Seems like progress.

 

Maybe hope> Good thing these tires aren't oxygen...

 

I think this is VERY encouraging. If this tooling all had to be recreated, I would think the project might be out of reach. It may take time, but I think there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Wow, lots of opinions. They were "state of the art" when they came out on my 1984 15TH
Anniversary TA. Also came on my 89 Formula 350 and 89 TTA. They had their purpose at the time, but there were not alot of other options until around 1992. BFG Comp TA's are very similar to the old gatorbacks if you want similar handling, traction and feel. Repops would be for fine the show crowd who also has their own purpose. They also dont mind spending a few extra bucks for the "NOS" look.

 

I'm just ready to leave some snotty goodyear 11s out on the roads !!

 

Group buy!

I wonder what kind of deal we could get on 1,000 tires?

 

I would be interested in a set if they are coming into production. Don't know how they would compare to my sport comp 2s but it would be interesting.

 

I'm in!

 

I am guessing if there was an offer to purchase enough that covers some of the setup overhead that would help kickstart things. But, no doubt once they start them up they will be listed for sale from then on out like the mustang VR's. So, if a deal was struck to get a "one time, good deal" & it's not the same price as they would be listed for sale later online, I would be in for 8 of them.

Good to hear they have the molds for them.

 

That's 250 people wanting 1 set each. I wouldn't pay more than a grand a set....at 3 sets for me.

 

Spoke to Rusty Smalls at MCACN yesterday. The issue with the 245/50/16s is coming up with the cash to finish the molds. The Corvette 255s are on the way. I guess Kelsey feels that the Corvette guys will spend the money more easily than the 3rd gen guys.

I told Rusty that lots of guys are waiting for these 245/50/16 Gatorbacks in a modern compound. I also asked how much these molds actually cost?

 

Here I thought the molds still existed & it was just a matter & figuring out what materials to build them with & the overhead of a first run.

 

I was there on sat but for only a few hrs. Great show as always!

Thought the molds were still around and had been acquired already?
We can use the 255 tire for burnouts till the "correct" size comes out!

 

I had a set of 255's on my black 87 back in the mid 90's I thought it looked pretty cool at the time. Given the choice of nothing, or 255's I guess it wouldn't be too bad, but a lot of money for something that's 2nd fiddle to what we would like to have.

 

I'm guessing Kelsey also ran some data to support this conclusion.

Regarding 255/50/16, my dad ran a set of Good Year Eagles in that size back in the 90s - it was basically same exact look as the Gatorbacks except for the tread. On 16x8 wheels, it looked pretty good. Yes, they had some tire bulge (and the Good Years already fit a little wide to begin with). I can dig up a picture or two if anybody is interested. They won't help you with scoring at MCACN, but I'd probably do the 255s from Kelsey over the 245/50/16s I have now from Firestone.

 

but the 255s from Kelsey is 15" rim.

 

We switched pages a bit and are talking about the corvette 255/50/16 that will be coming out b4 the 245/50/16, not the mustang 255 tire.

 

Somewhere along the line somebody must have made the decision that an 80's Corvette was more popular than a same year Camaro or Firebird.

I think they've made a mistake.

 

I wish Firestone or someone else remade the Firestone S/S Radial Raised White Letter tires I have on my '76 Trans Am. Factory size 225/70/15 or even 235 or 245 wide. All that's available for those 2nd gens is BF Goodrich. They seem to have the monopoly on it now that all the others have been discontinued.



Or even White Letter "Goodyear Eagle" in the same sizes.



There's something Nostalgic and Authentic Feel Good and Overbearing Confidence of seeing Raised White Letter tires read Goodyear Eagle or Firestone S/S Radial on your Classic Muscle. They made a statement by themselves. I miss that. They're gone.

Unless somebody has the molds, I dont know if they can be reproduced.

 

I agree and told him so.

 

I have noticed that a lot of the c4 guys are penny pinchers kinda like the majority of the 3rdgen crowd.
Not that its a bad thing but which car sold more gatorback tires volume wise?

 

A similar year C4 Corvette to a 3rd gen seems to be running about the same price for either one. I looked at a 1990 C4 about a year ago and I was surprised how crappy the interior was, I prefer my 3rd gen interior personally.

 

Most of today's best tires are no better in the twisties than mid-'90s choices, and most of today's tires have narrower treads for any given size, probably for the sake of profit, but I think they have discarded a lot of excellent tires, whose molds weren't yet worn out, for the sake of seeming to stay current.
Sure, some of the old sizes don't sell as well anymore, but jacking the price of the good remainders only makes that problem worse.
I don't see any good value in a fresh Gatorback in a 225/60VR15 for the Mustang, they were no wider than any other 225/60.
But the original Gatorback 255/50R16 was really more of a 275/45, for which we now have the Toyo Proxes TQ, which is really more of a 255/50 anyway.
Yes, I care more about wide treads than actual function. I love 1g cornering, and cheapness.
I contacted Maxxis once I saw their new 245/40R15 is really a 265/35, the actual trad width is 9.5", and I explained that we want an even wider 245/50 for our 16x8s.
It's been a few years ago now, but I was at Pick-N-Pull and came across a blue '90 Formula with no-name 245/50s that measured a full 10" of tread. They were dry-rotted, but the only thing that stopped me from buying them was a set of wheel locks I couldn't defeat with a sledgehammer, a chisel, and 2 pairs of Vise-Grips.
Pinching such wide treads onto narrow wheels is really very bad for handling, but it sure looks aggressive.

