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Does anyone make the 68 non optional tire? I see the repro whitewalls and red lines but I only see the raised white letter wide ovals for the 68. Mine doesn't have either of those tires and the spare is original and it's a wide oval but not white letter it's all black. Is this correct?
Read below basically the same tires used during this time period.
This from the NCRS judging guide for 1968-69.
Five matching F70 x 15 bias-ply nylon cord tires were original equipment. The standard tire was a blackwall, but optional tires had a white or red stripe. Raised white letters became available during September 1969. When inflated, Goodyear and Uniroyal tires had a tread width of 6½ inches; Firestone tread width is 6¾ inches. Original Goodyear, Firestone, and Uniroyal tires had nine ribs on the tread. White- or red-stripe tires were Goodyear Speedway Wide Tread. The Goodyear tires should not say Custom Widetread or Poly Glass, as these were not originally installed, and the tread pattern is different from the Speedway Wide Tread. Firestone Super Sport Wide Oval nylon cord and UniRoyal Tiger Paw were so identified on the outside wall. Firestone tires should not say Sup-R-Belt, as these were not original equipment. Striped Goodyear tires had a 5/16-inch stripe one inch from the rim. Firestone tires had a 3/8- inch stripe 1 7/8-inch from the rim. UniRoyal tires have a 5/16-inch stripe 1⅜ inches from the rim Raised white letter tires, either Goodyear or Firestone, were only available on cars built after June 1969. The Goodyear tire had white letters reading Goodyear Wide Tread F70-15. Firestone reads Firestone Wide O Oval. The Uniroyal tire read Uniroyal Tiger Paw F70-15.
This from the 1970-72 NCRS judging guide.
Five matching F70 x 15 bias-ply nylon cord tires were original equipment. The standard tire was either a Goodyear or Firestone blackwall with optional tires having a white stripe or raised white letters. For judging, the road tires need not match the spare tire. All tires had raised lettering reading Load Range B on the black portion of the sidewall and a DOT stamp. When inflated, Goodyear tires have a tread width of 6.26 inches and Firestones are 6 inches. Original Firestone tires had nine ribs on the tread, reproductions have seven. White-stripe tires were Goodyear Speedway Wide Tread or Firestone Super Sport Wide O Oval nylon cord and are so identified on the outside wall. Goodyear Custom Widetread and Poly Glass were not installed by GM, and the tread pattern is different from the Speedway Wide Tread. Goodyear white-stripe tires had a 5/16-inch stripe one inch from the rim. Firestone tires had a 3/8-inch stripe 1 7/8-inch from the rim. Raised-white-letter tires for 1970-71 were either Goodyear or Firestone. In addition to these, US Royal was added for 1972. The Goodyear tire had white letters reading Goodyear Wide Tread F70-15. Firestones read Firestone Wide O Oval. US Royal read Uniroyal Tiger Paw. Only a few examples of the US Royal white-lettered tire have been seen on 1972 cars, and their authenticity remains unverified.
Took possession of my 1968 in January and finally got around to dropping the spare to check it out. It's a Uniroyal F70-15 TigerPaw and appears to match the description above. I'm trying to confirm the date of mfr to see if it's original. I found JM390V...is this the date code (39th week of 1970)? or is there another series of numbers I need to find? I'm not restoring to orig or for NCRS, but I love learning the real history of my cars and this is just one of the puzzle pieces.
1968 Corvette tire question
