[SD455DJ]

Transamric, You are right that tires with exposure to the elements degrade faster than 'inside' tires. I have a set of really old fiberglas belted radial Goodyear Eagle ST's (225/70R15 w/ small white letters) that I move around from car to car that I bought way back in 1982(?) that are still nice, not dry rotted, weather checked, cracked, or running funny down the road...so far, and are on the '70 Formula currently. They are noticeably lighter than the later (1992?) steel belted versions (225/70R14's w/ larger white letters) that I run on my '70 4-dr Tempest. I don't drive these much over 65 mph and they seem to OK, so far as well, but are being replaced next spring since I don't trust older steel belted radial tires once over 10-12 years old.

If I was a betting man, I would put money on the steel belted Eagle ST's getting belt shift and delamination before the glass belted tires. I have Michelin 235/75R15's steel belted radials (circa 1985?) on my '71 Bonneville that I am going to replace next spring, but the older Michelin's are known for better quality. These are all 'indoor' tires that only see the sun once and a while, but I do think they are degrading, just more slowly that 'outdoor' regularly run tires.

Dennis

[77 Canamman]

Like just about everything, the tire companies have cut corners to maximize profits. The rubber used today is much worse in terms of long term use than tires of yore. I've seen it several times personally. It's a shame, but true.

[HWYSTR455]

I'll stick to my 5x7 rule, replace tires every 5-7 years regardless of condition. You have one come apart and whip a body panel, you will be singing the blues.


.

[SD455DJ]

77Canamman, I couldn't agree more! I hear/read there is more synthetic material than natural rubber in the tire mix that off-gases/degrades much more quickly...but I'm no expert. But then the '70's era Firestone 721 just exploding is worrisome, so you have to wonder about that...probably more from construction technique than the rubber.

HWYSTR455, That is a good rule to follow...too many cars, too many tires to replace! I blink and the new tires I swear I just bought last summer are 7 years old already with no miles!

Dennis

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

Like just about everything, the tire companies have cut corners to maximize profits. The rubber used today is much worse in terms of long term use than tires of yore. I've seen it several times personally. It's a shame, but true.

Yup, GMO Rubber trees.
Modern Tractor tires suffer incredibly .

[SD455DJ]

I'm thinking about swapping out the aftermarket Auto Gage tach & gauge trio I just installed for a set of factory tach & gauges I just acquired (along with a nice gauge dash insert). I have an ad in the Bird - Parts Wanted section for an original '70/'71 dash harness for gauges. I think I still need a separate tach harness ($18 at Ames)?

Another challenge is the tach is a later 2-wire type that I understand just needs a new separate ground wire/connection.

Is my thinking correct?

Another, less expensive option, is to rearrange some contact pins in the main connector to the gauge cluster housing that I need to understand better if this is an easier route.

Thanks, Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Got a factory dash harness for the in-dash tach & gauges from Unruhjonny (thanks!) and, before installing, were going to test to see if the tach & gauges work with jumper wires to see if they work, and if not, then off they go to Bob's Speedometer for a rebuild. The Autogage tach & trio cluster will go to my '71 Bonneville or Dan's '66 Cutlass.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Has anyone see or have these chalk/grease pencil marks on the underside of your Formula hood? Mine is on the upper left brace (passenger side) when the hood is open and looks like it reads "882 422" or "482 422". Any inkling what this may indicate?

Dennis

[unruhjonny]

From here that looks to be 482 422.

[Transamric]

Yes, I've had a couple Formula hoods with paint pen or crayon marks before. But these were always easily discernable as date codes. Don't see that possibility on yours.

[Formulajones]

Mine has grease pencil markings on the upper left brace. Mine is just a date.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by Transamric

Yes, I've had a couple Formula hoods with paint pen or crayon marks before. But these were always easily discernable as date codes. Don't see that possibility on yours.

That's what I was thinking...may have been added later, or means something unknown if applied at the PMD.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Mine has grease pencil markings on the upper left brace. Mine is just a date.

Yes, my '71 Formula has the crayon date written (2-12-71), but on the right side brace??? 05B build date on the trim tag, so a 3 month difference when the hood was installed...interesting.

Dennis

[Transamric]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Yes, my '71 Formula has the crayon date written (2-12-71), but on the right side brace??? 05B build date on the trim tag, so a 3 month difference when the hood was installed...interesting.

Dennis

Interesting to see that your '71 hood was written first as 12-7 and then changed to 2-12. The things we'll never know the reasons why!

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by Transamric

Interesting to see that your '71 hood was written first as 12-7 and then changed to 2-12. The things we'll never know the reasons why!

Hmmm, I'm not seeing that...??? How are you seeing that?

Dennis

[Transamric]

I'm seeing a very faint 7 written under the 12. Like it was written first and then mostly rubbed out. It's biased a bit more under the 2 than the 1.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by Transamric

I'm seeing a very faint 7 written under the 12. Like it was written first and then mostly rubbed out. It's biased a bit more under the 2 than the 1.

Yeah, I see that too. I'm really puzzled by the 482 422 crayon marks on the '70's hood still. It doesn't correlate with any RPO or UPC numbers that I can see, or anything to do with a date like normally seen on other Formula hoods. The invoice date on the PHS is 04-29....?

Dennis

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Yes, my '71 Formula has the crayon date written (2-12-71), but on the right side brace??? 05B build date on the trim tag, so a 3 month difference when the hood was installed...interesting.

Dennis

That's really cool.

Mine has a written date of 5-9-70 and it's a 5D build on the trim tag. So it dated fairly close to the car, within a couple weeks. It's also a Van Nuys build.

[johnta1]

Is the hood a real RA hood?
(functional)

[SD455DJ]

The '70 Formula is a factory RAIII , so has it's original factory functional hood. The '71 455HO Formula wasn't ordered with Ram Air, so came with the dual snorkel/dual heat riser air cleaner. I added the Ram Air to that one as it already had the openings cut out and the correct repop screens installed. Mike Sparks sold me a correct original '71 F-body RA air cleaner with the studs on the flapper housings.

Dennis