Firestone tires showing slight cracks on sidewall

[SteveBoothroyd]

My '22 touring has been in storage for a few years and I have been cleaning her up and noticed that one of the Firestone tires is showing a small crack running from rim to tread on side of tire.
Is this normal, and is this something to be worried about?
I have had the tires for about 7 years and the T has few miles put on her since I got her.
I want to get her back on the road soon.

Regards,
Steve Boothroyd

[Steve Jelf]

I assume that the tires on your 1922 are the correct 30 x 3½ clinchers. They have the Firestone name on them, but they were not made by the Firestone company. Except for Blockleys, all clincher Model T tires are essentially the same tire, made in the same Vietnamese factory to the same specifications given to the factory by suits in the USA. Blockley claims its beaded edge (clincher) tyres are superior, but I don't believe they have been available long enough for us to know how much better they are. Seamus Hnat, who drives long distances, is now running Blockleys, so eventually we will get a report on how long they lasted. As for your seven-year-old cracked tires, if you want to keep them I'd suggest using them only on rear wheels where a blowout isn't likely to put you in the ditch. I've had two rear tire blowouts, and neither put me in any danger. I had a front tire on a Jeep blow out, and the vehicle was totaled.

[Ruxstel24]

You say that you’ve had the tires for 7 years with few miles...
1) hard to say how long they set on a shelf before you got them.
2) when storing, keep the tires aired up or they can crack easily.
3) Steve is correct, keep it on the rear.
4) cracks or crazing that is not deep should not be a problem. Keep a close eye on them.

I had one of unknown age that had a deep crack right along the rim and still had lots of tread...
It went bye bye before the white knuckle ride.

[TXGOAT2]

A car in long term storage ought to be setting on blocks. I'd want to keep about 30 PSI in high pressure tires, 25 PSI in balloon tires. Slipping black plastic garbage bags over the tires might help preserve them. An un-insulated storage area is hard on tires, paint, upholstery, and rubber parts. Blocking the car up facilitates checking tire pressure periodically and rotating the wheels to distribute lubricants. I'd want to give the crank a dozen turns or so with the car in high, too. I'd leave the brake unset and leave the car in high. A stored car will benefit greatly from periodic attention. I would NOT start the engine unless I could run it for at least 15 -30 minutes, preferabley on a dry road in mild weather. Putting a little oil in the cylinders prior to cranking the engine over with the hand crank is a good idea. Otherwise, the valve stems and rings may get very dry. Overfilling the crankcase enough to flood the rod troughs will assure that the rods get some oil when hand cranking, but I wouldn't start the engine without draining it down to "full".

[TXGOAT2]

Cooling systems can continue to rust when drained and put in storage. Flushing the system well and running the car a few miles with clean water and a half pint or so of soluble oil in the system prior to draining for storage can prevent corrosion.

[SteveBoothroyd]

Thanks everyone for the information.
I do perform most of the suggested tips, however I do not have the T on blocks.
Thanks again, a great bunch of members with great tips.

Regards,

Steve Boothroyd

[speedytinc]

Back 40 years ago a Classic wax vendor clued me into using vinal top wax to seal/protect rubber tires. Been using it ever since. The product has gone.
When was the last time you saw a vinal top? In searching for this product, I found Mop & Glo liquid floor wax to work as well as the original product.

[Norman Kling]

I have INSA tires on one of my T's. These are the 4:50-21 tires. Two were on the car when I bought it in 1989. I found the other two in a swap meet a couple years later. This car has been stored in a garage with 35 lbs pressure. It has been on many tours including the Canyonlands tour in Utah and Tours in Yosemite and Arizona shootout. The tires are not cracked. These tires were Hecho En Chile. I have Bedford tires on another 26. These were bought from Lucas Tire in Long Beach. They were new in 2004. Same thing with them. I have another car with 30x3 1/2 tires Riverside tires made in Viet Nam. I run 60 lbs in them. No problems with those either.
I think it has a lot to do with where the car is stored. Sun will deteriorate the tires rapidly.
horizontal cracks (in my opinion) are not as serious as vertical cracks. And if your car has de-mountable rims and you don't speed with it, carry a jack, spare, and lug wrench with you. If they are non-demountable, best to replace them because hard to change on the road and also more likely to damage the entire wheel. A bent rim can be replaced, but a non-demountable will take a complete wheel rebuild if the rim is damaged.
Norm

[CudaMan]

OT, but the mention of Mop & Glo floor wax reminded me of the Saturday Night Live commercial for "Shimmer", the floor wax that was also a dessert topping!

