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What size tire on my Ford Model A? read more...
RADIAL and BIAS PLY REDLINE TIRES for CLASSICS and MUSCLE CARS
Going back to the early days of automobiles, sidewall treatment has always been important. Until the early ‘60s, the going theme was wide whitewalls, which seemed to get narrower with each year, eventually getting down to the 3/8-inch whitewall. Also known as a pinstripe whitewall, the 3/8-inch stripe was perfect for the increasingly powerful muscle cars that the big three debuted in 1964, but a plain whitewall didn’t do provide an aggressive appearance. To step it up a notch, GM, Ford and Chrysler took a trait from British sports cars and installed redline tires on its performance cars for several years.
After seeing that redline tires were a hit with consumers at the time, the manufactures began experimenting with different colors on the sidewalls as well. Chevrolet used gold pinstripes on ’65 and ’66 Corvettes, and they were sized at 7.75-15 and used mainly on big block cars with knockoff wheels. Other sidewall treatments consisted of blue pinstripes, and Coker Tire offers all three colors (red, gold, blue) in various sizes to fit factory specifications. Coker sells bias ply tires for authentic restorations, and radial tires if you want modern performance, and plan on driving your muscle car on a regular basis.
With brands like Firestone, BFGoodrich (bias ply and radial), U.S. Royal, Coker Classic and American Classic there are plenty of choices when it comes to redline tires. The BFGoodrich Silvertown Radials are available in many sizes, and the American Classic radials fit wheels up to 17 inches in diameter, so there’s no end to the list of applications. Within all of those brands, you’ll find that Coker has a great line of model-specific tires, such as the dual redline tires, originally available on early Mustangs. Dual redlines are available from BFGoodrich and U.S. Royal in bias ply form, but if you choose to update your ride with a set of dual redline radials, Coker Classic and BFGoodrich have the right tire for you.
In the end, the real decision is whether you want the authentic design of a bias ply tire like the Firestone Wide Oval series, or a tire with updated radial technology, like the popular line of BFGoodrich Silvertown radials. It’s all about how you plan to use the car, so choose wisely and hit the road in classic muscle car style with a set of redline tires from Coker!
