[olmanwinter]

Your experienced opinions would be greatly appreciated for my question. Please, no one-word or sarcastic answers. Don’t waste your time or mine.

I have a 1967 GTO convertible. I attached images of the build information to this post. The car was found in a salvage yard in 1975 and brought back to life by my father (and a youthful me).

It does not have an original engine block and the convertible top color went from black to white, but it otherwise has an original appearance and equipment. We have added a Delco AM/FM radio and a Delco 8-track tape player, underhood lamp, and other original accessories, but nothing aftermarket. It somehow missed out on some of the "hotrod" modifications that were common back then.

The car is not a trailer queen, but a relatively original rust-free car. It currently has approximately 105k miles.

The car is currently on the same General RWL bias ply tires that it got in 1976. The only good thing about this is that since buying it from my dad in 1995, I have put on less than 500 miles. I understand that it is not a safe situation and I need to update. The car has the original “spinner” wheel covers.

I am not going to keep this car until I die, so I am trying to consider the resale aspect of what tires I put on it. I also remember that in the mid-1970s, we updated a vehicle from bias ply to radial tires. Boy, what a huge difference that made!

Here are the options I see:

Go back with Coker redline bias ply tires to try and keep the car as original as possible. Currently $363.00 each for tire without shipping.

Update to Coker redline radial tires for original appearance but updated radial driving. Currently $377.00 each for tire without shipping.

Go back with some sort of bias ply tire with raised white lettering

Go back with some sort of radial tire with raised white lettering

Thank you for your thoughtful replies.

[blue67gtoragtop]

I have Diamondback Classics radial redlines on my Tyrol blue 67 GTO convertible. Diamondback was great to deal with.

[OG68]

I second Diamondback. They used 225/70 x 14 General Altimax tires that I selected and added the thin 3/8" whitewall. Almost identical to the original Goodyear radials.

[The Champ]

I had good luck with Diamondback. Many, many more tire sizes available too.

I'm a fan of redlines, no matter what tire construction.

To me, bias ply tires are for show, not for driving.

This is my GTO with DB 235/60/15 front and 255/60/15 rear. If you want to stay with 14's, they have many options in 14 too.

I now run 17's and had redlines pinstriped on the wheels.

[Pershing]

I have used Diamond Backs on my several 1960's cars including my 1967 GTO. I went with the red line option. I am very happy. I think the advantage of DB is that they use a modern tire made by a known reputable real tire company that makes millions of tires a year. The other advantage is that they use a barrier between the black tire and their overlay WSW. (I do not know if they do that on the red lines.) So, for instance the WSW stays white and does not turn brown as the BFG white letter tires do. Those need to be wet sanded to remove the brown as per BFG's customer satisfaction notice. I have the DB red lines on my GTO, and WSW tires on three other cars. I am happy with all of the DB tires. Even though your car may not be Concours, I think It would be nice to stay as it was build with red lines .

[Ragtop Man]

Can you post pics?

IMO buy the tires for driving it vs. reselling it. As long as the tires are not total crap, most prospects will overlook it. You are right to throw the current tires as far as possible from your car.

If you are still running the standard wheel covers, matching factory in the look, but finding a radial for the ride, control and safety is the way to go. From their earliest days, GM designers (es. Pontiac) obsessed over the look of wheel and tire combinations. That's why Pontiac always seemed to have the coolest and best choices.

I wouldn't do a bias tire on anything other than a vintage, open-wheel hot rod, where weight and power are both low.

FWIW, nothing screams, "I just got tired of thinking about it" quite like white letter tires and factory wheel covers. It never looks right or complete.

[AG]

Originally Posted by The Champ

I had good luck with Diamondback. Many, many more tire sizes available too.

I'm a fan of redlines, no matter what tire construction.

To me, bias ply tires are for show, not for driving.

This is my GTO with DB 235/60/15 front and 255/60/15 rear. If you want to stay with 14's, they have many options in 14 too.

I now run 17's and had redlines pinstriped on the wheels.

That's my idea of a perfect stance.

[olmanwinter]

Thanks to everyone for your detailed responses. I appreciate your sharing your experiences. It appears that Diamondback is the way to go. Initially more expensive, but a better overall tire.

I'd be glad for anyone else to give their $0.02.

Thanks, Olmanwinter