MTFCA Forum

I am looking for recommendations on the best brand of tires to buy for a driver. Best for wear and safety, not for correctness.

Chris, there was a recent post on Blockley tyres from England. They have a very good reputation and many years of competition use on vintage vehicles.
Allan from down under.

150 bucks for each tire with unknown shipping charge from Bloxley. I'm waiting to hear their shipping charge.

Make sure you get the import duty tax / Tariff too. Don't assume its part of the shipping charge. And make sure prices are ALWAYS suffixed by USD. I recently got dinged by Custom's because FedEx (England shippr and importer in the USA) listed the amount I paid in USD as UKD (which is really an invalid currency code) That amount was the converted to USD and then the tax was applied to that amount.

Blockley Tyres UK have recently appointed an Agent in Australia. They have also given a few parts distributors
sample Tubes for evaluation. I recon within 6 months they will be a popular brand used here. I for one will be ditching the non branded Tubes for these 100% thick Butyl that they manufacture. Sure price is important but a quality product is even
more important when you consider the longer life expected. It’s a bit like buying Hay. The freshly cut stuff is more expensive
that afterwards when it has been through the Horse.
Alan

Non demountable rims have nothing to do with it! Coker has an outlet in Industry, and Lucas in Long Beach.

If you order from Coker try searching for the same tire at Summit Racing. The offer free shipping on all Cokers. I ordered a set for my Imperial.

Coker and 'best brand' ???? I was under the impression that Coker supplied the Vietnamese manufactured tyres. Am I missing something?

Allan from down under.

All clincher tires regardless who's name is on it are imported from Vietnam from what I understand.

That is correct about all clincher (aka beaded edge) tires being produced in Vietnam. The owner of Blockley Tyre confirmed that they were all made in “Vietnam or Thailand — nowhere else was interested”. So I take that to mean Blockley’s too come from there, but to his design and out of his molds/tooling + purchased stock of rubber — not their’s.
The Blockley 30x3.5” diamond tread are new, however he has produced other pattern clincher/beaded edge tires for 20 years and they are speed-rated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0JlQeCeExs. (Holy cow!)
As the diamond tread are new, a US importer hasn’t yet stepped up. I got a quote for shipping to my door in the US for $187 for 5 two weeks ago — still competitive. Though as mentioned, I’m not placing an order til May - so I don’t know what tariff/duties may be. I too have been dinged when ordering a small ($20) part from a supplier in England in the past.
Personally I just don’t care about price. Not one bit. It’s safety/quality I’m after and I’m through with Vietnam Cokers. Finished. Done. I was already prepared to buy straight-side rims if I had to.
I will let you all know what the tariffs/duties are in May. I am just beside myself with anticipation. Can’t even tell you, though my 35hp engine certainly doesn’t need the speed rating the owner of Blockley required for throwing his Bugatti’s and Sunbeam‘s around the track. Which is exactly why he started producing them 20 some years ago — the ultra low speeds the typical clincher-tired car is capable of has allowed Coker et. al. to get away with what they have.
Those days are over,
Ben P.

I would love to think that the entry of Blockley into the market for clincher tyres for our model T's would finally lead to the present suppliers specifying products of quality acceptable for purpose. But, I am not holding my breath! Rather, I will vote with my dollars and reward Blockley for their enterprise, rather than do so for those who have held us to ransom with inferior products for so many years.

Allan from down under.