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Posted by: reharvey Dec 21 2012, 12:19 PM

This is the spare tire that came with my 74. It is in like new condition and I'm not sure what to do with it. The tire is almost 40 years old so it's not really usable. Would a show car guy want it because it's all original and could be displayed at a judged show? Was thinking of mounting a new tire on it and using it for a spare. What do you think I should do? Ray


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Posted by: billh1963 Dec 21 2012, 12:25 PM

Concours weenies will pay big bucks for that

Posted by: Tom_T Dec 21 2012, 12:37 PM

Ray,

Contact Steve G - smg914 by PM or email, as he has a partial set & was trying to collect a full set of SP57's for his Sahara Beige beauty at one point, but don't know if he still is.

I was trying to get Dunlop to repop those great SP57's as part of their vintage tire line, but still need to get greater numbers from the other models & makes/marques which also mounted 165HR15 SP57's as OE, such as Alfas, BMW 2.8/3.0, 911/912/912E, etc.

You may want to get another wheel to use as a spare with a new tire, as that star mag-style steelie looks to be in great condition too for a CW with a steelie wheeled car looking for a nice show one. So it may be salable too, either with the tire or separate.

Post it in Parts & the question/offer to sell link to parts in the O&H forum too, as well as the other usual web commerce places for 914 stuff.

Posted by: FourBlades Dec 21 2012, 12:53 PM

Do not separate the wheel and tire!

Someone will really, really want that!

John

Posted by: Jeffs9146 Dec 21 2012, 01:41 PM

Acording to the tires code 373, the tire was made in the 37th month of 1993 so it is not original acording to a 20/20 show on old tires being sold as new!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/723570-how-old-your-tyres.html

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Dec 21 2012, 02:03 PM

Provenance aside, "dogbones" are the coolest looking tire, ever.

The Cap'n

Posted by: reharvey Dec 21 2012, 02:09 PM

TireRack info says the tire was made the 37th week of 1973

Posted by: SUNAB914 Dec 21 2012, 02:24 PM

I think I sold the exact same thing from my car on ebay for around $100.00.

Posted by: Tom_T Dec 21 2012, 02:37 PM

"QUOTE(Jeffs9146 @ Dec 21 2012, 02:41 PM) *

Acording to the tires code 373, the tire was made in the 37th month of 1993 so it is not original acording to a 20/20 show on old tires being sold as new!

Pelican Forum Link to 20/20 Report


TireRack info says the tire was made the 37th week of 1973"

There is NO possible way that tire was made in 93, cuz Dunlop had long since stopped making them back in the early `80's, maybe late `70's!
I know, cuz I tried to find them back then, & several tire shops said they were NLA.

More likely it's an older tire mfgr date code for 3/73 or 3rd week 73, and you won't find that code online at Tire Rack, but if you called Lucas Tire in Long Beach CA or OH, they can probably confirm my recollection of the DOT Tire code meaning back in the 70's.

Posted by: Jeffs9146 Dec 21 2012, 02:48 PM

Probably right! They didn't get into tires older than 17 years so the 1970's, 80's and 90's could all use the same codes! Seems kind of pointless!

Posted by: Gint Dec 21 2012, 05:21 PM

The tire date code format was different years ago. Can't remember when it changed, but it's been a while.

Posted by: reharvey Dec 22 2012, 09:39 AM

Thanks to everyone for your input. I'm not a show car guy but someone who is would probably like to have this in their trunk. Ray

Posted by: a914622 Dec 22 2012, 10:11 AM

I had one that was sent over to England for a resto project. I didnt gouge the guy on price but the Usps did! It was 100.00 to ship.

Given the age of the Tire i made sure it wasnt going to seethe road or track use!! only shows.

jcl

Posted by: Tom_T Dec 22 2012, 05:33 PM

Back in the 70's these Dunlop SP57 were one of the best handling tires you could get on a 914 or 911, etc. - but you only got 10-20k miles wear out of them.

FYI - using the back-in-the-day Dunlop time machine....



Also, Semperit made similar tread pattern M266 & M401 165HR15's which handled as well according to the car magazine tests, but went 40k+ & cost 1/2, & they were also one of Porsche's/VW-Porsche's tire OEMs. I used those exclusively up until 1980, because they stopped making Sempi's.

FYI - my Semperit M266 spare for comparison to the SP57's....

Posted by: reharvey Dec 23 2012, 07:56 AM

These Dunlop tires are sooooooooo cool. It's a shame nobody is still making them. Ray

Posted by: Tom_T Dec 23 2012, 01:05 PM

I've been trying to build the case for Dunlop to repop them, but the response here has been lackluster, & most think they'll get a vintage repop for the same $100-150 each price as the current mass produced 195/65HR15's etc. - which is just unrealistic!

Dunlop SP57 Repop Poll here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=115150&st=

PS - also for those buying the sub-$100-150 tires - which are usually made in China nowadays - They're using cheapo rubber which cracks & splits early, within a few years. On my 85 BMW 325e I have 3 `08 & 1 `06 "UHTSU" 195/60HR14 tires mounted in mid-`08 & now with less than 12k on them, which are heavily cracked in the tread & sidewalls; but my `02 off-brand spare is still perfect! I'll be replacing them with better brand tires soon.

So that $50-150+ cheapo 195-225 tire that they're buying may NOT be such a great deal folks!