<VV> The End of 13 Inch Tires

[Marc Marcoulides]

I have 15" Z28 rims on my 65 and love what they do for the appearance and ride of the car. I respect the enthusiast who wants 13's because that is how Chevy made the car. I am glad I have the room under the fender to modernize my vair and don't believe it takes away from the car. Just my 2 cents


-----Original Message-----
>From: Ken Maxwell <kobramax at insightbb.com>
>Sent: Apr 16, 2010 9:02 AM
>To: Virtual Vairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
>Subject: <VV> The End of 13 Inch Tires
>
>Hi Guys,
>
> 
>
>Well, it's finally happened. I can no longer get the P185/80R13 tires for my
>Corvairs. I work for a large tire company with a huge warehouse and we are
>direct with all major manufacturers. Firestone informed us yesterday that
>their FR380 tire is on national backorder and "there are no plans for future
>production". Hankook has discontinued its H714 tire and Kumho had
>discontinued its 795 tire. Cooper has discontinued its Alpha 365 tire. Tire
>Rack and Tire Discounters don't list any 13 inch tires except for trailer
>tires (don't use those). I searched all over the internet and was able to
>find a leftover set of five FR380's in Oregon which I ordered. If you think
>that you will have a need for 13 inch tires for your Corvair any time soon,
>I would recommend you check with your local tire supplier as soon as
>possible to see if they have some stashed away. The only alternative that we
>will soon have are classic reproductions like the BFG "Silverstone" tire
>with a very wide whitewall that runs $173 each! I just paid $47each, plus
>shipping, for the Firestones.
>
> 
>
>The future isn't much better for those of us that have 14 inch tires either.
>Tire makers are dropping those sizes as fast as they can. There simply isn't
>enough of a market to make it worth their while to manufacture them. The 13
>inch tire used to be the entry level size but now the 16 inch tire has that
>position. 
>
> 
>
>If anyone can find a reliable source of reasonably priced 13 inch tires,
>please let the list know.
>
> 
>
>Ken Maxwell
>
>Louisville, KY
>
>65 Spyder
>
>67 Monza
>
> _______________________________________________
>This message was sent by the VirtualVairs mailing list, all copyrights are the property
>of the writer, please attribute properly. For help, mailto:vv-help at corvair.org
>This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of America, http://www.corvair.org/
>Post messages to: VirtualVairs at corvair.org
>Change your options: http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/options/virtualvairs 
> _______________________________________________