I want to give a shout out to members "KevinW" in NJ, who found the Milwaukee craigslist ad for two NOS tires, and "67442" (Paul) in Wisconsin who then proceeded to play the middleman and run down to the seller's shop and pick up the tires for me and then wrapped and shipped them to me. I now have a full display set of 1973 date coded Firestone 500 Radials. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]
The original spare (in the middle) and the two original tires (on the left) from the car are date coded the 18th week (late April) of 1973. The two NOS tires on the right were produced during the 25th week (mid June) of 1973, which makes them all perfect for the late July built car. And best of all they all have the unique, early 1973 white Firestone shield logo which was discontinued in late 1973.
I also got a tip from Paul on how to get rid of that white waxy stuff on the tire surface that no solvent would remove. Paul said it was the original mold release material that outgasses from the rubber over time. He recommended using a hair dryer to melt it and to let it soak back in. I used a heat gun set on low and whodathought but it worked great! I would heat the stuff and it would instantly melt into a glossy liquid which could be wiped away. Then another application of heat and the remainder would soak back into the tire!
Here is the original spare before:
And after using the heat. (disregard the white in the treads, that is tire dressing that hasn't soaked in yet)
