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The last parts to finish off my carburetor install are due in this week. I’ll need to clean out the fuel tank, do an oil change, and may need new tires, so I’m getting excited to see the London Roadster get fired up again. Still lots of work to do on the interior, too.
If your tires are more than 6-7 years old you definitely need new ones before you do much driving.
The tires should be around 4 years old, yet the car has been sitting on then basically unmoved for most of that time.
The fact that you say that the tires “should be” 4 yrs old bothers me a bit. If the tires were made after year 2000, the DOT requires that they have a 4 digit code on them telling what week and what year they were manufactured. (3308 means that they were manufactured in the 33rd week of 2008). If there is no code, then the tires are at least 15 years old.
Generally and most widely accepted is that tires over 6 years old are (at a minimum) suspect. Even if the tires look good, aging may be a problem. There are many factors which determine how fast the rubber in a tire ages…..so it is impossible to say if the tires are good, based solely upon their age.
Royal2015-03-18 11:55:25
Tires generally rot from the inside out. Old tires can have great tread but may not be safe. Usual indicator most people use is if the sidewall is cracking, if they don’t know about the tire code. Generally I like to change them out at 5 years. These cars don’t have the modern safety equipment so having a tire problem at speed could be really bad. Just Sayn’
I had a Porsche Cayman that I bought new and kept in the garage, and all 4 tires dry-rotted within 4 years. The rot was noticeable because the tires started losing adhesion in cornering, then when removed you could see cracking between each row of tread. Replacing them made a world of difference. Get new tires. They are much, much cheaper than doctor bills and repair bills.
I had new tires put on when I picked up the car near Seattle before I drove it back to within an hour of Phoenix. The engine died, I lost a series of jobs, and I’ve been scrapping by to get the new engine installed. Meanwhile, the poor car sat outside with only a cover, the occasional dead cat and what rain and leaves made their way inside. I’ll check for date codes when it’s light enough, hopefully in the next few days. I worry about a flat spot since the car has been sitting for about 3 years.
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