coker
-
February 19, 2018Phoenix Race Tires, a division of Coker Tire Company is devoted to providing great tires for drag racers, and does so with a wide range of bias ply and radial slicks geared toward the sportsman drag racer. A variety of sizes and compounds are available to fit many applications from weekend warriors in stock suspension street cars to Super Stock cars and dragsters. The newest size in the Phoenix Race Tires brand is the 4.5/28.0-15 front runner tire. This Phoenix front runner tire is sized for mid-size or full-size needing a tall front tire. A common application for this tall front runner is Nostalgia Super Stock. The new front runner is being developed with the latest tire technology and it is DOT certified. It is designed for drag race use, but it is also a great choice for muscle cars, street rods and gassers, and can see limited highway use. The tread design is a throwback to the Firestone style
-
February 15, 2018Coker Tire specializes in whitewall tires, so we thought it would be cool to have a little history lesson about the history of whitewalls. To find the earliest usage of a whitewall tire, you have to rewind the clock more than 100 years. Originally, automotive tires were off white in color, due to the natural color of the rubber formula used by tire companies. Zinc oxide would later be used to give the tires a more bright white color. Then, in 1910, B.F. Goodrich used a substance called "carbon black" in the manufacturing process. This formula strengthened the rubber, which was quite important considering the condition of the roads back then. When mixed with the raw materials, the carbon black caused the tire to be black. A short time later, a smaller tire company jumped on the carbon black bandwagon, but only added it to the tread surface as a cost savings. The result? Black tread and
-
November 21, 2017Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive 2017 -- The joy of helping others is something brings a smile to our faces, and it's a pretty common thread in the collector vehicle community. These old cars aren't necessary expenditures, so car people can spare a few bucks to help others. We wanted to give back to the community by hosting an annual toy drive event right here at our facility. Given the success of our Chattanooga Cruise In events, we knew this would be a great opportunity to get folks together and gather up some toys and donations for the local chapter Toys for Tots foundation. As with any November car event, the weather forecast was pretty iffy. In fact, there was a 90 percent chance of rain for Saturday, November 18th, which obviously affected the turnout of cars, but we still had more than 100 cars and trucks participate in the Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive. Thankfully, the rain held off long enough for us to have a great day on the streets of Chattanooga, watching the pile of toys
-
September 19, 2017(Photos by Daniel Strohl, Hemmings Motor News) Without question, the greatest cars in the world rely on Coker Tire products for authenticity and the winner of the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance continues to prove it. This year's Best in Show is Bill Alley's 1914 Locomobile Berline, a spectacular example of an automotive rarity, as it is believed to be the only surviving car of this model. The massive touring car commands attention everywhere it goes, and it rolls on a set of our Goodrich Silvertown high pressure whitewall tires. Even though the car has been completed for quite some time, Bill keeps it looking fresh and clean, and it was enough to take home top honors from the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance event this past weekend. While the beautifully restored Locomobile stole the show with its stature and authenticity, there were many other classic cars on the show
-
December 22, 2016McKee Foods is best known for its Little Debbie snack cakes, and it's truly a pleasure to share real estate here in the Tennessee Valley with such an excellent company. They are located just up the road from us in Collegedale, Tennessee, and we recently struck a deal with them to display a very special car in our museum. It is a 1928 Whippet 6, a low-priced sedan that was manufactured by Willys-Overland for only a few years. Although it is quite rare to see a Whippet these days, they were not all that desirable in comparison to the Ford Model A of the same era. McKee Foods founder, O.D. McKee bought a 1928 Whippet sedan in 1931 to serve as a delivery vehicle for his bakery. He removed the rear seat and sold 5-cent snack cakes out of the back of the sedan. Fast forward nearly 30 years and McKee Foods is approaching its major turning point, when O.D. McKee's son, Ellsworth, created the "family pack" of Little Debbie snack cakes. As the company continued to succeed and grow, O.D. wanted to
-