[TXGOAT2]

I suspect that Mop-n-Glo is essentially the same as the vinyl top products. It's a good idea, since it will offer some protection from oxidation and ozone attack and it probably prevents "outgassing" of essential components of the rubber itself. Coating the entire outside of the tire, including tread area and tread grooves, would provide the best protection. New tires usually have very "live" rubber" and a strong odor. As the rubber ages, it tends to lose elasticity and loses that new tire smell. The smell is not important, but the elements of the rubbber that cause it are. The various esters are lost from the outer "skin" of the tire first, but the entire tire eventually petrifies. Tire cord loses strength over time, too.

[Steve Jelf]

When you reach a certain age, everything you hear reminds you of something else. In this case Mop-n-Glo makes me think of Johnson's Wax, and Harlow Wilcox excitedly proclaiming, "The Johnson's Wax program, starring fibber McGee and Molly!!!" In those days the big time shows were often produced by advertising agencies and sponsored by a single product that got top billing above the stars. Phil Leslie, one of the writers, used to tell the story of the time a woman took offense at some bit of silliness on the show and sent an angry letter stating that she would never listen again and would never use the sponsor's product. Head writer Don Quinn wrote back to her, saying, "As for not listening, we didn't know you were there, so we won't miss you. And as for never using the sponsor's product, Johnson's wax is not made for dirt floors."

"Gotta clean out that closet one of these days."

[Hudson29]

A very witty reply! I listen to the old radio shows on CD.

Paul

[RichardG]

READING THROUGH MANY POSTS HEARING PROBLEMS WE ENCOUNTER CARING FOR OUR BELOVED AUTO'S, RUSTY ENGINE BLOCKS, YEARS AGO WHEN WE DID A VALVE JOBS, IN THE VALVE MACHINE WE MIXED RUST INHIBITOR WITH WATER THIS SOLUTION WOULD COOL THE GRINDING PROCESS, THIS ALSO KEPT ALL THE TOOLING FROM RUSTING WHILE SETTING IDLE, THIS BRINGS TWO THINGS TO MIND, WHY NOT USE THIS IN MY COOLING SYSTEM? I DID,THE OLD FORDS HAD BUSHINGS IN THERE WATER PUMPS THIS SEEMS TO HAVE KEPT THEM HAPPY,TOO, I [ I USED ZEREX] ANTI FREEZE IN WINTER, THIS WOULD BOIL OUT IN SUMMER, SO WATER IT WAS IN SUMMER, WHEN I DRAINED THE SYSTEM COME FALL IT CAME OUT GRAY COLOR, NO RUST- I ALSO WOULD USE DISTILLED WATER LIKE MOM USED IN HER IRON, I HAVE NO IDEA IF THIS INHIBITOR IS STILL AROUND TO DAY, AS VALVE JOBS ARE A THING OF THE PAST, LIKE MANY GOOD THINGS. WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD- FIRESTONE AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER HAS HAD THAT CRACKING PROBLEM, HOW EVER IT'S THE FABRIC THAT IS INSIDE THE RUBBER OF THE OLD TIRES THAT BECOMES ROTTED WITH AGE, THE STRESS OF HEAT AND TWISTING WITH TURNS HITTING SHARP OBJECTS, LOW AIR PRESSURE ECT, TO DAYS TIRES HAVE STEEL BELTING AND NYLON TO KEEP THINGS SAFE, SO LOOK AFTER THOSE OLD SKINS LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON THEM, TO DAYS SUN IS A BIG THREAT. IF YOU HAVE A AIR COMPRESSOR WITHOUT A FILTER ,DRAIN THE MOISTURE OFTEN, AS THEY WILL INJECT MIST WITH AIR INTO THE TIRE.

[speedytinc]

In answer to your water soluble oil. It's a white milky liquid. Available @ auto parts stores as water pump lube. Pint cans.
There are also concentrated forms available. McKay. Nape sells both. This Is what I run in all my T's

[Allan]

Soluble oil makes a white milky looking liquid when it is added to water. Otherwise, what I see here in Australia is a thin brown oil. It is used as a coolant when cutting/machining metals on mills, power saws, lathes etc. I believe it is still a petroleum based product, so the solution used in a radiator should not be too concentrated if damage to the rubber radiator hoses is to be avoided. I use about half a cup full in a T radiator, mainly as a rust preventative.

Allan from down under.

[RichardG]

THANK YOU ALLAN, I JUST COULD NOT REMEMBER ITS NAME, BUT READING WHAT FOLKS ARE HAVING FOR PROBLEM'S WITH IN TO DAYS WORLD IT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF WHAT WE USE TO DO YESTERDAY, I FIND OVER THE YEARS THINGS GET OVERLOOKED , AS THERE USE IS NO LONGER NEEDED, BUT IN DEALING WITH YESTERDAYS THINGS, THE OLD STILL WORKS. WHEN SOMEONE REMEMBERS HOW IT WAS.