69 original tires
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
69 original tires
I have a very low mileage 69 roadster and I understood that the car came originally with red strip tires, however we just pulled the spare out for the first time, it was unused, and it is a white stripe. Does this likely mean that it came with the white stripers or did GM put the white striped tires in as spares routinely? Does anyone know?
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 111
Likes: 23
Red stripes and white stripes were both available on the '69, for $31.30 (code PT6 and PT7, respectively). "At the end of the summer of 1969" Chevy added raised white letter tires to the option list for $33.15. (Quoting from Tom Falconer's "Collector's Originality Guide, Corvette 1968 - 1982".) All of these were either Firestone, Goodyear or UniRoyal.
The closest I can come to answering your question is that the NCRS guide for 1970 - 1972 Corvettes reports that all five tires matched when they left the factory on those model years, I don't have the NCRS guide for 1968 - 1969.
I know it would certainly bum me out if I bought a new Corvette in 1969, got a flat, and ended up with 3 red stripes and 1 white stripe. So seems like Chevy would want to give everyone five matching tires.
If anyone has the NCRS guide for 1968 - 1969, it probably has the definitive answer to your question.
The closest I can come to answering your question is that the NCRS guide for 1970 - 1972 Corvettes reports that all five tires matched when they left the factory on those model years, I don't have the NCRS guide for 1968 - 1969.
I know it would certainly bum me out if I bought a new Corvette in 1969, got a flat, and ended up with 3 red stripes and 1 white stripe. So seems like Chevy would want to give everyone five matching tires.
If anyone has the NCRS guide for 1968 - 1969, it probably has the definitive answer to your question.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,116
From: Crossville TN
Check the date code on that spare tire. If it matches when the car was built, it likely is the original spare and the other tires were 'white stripe' tires. If it has later date code, the car could have come with red lines (or white walls....or RWL....or stock 'blackwalls'). Thirty bucks was a lot for upgrade tires back then; it cost less than $10 to go from blackwalls to whitewall tires if you bought a new set at a tire store. Of 39K C3 vehicles built in '69, 10K of them had blackwall tires!!
Pro
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 649
Likes: 56
From: TX
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 968
Likes: 122
From: Lighthouse Point FL
DOT did not require date of tire manufacture until 1971, so you won’t find it on an original ‘69 tire. I didn’t find it on the original spare tire on my Sept ‘69 car.
Last edited by maj75; Dec 3, 2018 at 06:42 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,326
Likes: 523
From: home
According to the latest TIMJG, tires made after 01/01/68 must have a DOT stamp, per federal law. GM started using DOT stamped tires before this date, but some very early 68's may not have them, but instead a white sticker with reddish-orange lettering.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3,849
Likes: 367
From: PHOENIX AZ. WHAT A MAN WON"T SPEND TO GIVE HIS ASS A RIDE
If the spare is a WW tire the Corvette came with WW tires unless you have real paper work showing otherwise. ALL 5 tires were the same.Probably another case of buying the story.