Yep, the weather is getting cooler, and fall is getting ready to fly. So a lot of people are yanking their vintage iron out of the garage and taking a ride. I saw a news story about a 1962 Chevy II crash this week nearby here. Witness said the driver's side rear tire blew at normal speed on an open highway and the driver lost control. The car hit a ditch and killed both people inside. Let's face it--vintage vehicle crashes are harder to survive without modern crash technology, air bags, etc. Don't let dry rotted or underinflated tires, or some other issue that arises when our vehicles aren't driven for months or years at a time, increase your chances of getting hurt. I have no idea what happened in the above-mentioned crash. It could have been a legitimate tire malfunction or road debris, but it's a terrible reminder nevertheless.

 

Good reminder Doc. I bit the bullet this spring and replaced all 4 tires that still had good tread, but were well over ten years old. Plus bought a decent pressure gauge. I had no idea about the danger of old tires until I read a thread on the subject.

 

Thanks for the reminder. My tires are only a couple of years old, and in good shape.

Just want to add, be careful out there in general. I was almost hit the other day by someone who ran a red light while I was making a left turn. Lucky for me, I just happened to hear them when they got close and was able to avoid them.

 

I have a friend that went thru a similar crash. He rolled a 1926 Buick street rod from highway speed. It did 6 rolls. Same situation, a rear tire blew. You have much better control with a front tire blowing. He broke his neck but with surgery is OK, he is convinced that the fitted shoulder belt saved his life. In his case an aged Michelin with lots of tread later to find a sidewall failure on the inside (not readily visible). Look for any bulges/bubbles indicating ply separation.

 

I've known throughout the current rebuild (3.5) that I will have to replace the tires when it finally becomes roadworthy. They were bought new around 1992, and have about 100 miles on them. If that.

 

Hey Guys I know many here are very knowlegable, but the first quick easy way is to read the last 4 in the DOT number the tire has a small indented oval with the numbers 2315 would be 23rd week of 2015. Rubber does separate with age and gets hard. In the case mentioned above catastrophic failure can happen on ANY tire, but when you hit 10 yrs old change it no matter what.

 

I was amazed at how much wobble the beast (38 Studebaker) had when the right rear went down a half block from home on my way home from Truckstock last week. It was just a slow leak from picking up a nail and I was going very slow. I can understand why a car can flip with a blow out at speed.

 

Excellent reminder, Doc. Not to call anyone or point fingers but we all need to resist the urge to put the new tires and wheels on that "build" early into the build. Those same beautiful tires will be aging as we build and a drawn out project will yield those beautiful tires dangerous.

 

Guilty.....mine are about 2 years old now. I HOPE to have it on the road next year. we will see

 

I wouldn't throw them away if I had room, just use em for future projects to roll around the property. Grab some crazy colors of spray paint and paint them nuts so you can't mistake them for good tires.

 

Don't forget the tires on the rest of your fleet. If you have one built since 2007 it should at least have a mandatory tire pressure warning light. Don't let your wife drive around wondering what the yellow light means.

 

And don't forget those valve stems! Cheap ones dry out and crack over time, so give them a look over when checking your air pressure.

 

And don't forget the Chinese valve stems that were brought to America around 2006. Major auto manufacturers used them. I got a letter from Ford to check my valve stems by pushing them sideways while looking for cracks. I had no problems with my then newer Ford but I did have four valve stems fail on an equipment trailer. I would SWAG there are some of them still around.

 

My daughter called me a while back asking what the flower pot symbol on the dash meant. I had to ask her to text me a photo as I had no clue what she meant. Yes it was the tire pressure warning light.

 

LOL. I can see that happening. It does resemble a flower pot. And be very proud that she asked about it. At least she didn't ask you what goes under the "710" cap under the hood.