I have the original tires on my 73. The car only has 17,000 miles on it but its been sitting in a garage for 20 years. I’m afraid to drive on them and have a blow out. Thinking they probably have dry rot. Was going to take them off the rims and powder coat the rims. Any suggestions on which Brand to buy would be appreciated. I’m not trying to be exact as original. Just want the best riding tires. Would like the white walls tho. The original tires are B.F. Goodrich Silvertown Belted E78-14. Thanks
Whitewalls are getting harder to come by. But Diamondback can create anything you’d want in a whitewall even in a 14" size radial. You just tell them the size tire you want and how wide a whitewall and how far off the rim you want that whitewall.
I have a set of 15 inch 1.5" white walls on my wife’s Oldsmobile Vert. They’re Pirelli tires but the sidewalls are smoothed with no lettering, only the whitewall. They’re pricey but worth it. IMO. They ride fantastically.
Check their catalog:
http://www.dbtires.com/2015_catalog/2015_Catalog_Lo.pdf
Steer clear of similar companies like Coker. Their quality is just not there. Lots of defects.
Thanks. I just called them. They told me to buy the 205-70/14 $224 each. Wondering if I should stay with 14’s or go with larger 15"
I disagree with the tire size recommendation. The stock E78-14 is a 26" diameter tire. The 205/70-14 is 25.3. Not a huge difference, but enough to effect your speedometer, and won’t fill the wheelwells quite as well. I’d go with a 205/75-14 (26.1" diameter) or a 215/70-14 (25.9" diameter.)
Both sizes are readily available in whitewalls. For example: http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/tires/hankook/size/viewProductDetail.do?ra=%2Ftires%2Fhankook%2Fsize%2FviewProductResults&pc=10982&ar=75&rd=14&cs=205
or: http://www.tires-direct.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&typ=R-264646&partner=1&ID=psm_rdb_us_nextag
Alternately, 215/70-14s are available in raised white letter style from Cooper and BF Goodrich. Maybe not original, but period-correct and look good on a Cougar.
Anyhow, good luck!