October 09, 2015As you know, we love it when vintage American iron is on the road, instead of sitting in the garage. When we peeked out the window and saw two vintage motorcycles sitting in the parking lot, we had to go investigate. As it turns out, Steve Burris and Bruce Mason stopped at Coker Tire for our daily tour, to check out Corky's collection of cars, motorcycles and memorabilia. They were quite a ways from home, but they had a little more traveling to do before reaching their destination of Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama for the annual Barber Vintage Festival. This vintage motorcycle show and race has become a huge attraction for motorcycle enthusiasts, including these two dudes from Ohio. We're glad they stopped by Coker Tire on their way to Barber, and we enjoyed eyeballing their '48 Harley Davidson Panhead and '37 Indian, which rolls on Coker Diamond Tread 400.18 motorcycle tires. We wish them safe travels on the rest of their trip, and hope they can join us again in the future. If you haven't checked out our daily tours, feel free to drop by Monday through Thursday at 10am and 1pm Eastern time, and Friday at 10am and 2pm to check out our place. Keep reading for more pictures of these awesome vintage motorcycles! [products]
-
July 17, 2015While we are not newcomers to the vintage motorcycle world, we are somewhat new to the custom motorcycle scene, in the sense that we have not previously offered purpose built tires for custom motorcycles. With the overwhelming popularity of our Firestone Deluxe Champion motorcycle tires, it is only fitting for us to be involved with the industry, and support great events such as the Born-Free Motorcycle Show at the Oak Canyon Ranch in Southern California. 2015 is only the seventh year for Born-Free, but it's easily one of the biggest (and certainly the fastest-growing) custom motorcycle shows in the world. Builders from many countries brought out their creations with a total of 25 build-off entries, hand selected by the show organizers. Many motorcycles, including bobbers, choppers, cafe racers, brat bikes and more, rolled on our Firestone tires, but there were also a number of bikes using our Coker motorcycle tires, and a few of our other product offerings.
-
February 24, 2015Coker Tire Company has been a huge supporter of the Great Race for many years, and continues to be a sponsor of the event each year. The Great Race promotes DRIVING old cars, and that's what we're all about. We're excited to announce that the Great Race has expanded its format to include the Great American Tour for this year's course on historic Route 66. And while the Great Race is geared toward competition, with $150,000 up for grabs, the event organizers decided to offer a more laid back option for car enthusiasts who wanted more of a tour and less of a race. The result is the Hemmings Motor News Great American Tour presented by Hagerty, an epic journey on historic Route 66 to see all the sights of The Mother Road.
-
September 25, 2014Click here to check out videos from past Coker Tire Challenge Events and also subscribe to our YouTube Channel while you're at it!
-
August 25, 2014As part of a multi-day tour, the Carolina Jaguar Club paid us a visit, and toured our facility. Tour Guide, Steve Anderson gave them a wonderful tour, packed with tidbits about our buildings, our cars, and our company history. It was an enjoyable visit to Chattanooga for all of the Jaguar enthusiasts, and we saw quite a few of them eyeballing Corky's '68 XKE roadster in the museum. Many of the cars that visited us were modern Jaguars, but we were pleased to see a '60s XKE coupe, as well as a '56 XK 140 OTS (open two seat), along with the group. Both classic Jag's were beautifully restored, and we were especially partial to the XK 140, as it rolled on a set of our Michelin X 185R16 radials.
-
November 05, 2013We're currently at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada! It's always an exciting event, and this year we are going all out. We have THREE major press conferences, one of them being the unveiling of the Lencki Six engine, an inline six-cylinder engine that ran in the Indy 500 for many years.We had an incredible turnout for the press conference, with folks like Chip Foose, Bryan Fuller, Troy Ladd and many others taking notice of the updated version of this Indy classic.
-
August 17, 2013[caption id="attachment_3876" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Known simply as "the Quail"[/caption] After two days strolling through the dream-scape that is Monterey weekend. Corky Coker and Wade Kawasaki know two things already, wear good shoes and stay prepared to be amazed. This is the world renowned week of priceless classic vehicles, historic races and stacks of top-shelf car auctions that culminates with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
-
August 16, 2013Well, they're not exactly on speaking terms with ole Ralph, but maybe the controversial "Unsafe at Any Speed" writer inadvertently made these cars even more popular in the long run? The cult-like following of Corvair owners across the United States are as dedicated to their favorite cars (and vans) as any group out there. One such club, filled the Coker Tire Company parking lot today as the Choo Choo Corvair Club toured the Chattanooga, Tennessee headquarters.