 

Oh, and I'd take a set for $500. Have you given that Kelsey guy a link to this thread?

 

I agree.


But Rusty had an interesting comment. They need both the 255 and 245 for the GNX guys who are most certainly willing to spend the money.

 

I had 255s front and rear on my old car, I loved the way it looked. I'd be OK with buying a set of those...



The C4 stuff is really starting to heat up with the NCRS crowd and because i'm into both those and the thirdgens, I have seen that there is a big spike in people looking for certain models and prices are going up for the rare stuff. I have seen huge increases in the C4 grand sports and I just sold my Callaway Z for strong market value, so there is interest there as well. Many folks are looking for the 17" gatorbacks as well for the early ZR1s.

Hopefully this all happens in the next few years, glad it's all being discussed. Again, if the folks at Kelsey are reading this, many of us are ready to go!

 

I told Rusty, that the day they release the 245, they'll have an immediate demand for 1,000 tires.

 

I used to have the S/S tires on my 83 Camaro back in the day. we used to call them SIS tires they would break traction on a v6. they were also very soft and squishy.

 

I had a pair of those Firestone SS white outline tires on my 72 GTO and then later on an 81 Z28 I had. I've always been a fan of the white outline tire look.

 

Yep, Firestone S/S Radials on my '70 Duster in high school. I loved those tires.

 

Cool, this '76 T/A was my Father's gift when he graduated High school in '77, and he had Uniroyals, Goodyear, and These Firestones on, he liked the fat look on them, Big Donut Tires as he calls them.

The last year he drove this car before storing it was Summer of 1986, with 37k Original miles on the Odometer. He had just bought the S/S you see in the pic around February of '86, so technically those tires have no mileage on them, but of course they are now 31 years old and worthless for road use.

I'm still going to keep them just for the Nostalgic value of it.

 

I run tubes in the older tires just in case and make sure that I don't go on the highway with them.

 

I had a few Monza Spyders in the 80s' & 90's & one of them had what I believe was the original Firestone SS radials. Good Looking tire to say the least. Rekindled with one when I found a one owner 77 low mile a bunch of years ago, but it had black walls on it Never was completely sure what they had from the factory

 

Occasionally I get the urge to mount my Gatorbacks back on my wheels since I really only show the car. But every once in a while on the way home from a show I get the urge to, shall we say "stretch her legs."

 

Rusty assured me that the new Gatorbacks will be made out of new, soft, modern compounds that you will be able to beat on and smoke to your heart's content.

IOW, they'll look like the old Gatorbacks but be modernized in performance.

 

This warms my heart...

 

Thats great. Any idea on the time frame for when the new gatorbacks will be available?

 

Was searching this morning for some unrelated parts & landed on this page. check out the right front tire on the bottom of the page....

http://www.gmsports.com/content/1970-pontiac-lemans

 

Back to the Gatorbacks: I would run 255s if that's the only option but obviously would rather have 245s.
I'm guessing the decision was made that the "other" cars would end up running Vette sizes rather than the Vette people running less of a tire.....

 

I've waited this long, I'm holding out for the 245s.

 

I would't spend the money on a tire that wasn't quite right for the car.
I am in no rush either as my cars aren't going anywhere

 

Interesting Tread looks way fresh compared to my set of SS Radials.

 

For anyone on this thread that might be interested. I just posted my complete set of 4 almost NOS 245/50/16 Goodyear eagle ZR50 Gatorbacks in the classifieds section on tgo under the engine and suspension section.basically take offs from a 1990 Iroc. Call or text Shawn for more details. 310-279-6974

 

I spoke to Kelsey last month and they said reproducing 245/50/16 Gatorbacks aren't on their "5 year plan" and that if they ever do decide to reproduce our tires it won't happen for at least 10 years.

 

That's weird, spoke to Rusty at MCACN, and he felt they were on their way.

 

I'll call again tomorrow but that is what I was told last month. I'll get the name of the person I speak with as well (I can't remember the name of the person I spoke to). I'd really love to buy a few sets of "new" Gatorbacks if they ever did repop them.

 

They don't even have the 255/50/16 corvette size Gatorbacks available yet and they're going to make those before they get around to making our 245/50/16's according to their website.

 

Supposedly, the 255/50/16s will be out this year.

 

Any reason why it has to be Kelsey? Are there other manufacturers that might jump on?

 

Latest word from Rusty, 01/07/17