Jeff those Firestones are bias ply. The only FR70-14 brand that has been seen on the GT-E / XR7-G on Cougars has been the BF Goodrich brand. All the Marti Reports that specify a brand of tire say for the GT-E or XR7-G say Goodyear that I have seen, It’s odd because by this time the Ford and Firestone families had been intermarried for decades. Did Firestone even make a radial FR70-14 in 1968?
As an aside, my next door neighbor in 1968 bought a brand new Mustang convertible with 289-2V and highly optioned. The car came factory equipped with Michelin radial tires that were I think ER70-14. Everyone in the neighborhood had to endure the stories of how the radial tires and disc brakes were revolutionary and new things according to the owner. They were small and troublesome with several incidents involving split cords with the tires still holding air but all distorted on the rim. Eventually the dealer replaced them with bias ply tires under warranty.
Here is what Jim has on the registry and also a picture of my first “Keeper” GTE as well as a couple then and now pictures. I can whole heartedly say that passing on the red GTE to pursue my wife Renee was the best choice ever!
(1) Chain of ownership:
William Fuller, Aberdeen, WA
Unnamed neighbor of Fullers’
Loren Wade, Vacouver, WA
Steve Hollis, Camas, WA
Dave Brost, Portland, Or
Greg Taylor, Rutherford, NC
Robin Jacques, Brevard, NC
(2) Marti report
(3) Don Rush forum posting; 09-22-20
(4) 2/7/01; WCCC email posting of ebay ad for car
(5) 3/2/01; forwarded email from Don Terry to Don Rush discussing memory of the car in Aberdeen
(6) 8/27/03; Greg Taylor email discussing his decision to sell the car.
(7) seven, 4 x 5 snapshots of the car taken in the Brosts’ backyard.
" Reminds me of the 1967 XR7 GT I purchased in 1987 for $375.00."
Good story! Those were the days, they were just used cars to some and treasures to others. I know of 2 GTE owners locally that bought GTE’s without knowing what they were for cheap. One guy, Kevin Bly in Carson WA picked up a GTE for $20 and a used started, he did not know his metric conversion table and he owned the car for some time before he realized it was not a 390…
Royce, the tire that Scott shows above, the BF Goodrich Silvertown, RADIAL in raised white letters (the only raised white letters oddly enough), followed by 990 whatever that means, is that what you have seen as factory for GT-E’S?
That white RADIAL does qualify it as WSW as listed on the Marti. But when I read “Wide Oval” on the Marti, that can’t be for a BF Goodrich tire can it? I would think that’s a Firestone trademark.
No, it is a similar era BFG radial tire but not a whitewall. All (with a couple notable show car exceptions) of the tires used on the GT-E and early (Through about April 1, 1968) XR7-G’s were BF Goodrich FR70-14 whitewalls as shown in the photo I posted. The whitewall is extremely skinny, much like the current offering from Coker Tire in appearance. No other tire looks similar at all.
