I would like to find out how old the tryes are on my 1960 Morris Minor - purchased in 2009.
The markings on the sidewall are:-
Firestone F560
145 R14 76s
E2(in a circle) 02 87209
17995 BR BDE 4345-6
WA JP D3 J T 0204
The make and tyre size are fairly obvious, but what does the rest of it mean?
Does anyone know where I can buy 145 x 14 tyres? I have searched the various online suppliers without any luck, plenty of 155s but no 145s.
Any ideas please?
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I'm reasonably sure this part is the date "0204" ie 2nd week of 2004. But I thought the firestones f560 were long gone by then
Edited by Marlot on 30/01/2010 at 14:14
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The third line starting E2 is the approval number showing that they met legal requirements.
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camac make a 145x14 and thats it so find a camac retailer and he will be able to order them for you
i used to sell firestone f560 tyres in the late 80"s these were the original cheap new tyre after a remould,i didnt rate them as they had a quick wear rate
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A minor would originally have been on crossplies, so its a question of finding something modern you're happy with.
I'd imagine a minor could go to 165x14, but I'd be asking a minor specialist before buying - they may not clear on full lock?
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E2 is for France (UK is E11).
0204 looks like a date code, but they usually appear in the format DOT xxxx 0204 where the tyre was made in week 2 of 2004.
I have some that are marked DOT J3J9 0603 (week 6 2003). the 0603 looks like a 'variable' block - an interchangeable bit of the mould that gets changed frequently. If your 0204 is like that there's a good chance it's the date code.
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Apparently the f560 are still made in mexico.
My local specialist sells them, but doesn't list your size
www.northhantstyres.com/RTS%20final/1458015.htm
But these might fit OK
www.northhantstyres.com/RTS%20final/1558014.htm
He did list a Bridgestone your size, but seems out of stock
www.northhantstyres.com/RTS%20final/1458014.htm
Edited by Marlot on 30/01/2010 at 14:24
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See the end of this Morris Minor Owners' Club article re tyres:
www.mmoc.org.uk/index.php/www.myspace.com/index.ph...5
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>>I have some that are marked DOT J3J9 0603 (week 6 2003). the 0603 lookslike a 'variable' block - an interchangeable bit of the mould that gets changed frequently. If your 0204 is like that there's a good chance it's the date code.
>>
Thanks for the replies. The characters on the "WA JP D3 J T 0204" are set in a form that looks as though it was changeable. So that all makes sense - thank you.
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We had F560s on the Clio, we replaced them with the later Firestone Multihawk, must have only been about 4 years ago that F560s became obsolete.
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This explains tyre markings. tinyurl.com/ykwyjmz
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Back in the late 60s early 70s I used 155/70 14s (pirelli cinturatos) on my minor - with tubes I think. From what I recall 145s radials were not available then. The rims (too narrow) were not suitable for 165s . There were some stories about the rims being leaky and not suitable for tubeless tyres. A lot of people used 13" wheels taken from A40s or similar at that time as it gave a wider choice of tyres.
IIRC when using the smaller wheels the diff of choice was from a Riley 1.5 to give a higher ratio.
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You need to find the 'DOT' code.
The one's I recently bought had a DOT AA, but when I looked on the other side it had DOT AA NNNN, where NNNN indicates month and year of manufacture IIRC.
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For the tyres try either Vintage Tyres www.vintagetyres.com/
or Longstone Tyres www.longstonetyres.co.uk/
Edited by Victorbox on 31/01/2010 at 09:43
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Both silly expensive. Your local indy tyre place will sell you tyres to fit or get them from Bull Motif Spares. Have you joined the MMOC? It's well worth it.
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Date codes on tyres are always on a plate screwed into the mould - for obvious reasons. Look for the outline of the plate around the characters and the two screw imprints which show where the plate was secured.
Really horrible cheapo tyres have the brand name on a plate so "Tiger grips" can become "Nankongs" for the sake of 5 minutes' work with a screwdriver.
Most tyre date codes seem to be xxy where x = week number and y = last digit of year.
659.
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