Vintage tyre

[bob46320]

    I have a Firestone tyre which looks superb, got a fair tread but is at least 50 years old, sitting on a 19" wheel.  The hub is OK, the rim, although painted and clean has too many pinhole rust patches to make it either safe or serviceable.  Some of the spokes are a bit bent / necked.  Should I save the hub and chuck the rest or what.

[Hedd_Jones]

If it were me id put it on a car as is.

The doom mongers will tell you its unsafe. Ive bust loads of spokes but never had a wheel fail or a tyre burst depite driving an Austin like a lunatic and a less risk averse attitude to tyres.

If your worried put it on as the spare.

[andrew34ruby]

I'm with Hedd on this.

[Reckless Rat]

Send it me, Bob. I'll have it!

[Tony Press]

When I acquired the Austin 7 Latrobe Sports the 20 year old tyres stayed 'up' even when 'flat' and had minimal traction in braking.  

In my view any tyre over 10 years is 'out of date'.

[Nick Salmon]

I am one of the last people to give a hoot about modern ideas on 'elf and safety but I think it would be madness to use such an old tyre on a public highway. A tyre of even a quarter of that age will have severely degraded grip characteristics, especially under emergency braking. And in the event of an accident and/or insurance claim don't be surprised if the police and the insurers check on tyre condition and age...with subsequent consequences.

[Lance Sheldrick]

I love the idea of "emergency braking" in a seven.

[David Stepney]

I love the idea of "emergency braking" in a seven.

Emergency braking in a Seven has nothing to do with tyres. One throws a tethered anchor out of the window in the hope it will snag some stout piece of street furniture.

[Nick Turley]

Personally I would use it as a spare, not on the car.

The driving characteristics of a decent new tyre like Longstone are so good why mess about with hard old tyres.
Just my view. .

[Robert Leigh]

I bought a late RN many years ago, in fair running order. A little rust showed on the wheel rims but it did not worry me at first. Trouble was revealed on the way back from a Longbridge rally. In the outskirts of Birmingham I heard something rubbing in the offside rear wheel arch. The briefest examination showed a red balloon of tube poking through the inside of the wheel rim. Expecting it to pop within seconds I hoofed it down the road, but my passenger hoping to recover the situation a little tried to remove the valve. His ear was within two feet of the bang as the tube gave up, and many windows above shops at the roadside opened as residents tried to see who had been shot! My advice would be not to trust the wheel without removing the tyre and tube to properly examine the rim condition.
Robert Leigh