C3: 73 Original Firestone tire

[Steve L.]

I'm stripping my rolling chassis for clean up and took out my spare tire.
It is the original Firestone tire!

Of the original Firestones that came with the car:
-2 tires had split the sidewall on the inside just sitting parked in the first year('74).
-1 tire the steel belt strands started to peel through the rubber on the tread
-1 tire I hit a small chunk of ice on the hwy. A big bulge formed on the tire bottom.

These tires were forceably recalled at some time around '74 '75.

Anyway.....I was surprised that I still had the original.

Steve L
73 coupe since new.

[Mike M.]

Re: C3: 73 Original Firestone tire

a friend bought a 74 in nthe spring of 74. by june of 74, chevy/firestone notified him of the recall. car had 2000 miles at the time and tires had not craped themselves yet. he took the 74 back and got 5 new goodyears(i believe--possible goodrich) . i bought it from the friend in 83. it has 19k miles. possible bowtie candidate if i ever get off my butt. its a 454, 4 speed, Air cond coupe. red with saddle leather. have fun with yours, mike

[Reba Whittington]

Re: C3: 73 Original Firestone tire

Not that you would want to drive on this tire, Steve, but for judging, having an original spare will get you condition points on all five tires.

[Steve L.]

Re: C3: 73 Original Firestone tire

thanks Reba
I guess I won't be a nice guy and let someone complete a set.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

[Jack H.]

Then, there's the other poor *&^%$#.....

I bought a '74 Thunderbird in 1975. Later I drove it from Chicago to Detroit. At 80 MPH on the freeway coming into Detroit the LF steel belted 500 radial de-laminated.

It tore out the wheel well, ripped the engine electrical harness, wrapped around the axle and the T-Bird did a 360 spin on the freeway then rolled tip to tale twice dumping me into the center median. My 3-point harness kept me in the seat and I wasn't hurt, but my pants WERE discolored!!!!

Fortunately, this prevented me from making a 1:15 luncheon appointment to interview a job applicant at a resturant north of Detroit on Telegraph Road (Machus' Red Fox). If I HAD made that appointment, I'd have pulled into the parking lot at EXACTLY the time Jimmy Hauffa was kidnapped! So, I guess you can say I was 'saved' by Firestone 500 radial tires....

Initially, Firestone denied any liabilty and wanted to pro-rate the failed tire, replace it and send me on my way. But, a call (I FORCED) to Firestone's headquarters in Akron wound up being taken by their chief legal council. After a 'friendly chat' they agreed to repair/replace my car, install five new polyglass wide ovals vs. 500 steel belted radials IF I agreed to a hold harmless document and I allowed them to confisgate the original tires (read that--destroy the evidence). We did the 'deal' and went our separate ways and I was a happy camper. But, drive on another set of Firestone tires in my life, WHO's kidding WHOM????

BTW, the Firestone store manager was instructed to run the payment transaction through his store's PETTY CASH account and write NO checks in the settlement....

[Chuck S.]

Re: Then, there's the other poor *&^%$#.....

Jack, after hearing this and other tales you have experienced, I wonder if any thoughts you might have on "the purpose of life" shouldn't transcend to "What is the divine purpose of MY life".

[Jack H.]

Definition:

Your life IS what you do with it!

[Chuck S.]

Re: Definition:

What our lives become from personal decisions we make is easy to understand. The "why" of life is where it becomes baffling for most. If we cannot confront the truth, as unlikely as it may seem to us, the easy answer is random chance...in other words, you walked away from that disaster because you won the auto accident immortality lottery. It's true that "seat belts save lives", but it's also true that many are killed in their seatbelts.