Armstrong tractor tires

[Cat Elem]

I hope you dont mind my question, but we bought an old farmstead, inheriting a barn full of stuff. Needing to make money as the house is in bad shape, can you tell me what a set of Armstrong Hi-Power Lug 16.9-28 15" rim 14-28s with tons of tread are worth? My husband works an hour plus from the house, its just me and my kids and frankly, most folks tend to take advantage of me. Any help would be appreciated! If you need pix I have some. Please let me know

Sincerely,
Cat Elem
[email protected]

 

[Paul in MN]

Cat,

Trying to judge the value of used tires without inspecting them very carefully is more difficult than predicting the exact weather 45 days from now. Some things to consider:

1) The Armstrong brand was a good tire but is no longer made.

2) The size of these tires is too big for the 8N or earlier Ford tractors. That size is commonly used by 45 to 55 Hp utility tractors, so your market is narrow.

3) The value of a tire depends considerably on the condition of the sidewalls. It may have a lot of tread, but if the sidewall has a lot of cracks, it may be close to being junk. Maybe the sidewall is bad in only one area, like where the tractor was parked in a puddle of manure for too long. One bad area is just as bad as the the whole thing being bad.

4) Caution: These tires may have been filled with fluid weight. They may be extremely heavy, maybe 700 pounds each. Do not let the tire push you over if you go to move it. You probably will not be able to get out from under it. If it falls, it will crush you. This size tire and rim, if filled with air, will weigh 150 to 200 lbs, and that is a big handfull.

5) The Armstrong tire, if taken care of, and not exposed to the sun all the time may still look good at 30 years old. But the rubber does become hard and brittle with age. So its value does go down.

Last month, I put a new pair of 16.9 x 30 8 ply ag tires on one of our tractors. Installed price was $715. The take offs are Firestone, 6 years old, lots of tread (80%), turf tread, and I hope to get $125 each for them. My guess is if your tires have minimal cracking, good sidewalls, hold air, are not fluid filled, and include good solid rims, you might get a max of $300 to $350 for the pair. Good Luck!

Paul in MN

 

[Cat Elem]

Paul,

Thank you so much for responding, I cant tell you how hard getting straight answers are anymore!

The tires have been stored in a dry barn, I cant say how long. The side walls look good, you can read all the numbers very well, no rims and very dusty but thats all I know. My son and I were trying, big emphassis on trying, to move them, but no luck. You info on the weight was all it took for us to quit! LOL. We also noticed some front tires, my favorite part of our little farm has to be the barn, very neat treasures we keep accidentally coming across. Hard part is needing the money, but not wanting to part with stuff!

Anyway, thanks again for your taking the time to help answer my questions. You made my and my sons day to hear from a genuine nice person.

Take care
Cat Elem

 

[Paul in MN]

Cat,

You are welcome!

Dang, I just love digging around in old barns too. Wish we were close enough to share the excitement of those treasured finds.

Paul in MN

 

[Jerry/MT]

You got a real buy! I priced 16.9-30 Ag tires at Les Schwab and they were $1250 a pair installed with new tubes. The tires themselves were $475 a piece.

 

[Ed S.]

very neat treasures we keep accidentally coming across

If you run across any old airplane parts, let me know!

e (still looking for a Curtiss Jenny in a barn) s

 

[Fordfarmer]

Actually, Armstrongs are still made, just been bought out, and are called Titan now. For a while, they had both "Titan" (in big letters)and "Armstrong" (in small letters) on the sidewalls. I think they bought out Goodyear, too. (the ag tire line, at least) I'd take a Hi-Power Lug over their Hi-Traction Lug any day.

 

[oleblu]

If you "Google" unoficial allis chalmers you should find an Allis Chalmers board and post the tires there. The Allis D17 used that size and is a very popular tractor. You should get a lot of intrest in your items over there.