Age of tires

[Neshkoro]

My T bucket is almost 30 years old and still has the original front tires on it from when I built it. They are Goodyear C70-14 bias ply tires. They look to be in good shape; no wear, no age cracks, etc. I never take it on long trips or drive at highway speeds; just cruise around the neighborhood.
I've been having some problems lately with tracking. It seems to wander on the road a lot more than it used to. A couple of years ago I rebuilt the front end; new king pins and bushings, etc. Everything seems to be tight. I even tightende the steering box to remove some of the end play. No difference in the wandering. Could it be the tires? Could the cords be shot. How would I tell?

 

[EX JUNK]

Try a temporary swap with another set of tires and wheels. If problem is still there, then it is not the old combo. My guess is that you may have some ply separation on the old set and that may be the cause of your problem. IMHO

Jim

 

[Track T-4]

Aged tires can look great from the outside but deteriorate from the inside. Alot of info on the 'net, search for "Aged Tires".

 

[donsrods]

I wouldn't go around the block on 30 year old tires. When I redid my 27 it had sat for about 11 years and I had put brand new tires on it just before parking it for all that time. They still looked like new but 4 Coker tires went into the dumpster and I ordered 4 more from them. You might get lucky, but you never know when one will fail.

Don

 

[Neshkoro]

OK, I'm convinced. In the trash they go! Thanks for the advice.

Bill

 

[old round fart]

You might save them for mock up tires and buy new to start driving.