Tornado tires from the '70's ?

[sixtall]

Any of you Canadians remember Tornado bias plies (then eventually radials) that were available only at Canadian Tire years ago ? Just a guess, but I'd say they were around from maybe '73 or '74 until around '83. It seemed like a lot of guys had them. Nice white-lettered font on the sidewalls, especially the bias plies. For you non-Canadians , Canadian Tire was once our mecca of auto parts, tools, and guy stuff. Now it's a cross between Walmart and Home Depot with a bit of car stuff hidden in the corner of their stores. Anyway, I never owned a set and I even had a Canadian Tire store call their head office to see if there were any Tornado tires still hidden away anywhere at a warehouse or in a back room of one of their locations, but no dice. In fact, the girl I was talking to had no clue what I meant by "Tornados"...... she must have been under 35. So, anyone ever run a set or see any pop up at swap meets ? Curious.

 

[Plymouth rat]

hello sixtall, i am going to a swap meet next sunday in ancaster, i will look around to see if i can spot some of those...not sure if you know where ancaster is but it is south of hamilton, its usually a good one..

 

[cycledog]

Don't remember Tornado Tires, but I do remember driving up to Penticton BC and getting Uncle Ben's Beer.

 

[sixtall]

Plymouth Rat ... I'd be interested in hearing if you come across any....

 

[Plymouth rat]

ok sixtall, i will be on the lookout for them, i think i do remember them tires, big white capital letters, ... what size 14, or 15 inch, did they come in a 60 series, i know of some other places i can look as well for ya.. where in ontario are you..

 

[sixtall]

Plymouth Rat .... not in the market for any at the moment .... was just kinda wondering if anyone remembers them, really .... would love to hear if they're still around, though. ..... maybe in the spring (if the money's there) I'll have to start stock-piling them !!! By the way, I'm about 10 minutes east of Woodstock down the 401.............. have fun at Ancaster !

 

[workin class]

I ran a set on my old 67 dart around 83 or so all I remember is they smoked real well and lasted long enough althought I ran black side out because my dart was flat black back in the 80s. 273 COMANDO 4sp gt with buckets all for 100.00 plus a bit of home work those were the days before greed and investor cars showed up in the market. Afriend of mine in high school had a daytona charger 440 4sp copper and flat black he was unable to sell ended up trading for an all door 55 chev.

 

[Unkl Ian]

Yes, I remember the Tornado tires. Been a while since I've seen any.
They were my in Barrie, IIRC. Of course, that plant is long since closed now.

Canadian Tire still has some Motomaster brand tires, but they are made in the US now.

Most of their current tires are brand names.

And the auto parts section is an after thought, now.

 

[sixtall]

I ran a set on my old 67 dart around 83 or so all I remember is they smoked real well and lasted long enough althought I ran black side out because my dart was flat black back in the 80s. 273 COMANDO 4sp gt with buckets all for 100.00 plus a bit of home work those were the days before greed and investor cars showed up in the market. Afriend of mine in high school had a daytona charger 440 4sp copper and flat black he was unable to sell ended up trading for an all door 55 chev.

Love to see a picture of that Dart with Tornados on it. Yes, they were known for producing a pile of smoke. Where I grew up if you had 'em you were a big fish in a small pond. Still like to see a set on something.

 

[sixtall]

Yes, I remember the Tornado tires. Been a while since I've seen any.
They were my in Barrie, IIRC. Of course, that plant is long since closed now.

Canadian Tire still has some Motomaster brand tires, but they are made in the US now.

Most of their current tires are brand names.

And the auto parts section is an after thought, now.

I heard they were built in Barrie. And yes, CTC is more of a Walmart/Radio Shack/Food Basics/Leon's/Zellers/Colour Your World than anything that resembles an "auto parts" store. When I was in my early teens the nearest Canadian Tire was 40 miles away. It was a big deal once every second month to go there and wander the aisles and see chrome valve covers, headers, furry seat covers, chain link steering wheels, CB radios, pinstriping, chrome slotted rims, those Tornado tires, and remember those cheezy imitation chrome hubcap things they used to display with their tires ? And the smell.... smelled like a tire and auto shop should. Now it's a blend of potpourri and Pinesol.

Still want to see pictures of ANYTHING running Tornados. Show 'em if you got 'em.