-
May 08, 2013In case you didn't already know, the crew at Coker Tire Company deals with more than "just tires". We have wheels, hot rod parts, and much more to keep up with, and that includes a bicycle company called Coker Cycle Company. The cycle company is known for its 36-inch tires and wheels, so these specialty bicycles and unicycles have a larger than life personality. Coker Cycles is proud to announce the new and improved edition of our popular Wheelman bicycle, a modern rendition of the famous Penny Farthing-style "high wheel" bicycle.
-
April 23, 2013Members from Hot Rod Magazine, Chattanooga Visitor Bureau, Family Events and Coker Tire Company were on hand in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee today to announce Chattanooga as a stop on the upcoming 2013 Hot Rod Power Tour. The massive car tour visited Chattanooga in 2010 bringing thousands of cars, people and revenue to the city. The 2010 visit made a good enough impression to get the encore opportunity in 2013. The event projects over 3,000 participants rolling onto the campus of Chattanooga State throughout the day, with the event hours scheduled from 12:00pm to 7:00pm. The Chattanooga festivities won't stop at 7:00pm, as there's an after-party planned at the headquarters of Coker Tire Company in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee
-
February 22, 2013We were just informed that the time slot changed for Hot Rod TV on Speed Channel! The Great Race will be featured on an episode of Hot Rod TV, which will air on March 23, at 10am EST. It will re-air on Sunday, March 24 at 7am and 10:30pm EST. Check your local listings just to be sure...you don't want to miss it!
-
August 10, 2012[caption id="attachment_2796" align="aligncenter" width="640"] SHAY OWNER'S CLUB INTERNATIONAL Tour Group[/caption] Look closely and you'll see the lug count isn't quite what you expected. They're replicas! Harry Shay's Model A replicas were built between 1979 and 1982 and could be bought through Ford dealers and a group of Shay Model A enthusiasts found their way to Coker Tire Company today for a tour.
-
August 07, 2012Among our fondest memories and during the most impressionable time of any gearhead's life are the teen years when cars were the coolest and the mysteries of hot rodding were just beginning to reveal themselves. Many of us had a shop class in school and piddled the hours away imagining how fast that Camaro would be if we could just afford a new set of aluminum heads all while learning to change the spark plugs in the assistant principle's Camry.
-
July 30, 2012
Coker Tire Offers A New 185/55R15 Whitewall Tire Suited for Compact Cars
Chattanooga, TN Throughout automotive history, the whitewall tire has been one of the most popular choices on everything from luxurious sedans to muscle cars. These days, whitewalls are still available for classic cars, but adding this vintage style to a new car leaves enthusiasts with very few options. Coker Tire Company, the worlds leading supplier of collector car tires and wheels, decided to fill this void by producing a modern radial tire with a wide whitewall, designed to fit the new Fiat 500 and other compact cars. -
June 28, 2012Tuesday evening in Kanata, Ontario marked the finish of Stage Four of the 2012 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. What a reception we received from the hometown of our own Brian Goudge aka Motormouth in Kanata/Ottowa, Ontario!When our PA system malfunctioned and could not play the Canadian National anthem, "Oh Canada" I asked if there was anyone who could lead us in singing it. Our new best friend "Page" jumped right up and led the crowd with a beautiful rendition of the Canadian favorite. Thank you again Page! There were several thousand passionate old car fans and several hundred cruise in cars on display. Kanata did it up right too with a wonderful roasted chicken meal for all the Great Racers.
-
March 28, 2012
Here at Coker Tire, we love to handle business the old fashioned way. We've been around since '58, so these traditional values have long been a staple of this company. However, during this day and age, you have to reach out to your core customers and find new ones with alternative methods, such as social media. A few years ago, a website was considered "good enough", but now, it's common for an automotive aftermarket company to spend quite a bit of resources to maintain a strong social presence on the internet. For Coker Tire, we're on the move with lots of social media efforts, with the goal of reaching our core demographic and keeping folks aware of our scope in the automotive field.
