Topic: 67'and 68 original tires

[68 S Code]

Wondering if there is a consensus on what brand and specific tires were used on 68 mustangs. It seems that Firestonewasmthe brand but there were two models which were prevalent at the time. This not just for Fords but all makes. One was the Wide Oval and the other Deluxe Champion. I've seen an original wide oval in the trunk of a 67 but also a Deluxe Champion. Both were F70-14's. These molds weren't for a one year run so was it an either or? I've also seen a build sheet with E70-14 listed. Then in 68 the CJ's cameoutwithyhe Goodyear Polyglas.

[roddster]

I'd like to expand the question to the 67 S code cars.  My Marti report says "F 70 X 14 wide oval tires" and another line that says White side walls.  Did they make white wall F 70 X 14s ?  And, what brand would they be?  If you need to know late October 1966 San Jose build.

[67gta289]

It is my understanding that all 67 F70x14 Wide Ovals were Firestone (Wide Oval was their trade name) and whitewall style.  Here are a few pics I've found.
Two of these pics are Ford promo shots, and don't always reflect what occured in production - but in this case the tires appear to.  There are other posts on this website that discuss this also. John

[68 S Code]

The Marti report actually lists Firestone Wide Oval? The pics John posted are correct as they were white walls and not the raised block letters I remember from the early 70's. In addition a friend of mine has a 67 K code and his car still had it's spare which was the Wide Oval. Out of curiosity what suspension is listed on your Marti? Special handling, competition or heavy duty? Did you find a build sheet? I don't know if 67 was the first year of wide oval production? The promo picture of the red fastback is of a 68. Yesterday I saw a Firestone Deluxe Champion F78-14 out of a 67 Plymouth at a swap meet. It was The original owner of the car selling it so verified that the Champion was also available in 67. So it seems to me that both tires were available in 67 and 68. Probably different ride and handling characteristics. Marty posted a pic a while ago which showed an F70-14 deluxe Champion he found in an original unrestored 68 car. So it doesn't seem to make much difference whether it was an F70 or E70 as to which model of tire was used because I've seen both Deluxe Champion and Wide Ovals in F70-14. So we know Wide ovals in 67 but which is correct for 68? Maybe either or? I believe I've seen a Marti report which listed 6.??-14. What is that tire? By the way the WSW nomenclature on the Marti report means White Side Wall. The Goodyear Poliglas without raised size was a late 68 production piece which came out on the 68 1/2 CJs. Ford used those tires on Bosses, CJ Mach 1's and Shelby's in 69 and half of 70 production. The size in white lettering started in January of 70 per a conversation I had with Bob Perkins last week. I noticed that his very low milage grabber orange boss 02 had no size Polyglas GT's which prompted the question.

[68 S Code]

John the last pic you posted is not the Wide Oval sidewall I've seen in the past. The one I saw on the 67 K code was different. Is that the reproduction which Coker offers. By the look of the wheels is this a shot of one of the 67 K codes highlighted in MM a few issues ago? Those wheels look like the ones on one of the two cars in the article. I believe the Fastback was at Des Moines MCA national show.

[67gta289]

The last two pics were from a (supposed) 4000 mile GT with odd wire wheels that had dealer installed documentation IIRC.  Sold through BJ auction.  There is another thread discussiong various features of this vehicle.  I can't say whether or not the tires are original.  Just posted examples of what I've been collecting.  I've also seen vintage pictures (late 60's) of a similar (from a picture perspective) Firestone Wide Oval tire that had some of the lettering, in addition to the circular stripe, in white.  I've also read that the tires put on the 67 models exhibited abnormal wear and were subject to a lot of complaints to dealers after a year or so.

[ruppstang]

John the last pic you posted is not the Wide Oval sidewall I've seen in the past. The one I saw on the 67 K code was different. Is that the reproduction which Coker offers. By the look of the wheels is this a shot of one of the 67 K codes highlighted in MM a few issues ago? Those wheels look like the ones on one of the two cars in the article. I believe the Fastback was at Des Moines MCA national show.

I judged the K code car in Des Moines and it had the competition handling option and 15 inch wheels. A completely different tires, Speedway 500s I think. Quinten help me here. Marty

[68 S Code]

Marty so that car had 15" Shelby tires? My mistake.

[Bob Gaines]

Marty so that car had 15" Shelby tires? My mistake.

The 67 blue K code was one of the cars in the Mustang monthly article.the other 67 K code is in Northern CA.  There was also a 67 390 car that had the same suspension package that also had the same optional 15 wheels . The tires on the 390 car were the assemblyline correct high speed police car tires . The K code had 67 Shelby tires mounted for lack of access to the assemblyline correct tires like the 390 car had. Bob

[68 S Code]

Bob thanks for clearing the 67's from Des Moines up. So to get back on thread was the Firestone, Sup R Belt, Super  Wide Oval  Sport, WSW F70-14 an assembly line tire for mustangs with the heavy duty (not competition handling) package when F's upgraded the E series standard tire? It appears that there was also a Firestone Deluxe Champion tire available both in 67 and 68 so was it an either or, or a plant thing, or a time frame thing? Could the Goodyear Polyglas F70 have replaced the Firestone at the plants making CJ's late in the model year or has there never been a documented example of this on an unrestored car?

[68 S Code]

Did some research on Firestone tires and the Deluxe Champions were released in 68 so probably not installed on any 67's at the plant. It also appears that 67's with Wide Ovals were not Super Wide Oval Sports. Could be just Wide Oval similar to the script found on the Deluxe Champions. There seem to be differences in the location of Firestone and the direction it is molded on the sidewall between years.