Raised white letters a thing of the past?... my new Kelly Chargers!

Discussion in 'General Maverick/Comet' started by whisky, Jun 22, 2008.

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  1. whisky

    whisky Whisky

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    I guess the days of raised white letters on OEM sized rims are numbered...

    I priced out some Firestone Firehawk INDY 500's last month... available locally but I didn't have any money. This week I went to buy them and they're all disco'ed... as with other tire brands... anything less than 225-70's for less than $150 isn't really available any more for the "muscle car look".

    I called around and went to a few shops... no luck, no stock locally.

    Called Tireland Performance Centre (North Vancouver) and the owner knew exactly what I was looking for... close to stock size, white letters, reasonable price... he made a bunch of calls but everything has been dropped in the smaller sizes... Dunlop Qualifiers, Yokohama Avid (P4?) and even BFG TA's... too few "old car" buyers around these days I guess.

    What he got me is 205-70/14 Kelly Chargers for less than $100 each... and they fill the wheel wells better than the bicycle tires I used to have, I like the angled tread blocks too... I had fresh paint on the rims, he used a mag machine to avoid scratching them, and put short stems on for free so they'd look better. He had 4 other cars lined up, but fit me in and did them quick so I could go home and test out some new polish.

    Soon as I get the other rims painted I'll have the rears done... the car doesn't drive like a truck any more...

    Anyone in Vancouver needs tires... I'd recommend this shop.

    Here's how I spent my first day of summer!.... :cool:

    Special thanks to Grabber71 for getting me the 14" rim so I have a matching set...

    Whisky
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2009
    whisky, Jun 22, 2008
    #1
  2. Craig Selvey

    Craig Selvey Indiana State Rep - MCCI

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    Yes......14" RWL tires seem to be a thing of the past!! It took me several weeks last summer to find two for the front of my orange car.
     
    Craig Selvey, Jun 22, 2008
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  3. Matterick

    Matterick Matt Somerville

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    looks nice :yup:
     
    Matterick, Jun 22, 2008
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  4. Dave B

    Dave B I like Mavericks!

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    I got my 14" T/A's at Costco no problem.
     
    Dave B, Jun 22, 2008
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  5. littleredtoy

    littleredtoy Seth

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    littleredtoy, Jun 22, 2008
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  6. Grabber71

    Grabber71 Milique Toast

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    Looks good Robb!...I have Kellys on my car too!
     
    Grabber71, Jun 23, 2008
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  7. dmhines

    dmhines Dixie Maverick Boy

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    I really want some FIrestone Wide-Ovals for the Grabber ... but the Polyester construction is keeping me from buying them. I wish they would make them in steel belted radials ....

    Everytime I see a set at a car show I ask the owner how they ride ... and they all they they suck but the look good ...
     
    dmhines, Jun 23, 2008
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  8. dkstuck

    dkstuck Member

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    Back in the 70's,, I always loved my SCAT-TRAC 's ! They were THE tire back home!
     
    dkstuck, Jun 23, 2008
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  9. GrabA72Mav

    GrabA72Mav Living Our 2nd Childhood

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    Looks Real nice! I just bought a set of Firestone Indy 500 white letter for my Aspen 225/70/14's Haven't run them down the road yet but look nice. Good Luck!
     
    GrabA72Mav, Jun 23, 2008
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  10. littleredtoy

    littleredtoy Seth

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    Me Too!!


    I even like the look of some of the Goodyear repops. Not correct-but look good.

    Seth
     
    littleredtoy, Jun 23, 2008
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  11. dmhines

    dmhines Dixie Maverick Boy

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    Do GoodYears come in Steel?
     
    dmhines, Jun 23, 2008
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  12. Craig Selvey

    Craig Selvey Indiana State Rep - MCCI

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    The goodyear polyglas I had on my 1970 Grabber rode a little rough....but not bad. Still....not as good as a radial.
     
    Craig Selvey, Jun 23, 2008
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  13. littleredtoy

    littleredtoy Seth

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    Dan-
    The only vintage looking radial that I have seen is the redline radials.
    [​IMG]

    I like these:
    [​IMG]
     
    littleredtoy, Jun 23, 2008
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  14. dmhines

    dmhines Dixie Maverick Boy

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    I've seen the redline radials .. not sure why the can do redlines and nothing else. I wonder what would be more correct for a 71 Grabber ... Goodyear or Firestone?
     
    dmhines, Jun 23, 2008
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  15. littleredtoy

    littleredtoy Seth

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    Correct for yours would likely be the Firestones.
    Maybe like this. Many of the older original pics that I have seen showed whitewalls on Mavericks.
    Optional would likely have been RWL's. Blackwalls back then may have been standard with whitewalls
    being the first upgrade.
    [​IMG]
    Or maybe an optional Goodyear tire like this:
    [​IMG]

    I have the original of the yellow '73 in a brochure-Goodyear of some type, possibly
    the Wide Tread shown below.
    The website says that this tire series was released by Goodyear in 1967.
    I would imagine that it was available through '71. I know Ford had a long
    relationship with Firestone.
    [​IMG]

    Pics below:
    Blackwall of unknown origin in the white '71 pic.
    Dual thin whitewall in the Autolite Shoptips pic from '71.

    I have a copy of Tim Wilmoth's Marti report and it reads
    'D70x14 Belted Wide Oval Tires'.

    He has one of the originals (spare?) in the trunk.
    That would be this tire:
    [​IMG]


    I have a copy of someone else's Marti on a '72 Grabber
    with the same line as Tim's report, but on the next line
    it says 'WSW tires'. Meaning white sidewalls. The Wide Oval
    was available in whitewall according to the reproduction sites.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jun 23, 2008
    littleredtoy, Jun 23, 2008
    #15
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