires while the car was new. The only way to know for sure is original paperwork.

Incidentally the only documented '69 Camaro known to have been built with PL4 tires is a COPO and it has Firestones.

68Tom · « **Reply #26 on:** July 07, 2008, 05:33:43 PM »

Well, I think I'm going to go with the Wide-Tread GT F70-14. If it was on the '69 Pace Car, at least it looks like they were being used.

9T4Z · « **Reply #27 on:** July 07, 2008, 11:26:48 PM »

The words: Never use Polyglas for 1969 are misleading: GM ordered something like 270,000 polyglas tires for the model year 1970. They placed the order in Feb of 1969. It is impossible for Goodyear to ramp up production instantaenously for the 70 model year. There were lots of Mustangs riding on Poly glass in 69. Fact is that GM likely received delivery of lots of Polyglas tires prior to finishing the model year. I have Goodyear Polyglas on my May 69 pacecar and love it when someone says they NEVER came with them. The more you know the less clear it all becomes!

68Tom · « **Reply #28 on:** July 07, 2008, 11:30:22 PM »

Well I'm definitely getting more confused!

william · « **Reply #29 on:** July 07, 2008, 11:54:47 PM »

Nothing to be confused about. PL4 tires became optional 1 April; a May-built Z11 could have been built with Good Year Polyglas tires. With the late intro PL4 was a fairly rare option, probably 2-3% of production. Divide that small number among 3 brands and it is possible only a few hundred had Good Years.

I have to point out at this time there is no documented '69 Camaro known to have been built with Good Year Polyglas tires.

Oaklyss · « **Reply #30 on:** July 08, 2008, 02:56:30 PM »

Where is the info about PL4 written? I cant find it in my books. My Chassis Broadcast Copy has a 4 in box 292 RTG, does that designate fiberglass belt?, my spare Polyglas tire says DOT and has UA039EG. Can that be decoded? my Camaro is 04A.

william · « **Reply #31 on:** July 08, 2008, 03:59:17 PM »

Camaro dealer ordering info changed nearly every month. PL4 is in the 1 April rev.

ddmrk · « **Reply #32 on:** August 19, 2008, 01:42:18 AM »

HI ! to all
new to the site, have the same question as others do I am in the process of restoring my
SS 69 X66 396 Camaro 325HP purchased it from original owner wife (he passed away)I have the ORIGINAL Window Sticker and POP (Build date of car is 09C) my question is what is the correct Tire and wheel cover for the car window sticker is showing OPTION PL4 F70x14 for tires and PO1 for wheel covers pictures would be great if possible.your help would be greatly appreciated.

jeff68 · « **Reply #33 on:** August 22, 2008, 04:16:56 PM »

These are the PO1 wheels covers:
As shown on my 68 Camaro:
http://www.camaros.org/images/l30m20/l30m20-JeffCase7-6-68.jpg

On a 69 Camaro:
http://gmphotostore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=53219242

no69x-44 · « **Reply #34 on:** August 23, 2008, 01:57:45 AM »

Here is a picture of my original '69 4th week of March car - Spare tire. It's a Firestone and as mentioned above - even though there is an old school Firestone reproduction tire made, it is NOT the correct Firestone tire. I believe the repro to be an early '70's tire.

So this sort of puts me in a bit of a quandary. Since I have the spare tire on my XT rim that came with the car ... How to do I outfit the rest of the wheels? If I want it to be correct, I can't go with the repro Firestone's as they are not really correct for 1969. So then do I go with the correct Goodyear F70-14's - The ones with the raised white letters that say "Goodyear Polyglass F70-14" on the side? Or the bogus Firestones that will match my spare in brand and size?

hgger69 · « **Reply #35 on:** August 23, 2008, 05:15:19 PM »

I just bought this ones and and i think they look better than the GoodYear tires!

..but your original ones look even better!

firstgenaddict · « **Reply #36 on:** August 23, 2008, 10:30:22 PM »

It does look good however it is not any where near correct for a 69.

hgger69 · « **Reply #37 on:** August 24, 2008, 02:29:33 PM »

Quote from: firstgenaddict on August 23, 2008, 10:30:22 PM

It does look good however it is not any where near correct for a 69.

You have to explain yourself here!!

In my opinion, and all my sales brochures from 1969, it´s as correct as it can be, except for the tiny detail mentioned above regarding how the raised white letters were shown!

Mark · « **Reply #38 on:** August 24, 2008, 03:22:18 PM »

The tire pictured just above yours is what the Firestone wide ovals looked like in 69. The style you have is from a later production year. Its the style of the lettering everyone cars about, no one really cares about the tire construction, and if someone made a correctly lettered radial version of the tires they would probably make a killing on them. I've got the dreaded Polyglas tires on my car and while they look period correct they suck to drive on. They catch every bump, crack and crease on a road. It's hard to beleive that these cars were everyday drivers when new. If people were driving them today half the population would be stuck in ditches.

KurtS · « **Reply #39 on:** August 25, 2008, 02:15:59 AM »

I'll add some more info:
PL4 shows up on several documented 69 Camaros, all built late May or later.
No info on which tire was on those cars.....

ddmrk · « **Reply #40 on:** September 11, 2008, 01:51:21 PM »

want to order my tires but don't know which ones to get !!!!! sorry to beat this horse some more, but a built date of september of 69 car with the PL4 option on the WINDOW Sticker should have which tires ?? Goodyear Polyglass ?? or Goodyear Polyglas F-70 14 ??
I have been told since it is such a late car it should have the size on the tire.
and since the other model years (1970) where in production like a Chevelle,Nova and others which had the tire size on them.
all this info make me more confused ,your Input is greatly appreciated

Charley · « **Reply #41 on:** September 11, 2008, 02:39:15 PM »

http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=25149&category_id=345

Not Polyglas

KurtS · « **Reply #42 on:** September 11, 2008, 07:54:03 PM »

And they don't have to be Goodyears.....

ddmrk · « **Reply #43 on:** September 12, 2008, 12:58:17 AM »

so with today's availability of only certain tires Goodyear is the closest ones that would be correct but still don't kwon which are the correct ones

lemarin · « **Reply #44 on:** May 23, 2015, 02:21:11 AM »

Hey guys, I just read entirely this topic and as I'm looking for original wheel/tires for my 69 RS, i'm very interesting by your opinion. I know this topic is old, but I've read also elsewhere that the Good Years F70-14 CWT with raised lettering (no size) would be the closest one from original. I'd like to know what do you guys think about this one:

https://www.cokertire.com/f70-14-firestone-wide-oval-pin-white-stripe.html

Which one would be the closest one from the original tires my 69 RS had, when she was built in october 68 ?

Thanks to all !

crobjones2 · « **Reply #45 on:** May 23, 2015, 11:48:18 PM »

Quote from: william on July 07, 2008, 05:20:38 PM

F70 x 14 fiberglass belted RWL tires [option PL4] became available as a 69 Camaro option as of the 1 April 1969 ordering info. Considering order lead time it is unlikely a Camaro built prior to 1 May 1969 could have had them as original equipment. Most OE tires were poor in those days so it was not at all unusual to immediately upgrade tires while the car was new. The only way to know for sure is original paperwork.

Incidentally the only documented '69 Camaro known to have been built with PL4 tires is a COPO and it has Firestones.

I wish I still had my spare - My 06(C) 69SS originally came with the polyglas tires. I had the spare for many years until a friend needed a spare... I never got it or the rally wheel back

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Author Topic: Firestone or Goodyear F70-14 tires (Read 52154 times)

kilroy

kilroy

kilroy

68Tom

68Tom

68Tom