Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I'm about to buy new American Classics for my 53 Clipper and someone said to sell the ones on there now. I have no idea what to ask for them. They look really good L78-15 Poly, great tread and 3 1/4 " WW. But! They are 30 years old! I wouldn't drive on them myself, only use to roll a car or store it or show it. I think they are rather dangerous being that old. Any ideas what to ask for them? Someone out there would buy them. I am in Long Beach, CA and can't see gong to the trouble of shipping them.

you get injured and sued

Second that. I wouldn't run old tires either and believe in California you will be hard pressed to find any of the major chain tire stores that would remount tires that old. When I bought new tires for the daily driver I tried to have the old ones less than half that age remounted for use as roll arounds for the 47. They would not do it. Said it was against company policy to enable reuse of old tires -- forget how many years old was the cutoff -- and I would have to do it myself or check some independent stores and see if I could find one that would. Another chain said about the same thing.

You can give them to the tire shop that mounts your new tires and they will dispose of them. Seems a shame I know, until the new owner's lawyer calls.

Yes you are right.

If you sell them YOU could get 30 years

I sold a full set of 30-year old tires mounted on original wheels to a buyer who was restoring another Avanti. He wanted them to use on the chassis to be able to roll it around. The tires had very few miles on them and had not been exposed to sunlight except when on the road. His plan was to then remove the old tires, restore the wheels and use them, with new tires, on his completed project. He ended up not using them for roll around chores, but soon after getting them home had the wheels restored. He said that while the outside of the tires look good, they were starting to come apart inside. They were a safety hazard. JWL