And when we say NEW sizes, we actually mean OLD sizes that hot rodders have been asking about for years! Back in the '60s, '70s and '80s, it was very popular to use Firestone Dirt Track tires on the rear of a highboy hot rod, and 11.00-16 sizing was quite common. Very famous hot rods rolled on these massive 11.00-16 or similar Dirt Trackers, including the Limefire roadster, the Eastwood & Barakat Sedan, Jake's Coupe (think Pete & Jake's) and many more. Firestone Double Diamond Dirt Track tires were also a key ingredient for Tom Prufer's perfectly proportioned hot rods.
When you're around old cars 24/7, you start to become immune to the cool factor that old cars provide. And while we appreciate each and every old car out there, sometimes we just glaze over because it's "just another day in the office". A couple weeks ago, we had a group of visitors that shook us out of our day-to-day routine and made us think about the major cool factor of our jobs. Twelve, count 'em, REAL Shelby Cobras came to the Coker Tire headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee to hang out for the evening. This is once in a lifetime stuff for a car nut, and we took lots of pictures to capture the evening.
We love hot rods with history, especially when they end up in the hands of a true hot rodder. We've seen our share of significant hot rods get the modern street rod treatment with independent suspension, modern engine and billet wheels...it's enough to make a man cry. Luckily, guys like Kevin Gill (local hot rodder from Ooltewah, TN) are interested in keeping history alive by preserving old hot rods. His newest acquisition is a 1929 Ford Model A roadster that has deep roots in the hot rod world, and even spent some time as a racecar in the '50s. The car had what many would consider the "wrong tires" on it, so he came to Coker Tire with intentions of giving his historic roadster a new attitude.
Around here, there's no better way to celebrate the Indianapolis 500 than to show off some of our tires, built specifically for vintage Indy cars. In fact, we're up here in Indy right now, showing off our Marmon Wasp replica, along with our Firestone Indy tire selection, which are all built from either original Firestone molds or new molds built from the original drawings. We'll post up some pictures from the event later, but for now, check out a finished photo of the Marmon Wasp, and our line of Firestone Indy tires in the spirit of the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500!
[caption id="attachment_1522" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Group shot of the Honest Charley Garage crew with the finished Marmon Wasp!"][/caption]