[gto19]

who do you guys reccomend for buying original tires for my 70 goat also did they come with firestones or goodyears .there gonna be the original white walls . and for you guys that are using them ,can i drive on them like a normal tire?

thanks eric

[engineer]

original polyglass are not worth driving on compared to radials. buy them just for show and run radials for driving.

[Jack Peters]

If you are going Pure Stock or FAST racing they are required to be OEM type. They actually work better than radials (or so it has been reported) because they have more rubber on the road and do not flex as much. 40 psi is required though.

[gloryrestoparts]

Kelsey Tire for Polyglas, Coker (I believe) for Wide Ovals. I bought a set of Polyglas for my W-31 because I race it in Pure Stock. I also drive it on the street occasionally. work fine, I can feel a difference though between radials and these but it's not like I have polyglas on my daily driver.

[Ron Landis]

My son just removed radials and replaced with 7.75/14 U.S. Royal redlines. Took it on a 300 mile trip and didn't really notice much difference. Have redline Wide Ovals on the '69 ragtop. Part of owning an old car. People who complain about rough ride and handling probably never had an original muscle car. It's like "Vette owners, buy the car for looks, then sell it because of the rough ride. Don't get me wrong, do what you like to your car, but as far as getting the "feel" of the old cars, won't be the same on radials. Never mind the wrong appearance. Later cars were offered with "Radial Tuned Suspension" for a reason. Then again, I'm not big on "killer" boom boxes, Vintage air and six speeds added. Want that "new car" feel? Get a new car. like buying an old Harley and replacing the hardtail frame with shocks and putting rubber mounts and electric start on the engine. Nice, convenient and totally wrong in respect to what character the bike HAD. Again, JMHO. Enjoy your car. Ron

[ghaines]

My 70 had the red line tires on it when I purchased new in 70. They were polyglas G70/14 Uniroyal Tiger Paws. I swear it.

[TJH]

Yeah, GM used several different suppliers for their tires. The only way to tell, is to find a build sheet, and trace the UPC or callout code to a specific tire brand/type.
And, I have never seen that detailed of a breakdown on the tire codes...
Someone, somewhere, probably knows.
As far as driving on bias ply tires- c'mon- people drove on bias plys for decades before radials came out. Yes, they handle and ride differently. But they work just fine, once you get used to them.

[68alpinebluegto]

PL on the Build sheet for a 70 is for the Goodyear Polyglas G70-14
Came from the build sheet of a 10A Judge Conv. Pontiac Assm plant.
Car has the original spare and owner has the orignal tires ...worn out but original.

[Held for Ransom]

Sales code TPL (UPC code PK5) just means G70-14 White Letter. It still could have been made by any of the tire manufacturers of the time (Uni-Royal, Goodyear or Firestone).

[carbking]

Originally Posted by gto19

who do you guys reccomend for buying original tires for my 70 goat also did they come with firestones or goodyears .there gonna be the original white walls . and for you guys that are using them ,can i drive on them like a normal tire?

thanks eric

Other than for show, I bought my last set of non-radials in 1968.

So I have no experience with the repro wide-ovals, but the original wide ovals were absolutely awful. Very low tread mileage, prone to separation, very poor fuel economy, tended to "hunt" in driving at interstate speeds. But they were original. They were better when they came out than what they replaced, but some would say a headache is better than an upset stomach.

Personal experience: Firestone wide ovals lasted 6K until slick; Goodyear wide ovals lasted 9K until slick; Goodyear radials (same car) had 54K when car was sold and better than 1/2 tread. 1/4 mile time decreased by about 1/2 second with the radials, and fuel economy increased by about 20 percent with the radials.

But every one has a different opinion.

Jon.

[Jack Peters]

Goodyear G60X15 lasted over 20K when new. Drag raced a lot and lasted longer than the factory clutch. I never bought radials until '73 or so because they were JUNK. If you had any kind of problem and they went flat they looked as if someone had used a crash axe on them. In '73 they began putting radials on cars from the factory and they still weren't very good for a couple of years. Tread separation was the biggest problem. My fiberglass belted tires lasted longer, didn't have tred separation and when went flat I could get them fixed.

By the way, I sold tires for a living at the time. I saw all kinds of tires come in and in areas where there was limited pavement the fb belted non raidal tire was best. When I moved in '75 I bought my first set of radials and never looked back. I will probably put non radials on the car when done

Non belted tires didn't last but 10-15K at the best. Just my .02

[Ron Landis]

that radials aren't a better tire, but the original look and feel can only be had with original type tires, that's all.

[Rx:GTO daily]

Radials=slamming car deep into turns with amazing (considering the cars we are talking about) grip and agility. My daily driver is a '83 Porsche 928S, so I like to think I have some slight idea of how well a car can handle. With radials, the goat is down right scary in what she is capable of! Even my Porsche mechanic came back from drivin the goat with an unremovable smile and all he could do was gush over "how awesomely the car went down the road". That from a guy that is accustomed to driving the best the Germans/Italians, etc have to offer.
Picked up a set of repro Wide Ovals (Coker) this year. They are not the same, but they are not as bad as I had been warned about! No, they will not go around corners like the radials. Yes, they do hunt quite a bit, but not intolerably. The thing I notice the most is the "feel" under braking. I also noticed an immediate (~2-3mpg) decrease in gas milage. Have heard the reports of better drag results with the bias plys and I believe it (without having actual data of my own). I judge this simply by the fact I can launch the car harder (more throttle) with much less wheel spin, than I get with the radials.
ON MY CAR, original wheels/suspension/ride height, etc, I find the bias plys came into there own at highway speeds. At 60mph on decent asphalt they are smooth and very responsive. Wrist/neck snapping lane changes are a breeze and include no unexpected effects. Hey, maybe it's just me or my car, but no complaints under these circumstances. So far, I have over 2K on them and they still look like new (treadwear-wise). After reading the previous wear ratings, I hope my current trend continues....because the 1 thing that NO radial will ever do better than a bias ply is....look good on a muscle car! I, and all my friends agree, that the car just looks SOOOO much better with the Wide Ovals!! JMO..hope it helps.