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What Were the Original Tire Brand(s) on Early '60s Patrols?

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:50 pm
by r1lark
What brand were the original tires on early '60s Patrols? Reason I'm asking, my Patrol has what I believe are the original five tires. The two rears have been recapped with a mud/snow tread but are Bridgestones just like the others. The fronts are still the military style tires, and the spare appears to have never been used (still can see the mold part line down the middle).

The tires are Bridgestone "Ground Grip Cross Country", size 6.50-16 6-ply. They say 'MADE IN JAPAN'. I know for a fact that these tires have been on this Patrol since 1969 (not on it now, but stored inside).

Pics of the spare are below. Any input would be appreciated.
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IMG_20211029_113642427 resized.jpg
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Re: What Were the Original Tire Brand(s) on Early '60s Patro

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 11:45 am
by RiverPatrol
Pretty safe bet those are the original tires. On early Patrols I've seen Bridgestones just like those, on '66 and later I've seen Toyos.

Re: What Were the Original Tire Brand(s) on Early '60s Patro

Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:06 am
by r1lark
Thanks River for the info! I strongly suspected they were the original tires, since this Patrol didn't have much mileage on it when I started driving it in the mid-70s. Of course, I had to remove those un-cool narrow wheels/tires and put on those cool (in the mid-70s) wide white wagon wheels and wide white-letter tires! :lol:

I used it for summer driving for a couple of years while in college, then it was only used infrequently by my Dad. Slowly getting it prepped for startup after a long slumber.