F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

[Bob B.]

Hi all,

In one pic of my 1957 Corvette racing in 1966 I can tell the tires are raised white letters with GOODYEAR with the winged foot in the middle, but with the motion, it is hard to tell if there is anything on the opposite side of the tire. In a later still pic, the tires are Goodyear Polyglass GT - F60-15's, so the tires could be later also. I thought that that system didn't come in till like 1968, but I'm wondering if Goodyear may have possibly used it earlier so that I can use these for the restoration.

If not, then does anyone know of a good reproduction of a Goodyear or Firestone tire that was used for racing in the mid-60s?

Thanks,

Bob

[Dick W.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

http://carrollshelbyent.com/sportscar.php

[Bob B.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Hi Dick,

Thanks for the link, but do you know if the F60-15 type designation might have been used by Goodyear as early as 1966?

Bob

[Dick W.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

60 series came about '68-'70

[Tom D.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Copied from Wikipedia: The Goodyear Polyglas tire is a trademark of Goodyear. It was the name of a bias belted tire introduced in 1967 which generally had a wider tread than most other tires on the market at the time and used belts made of fiberglass. They initially were an original equipment tire on late 1960s muscle cars such as the Pontiac GTO, Dodge Charger R/T, Ford Mustang Mach I, Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 and many others along with comparable tires from various competitors such as the Firestone Wide-Ovals. The Goodyear Polyglas and comparable bias-belted tires began appearing as standard or optional equipment on many 1969-model passenger cars and nearly all 1970 to 1974 models. The most common version of the Polyglas found on muscle cars of that era was the Polyglas GT, which was one of the first commercially available raised white lettered tires on the market. Other versions of the Polyglas lineup were offered as blackwall or whitewall tires.

The Polyglas tire and its competitors were soon replaced by steel belted radials as original equipment tires around 1975...

[Tom D.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Bob: I don't know if this helps, but I thought I would toss it in here. Good luck with your search.

[Bob B.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Tom,

I know the car raced at Willow Springs in 1967, but I'm not sure how late into the 60's. Right now, the most significant race is the 1966 Enduro at Riverside, where it came in second to a Shelby team Mustang, even after losing a whole lap due to an incorrect call on the harness not being fastened. I'll have to keep looking for a mid-60s tire unless I get documentation on a more significant later race since I want to restore it to as it was for its most significant race.

Thanks,

Bob

[Dick W.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Bob, GY had a Blue Streak sports car special and Firestone also had a racing tire used in that series. I had a set of each but sold them a few years back.

[Duke W.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

The car most likely raced on Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special racing tires. The current 5.50-15 or 6.00-15 G7 used by vintage racers would be the closest match. With a little googling you can find the GY racing tire catalog online, which has pictures of the various vintage racing tire tread designs.

I believe the F60-15 Polyglas first showed up on the '69 Boss 302 Mustang. Though it looked cool on the street, it would have been a very poor racing tire in terms of both grip and durabililty.

Duke

[Dick W.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

The car most likely raced on Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special racing tires. The current 5.50-15 or 6.00-15 G7 used by vintage racers would be the closest match. With a little googling you can find the GY racing tire catalog online, which has pictures of the various vintage racing tire tread designs.

I believe the F60-15 Polyglas first showed up on the '69 Boss 302 Mustang. Though it looked cool on the street, it would have been a very poor racing tire in terms of both grip and durabililty.

Duke

Link to GY catalog in post #2

[Duke W.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

That looked like Shelby's price list. The actual online GY racing tire catalog pdf is here:

http://www.racegoodyear.com/tires/pdf/sports_web_100511.pdf

Duke

[Steven B.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Agree, the G12 and G12A are closest you will find. If you want something that you won't be racing on Kelsey has the street Blue Dot and (IIRC) street Blue Streak (Speedway) in 775 size and Lucas has Firestone Sports Car 200. I like the GY's as the closest match.

Steve

[Tom D.]

Re: F60-15 Type Format Tire Designation

Bob: Take a look at the photos in Noland Adams' book called CORVETTE: AMERICAN LEGEND number 5 for 58-60 Production. Pages 148 and 149 show white letter Goodyears on the tires of the Camoradi number 71 Corvette.

Lee Lilley is shown "installing Koni shocks before the Nurburgring race" on page 149.

If you don't have access to the book, I can scan the (almost full page) images for you.