Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

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Mike Shipman
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Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by Mike Shipman »

Hi, I know this has been asked before and I have looked at previous threads on this matter but am still unsure...!?!
My current tyres have started to perish so new ones are required, my queries are:
Which type of tyres should I go for?
Which size ?
Any preferred make?
Anything to avoid?
Should I get them first and take to a Garage to fit them?
Just get the garage to source and fit Them?
The other thing is Maybe I’m overthinking this, ESM do a set of 4 Toyo radials for £169+vat they are 155/14 (and I can’t remember what that means) and pop into my closest garage to fit them?
Your views would be appreciated before I part with £200+
Thanks, Mike
Mike Shipman,
Seaton, Torpoint, Cornwall.
JOWETTJAVELIN
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by JOWETTJAVELIN »

Depends on your outlook on things, do you want period looking tyres which are more expensive but very nice, or not bothered? The Toyos are a good price but you could ask other suppliers, 145R14 is the correct size for the standard wheels and I'm sure someone will be along to harp on about tyre sizes soon. Wherever you have them fitted make sure they balance the wheels before attaching to the car. Also check the old tyres for abnormal wear before removal.
ManyMinors
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by ManyMinors »

I don't intend to "harp on" about tyres but I can tell you from experience that I had a set of new Toyo 155/80/14 tyres fitted to my Traveller a few years ago. The 155 measurement is the width and is a little wide for the Morris wheel but lots of owners fit them without problems. I thought them fair value but I drive my car quite enthusiastically and found the handling a little "wooly"and the steering not as sharp as it could be. The car, particularly when laden, felt like driving with the tyres under-inflated regardless of what pressures I used. In the end, I changed them for Bridgestone 145/80/14 which transformed the car. The Bridgestone tyres are a little more expensive but, for me, it was a worthwhile extra. On my other Minor, which I run on more of a budget, I chose the Nangkang 155/80/14 tyres which were even cheaper than the Toyos at the time. I preferred the performance of these to the Toyo and would fit them again as a budget tyre.

Options are fairly limited in these sizes but I believe a copy of the old Pirelli Cinturato tyre and possibly a Michelin are now available from specialists Longstone Tyres if you want to spend a bit more still. The choice is yours!
Owlsman
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by Owlsman »

I'm no expert by any manner of means on tyres..........or anything else for that matter but I did a lot of reading up and asked advice on here about a year ago when I felt I should change the ageing Firestones on my 4 door saloon. I ended up buying the same Bridgestones as MM mentioned.

From memory, I paid about £180 for 4 from an on-line site (can't remember which one now but there are plenty to chose from and they're mostly all within a couple of squid of each other). I had them delivered direct to a tyre specialist whom I have used for many years when I had a company car, as I'd agreed with him a price of £35 to have them all fitted and balanced. I asked around other tyre fitters who sometimes wanted £15+ per tyre or wouldn't fit them at all if they hadn't supplied them. Others wanted ''from £10'' per tyre.....so it's anyone's guess what the actual final cost would be!!

If you're going to buy from ESM or anywhere else on-line, my advice would be to try and get your tyre fitter sorted out first and a price agreed if you can, otherwise when you take fitting into account, the tyre cost might not be much of a bargain after all .

Incidentally, whilst I bought from a UK site, I noticed that the tyres came direct from Italy and my fitter man said this is quite common, as VAT is slightly lower there so they are a bit cheaper than actually buying from a UK retailer when the tyres are already in the UK.

As for my Bridgestones, I am well pleased with them and wouldn't recommend anything else. Yes, there are cheaper ones but there are so many stories of poor handling/excessive wear etc. that I was put off. For the sake of balance, others were delighted with their budget tyres, so who knows? The Pirelli Cinturatos are supposed to be v good but I thought they were eye-wateringly expensive and I've hardly ever heard a bad word said about Bridgestone so they seemed to be the perfect choice of a quality brand at an affordable price.

Personally, I don't think you can be too careful when it comes to tyres. By all means go for the cheaper carpet set, or whatever, if you want but tyres.?

Hope that helps.
KeithL
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by KeithL »

We use Bridgestone B381 Ecopia 145/80 R14 on our Traveller and have never had a problem. The last one we bought following a puncture was £62.50 including fitting and VAT but that was 4 years ago.

Apparently the same tyres are also used on the Audi A2.

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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by mowogg »

I have 2 minors -one has Bridgstones, one had Nankangs. Both are fine, and were much better than the old tyres they replaced. From appearance the Bridgstones are a little smaller (it makes 2mph difference on the speedo at 60mph i recall going from Nankang 155 to Bridgstone 145.

If i was pushed for a preference i would go for the Bridgstones -as above they do seem a little more positive. I have never had Toyos but other have commented they seem a bit soft but this might be due to under inflation.

Having had an old tyre fail on a modernish car, i am very cautious of old tryres. I beleive commercials are not allowed typres over 10 years old. Something to think about
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by JOWETTJAVELIN »

The rubber compounds used to make tyres aren't as long lasting as they once were. I've run 40+ year old tyres fine and shall continue to do so.
Mike Shipman
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by Mike Shipman »

Hi, thank you all for taking the time to reply, it’s helpful to have your views,
I have found a garage (which states it deals with both modern and “chassis” cars) it’s is not too far away and I will ask them for a price To supply, fit and balance a set of radials. It seems to make more sense for them to get them direct than sent to me and me have to transport to them.
We’ll see how it goes!
Mike Shipman,
Seaton, Torpoint, Cornwall.
liammonty
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by liammonty »

Hi Mike - I’m pretty close to you, up in Princetown, and I’ve currently got one car on Nankangs and one on Bridgestones. I concur with ManyMinors regarding the way a Minor drives on the different tyres - you won’t go far wrong with either of those 2 choices but the Bridgestones have the edge. I also found that Toyos are a little ‘wobbly’ compared to other brands.

If you are using a garage to fit the wheels, make sure they don’t use their ‘windy gun’ on the wheel nuts, or you’ll find yourself having to get new ones when they strip the threads.
Mike Shipman
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by Mike Shipman »

Hi Liam, good to hear from you, I just looked up Princetown on the map and you’re just 29 miles away from me, practically next door!
Thanks for your advice, I’ll be taking the wheels off of the Traveller toclean and paint the wheels and to take to the garage so no problem with their windy gun.
Cheers Mike.
Mike Shipman,
Seaton, Torpoint, Cornwall.
liammonty
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Re: Which new tyres for a 67 Traveller

Post by liammonty »

Sounds good Mike! Let me know if you fancy a run out when you’ve got your tyres fitted - myself and David (also ‘local’) have met up on several weekends recently and had some lovely drives!
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