For our company, social media has been a passion of the Marketing Department, and it has blossomed nicely over the past year or so. It's important to keep things fresh, so we're constantly updating our pages with new content to help keep you in the loop! First off is the
-
October 11, 2011It takes a lot of dedication to drive a vintage car everyday. Old cars require a lot more maintenance and they're ill-tempered no matter the driving conditions. One young man, Jonathan Klinger, an employee at Hagerty Insurance, decided he'd drive his '30 Ford Model A sedan everyday for a year, so he did just that...and he did it on a set of Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial tires! You can read all about his journeys, which are about to come to a close at his website http://www.365daysofa.com/. Jonathan certainly sounds like our kind of guy, and his "about" post on his blog says it all: "I'm Jonathan Klinger and I'm spending one full year driving a 1930 Model A everywhere I go. (Starting October 13, 2010) Why? Because not everything a person owns should contain a computer." If you like old cars, and you like an entertaining read, check out Jonathan's blog!
-
April 28, 2011We have groups of people come into our facility for tours all the time, but it's extra special when they show up in a cool car! Take for example, the Bandit Run--this event came through Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago, and made a stop right here at Coker Tire. Many Trans Ams surrounded the area, including over a dozen "Bandit" Trans Ams, which parked in front of Honest Charley Garage, across the street.
-
April 04, 2011Have you ever wanted to hop in an old car and drive it across the United States? Now that Coker Tire has acquired the Great Race, you can do just that with a bunch of car guy buddies along the way. The Great Race has been around for quite some time, but the new configuration will have more elements to make your driving experience even more fun! The veterans are tough to beat, but its hard to become one without being a rookie firstcome try it out and youll find out why everyone enjoys it so much! Doing well in any of the Great Race events requires precision, as with any time, speed, endurance rally, and youll find a gathering of very skilled and well known teams at each rally event.
-
March 18, 2011Alright, the weather is beginning to straighten out, and it's time to roll the windows down and go for a ride. As you know, we don't really get into the whole "trailer queen" thing--these old cars are meant to be driven! With that in mind, you should always keep an eye on your tread wear characteristics, to make sure you get the most out of your tires. Tread wear depends greatly on your suspension alignment, and if that's off, you'll chew through a set of tires in no time. Of course, our business is selling tires, so we don't mind if you buy a new set of tires every few thousand miles, but it's important to get this stuff sorted out, so you get a little more enjoyment out of your collector car. Vehicles with solid axles, front and rear, are a little tougher to align properly, while vehicles with independent suspension have a lot more wiggle room when it comes to adjusting camber, caster and toe.
-
February 17, 2011We get emails from customers all the time, telling us about their experiences with our tires. And as most of you know, we're FIRM believers in driving old cars, instead of letting them sit. Well, take a look at this email we got from Joyce Chance: Model T Ford Touring car 1916/17 from North Pole, Alaska. It was used on the Valdez to Fairbanks trail from 1917 to 1926 and around Fairbanks until 1929 when placed in storage. I got the car in 2006 when it came out of storage for the first time. It was first registered in the Territory of Alaska in 1957. I am the first to register the car in Alaska with a plate. All Coker Firestones. Here are some pictures of the car!
-
February 14, 2011If you look at our catalog, you'll notice some miscellaneous tires toward the rear. One interesting tire that makes people scratch their head is the Snow Bird tire for Model A's. These tires feature paddles and a heavy duty 6-ply construction, so they are ready for serious action in the snow. The Snow Bird tires measure 28x4.75 inches and mount to a 19-inch Ford Model A wire wheel. They have the original brand name "ARPS Corporation" on the sidewall and they are as authentic as you can get. We rarely get to see a set of these in action, but found these cool videos of Model A and Model T snow mobiles motoring around in the white stuff. Check it out!
-
January 07, 2011It's that time again! Every winter, the World of Wheels comes to Chattanooga, inside the Chattanooga Convention Center, which is right around the corner from our headquarters on Chestnut Street. It's an indoor car show that always draws a big crowd because of its attractions, and of course the great collection of cars being displayed! This year, our neighbors at Honest Charley Garage are showcasing a few buildups at the show, including the recently-finished 1952 MG TD owned by Wes Kliner.