Esso Branded Tyres

[111Robin]

The garage my dad worked at in the 60's was also an Esso filling station. I remember him telling me that they had to fit Esso branded tyres as part of the franchise. Does anyone remember seeing these ?, it's not something I've come across before.

[trevorhp]

Yes I bought a pair from the Planet service station in Kingswinford in 1968, it was an Esso garage.
They fitted them free to my cosmic wheels
They looked a bit like Aquajets, lasted ages.
Sold them still on the car.
Happy days, I think they were £20 the pair.
T

[mk1]

I have seen them too. Usually on crusty old trailer wheels, I am sure I have burned a few over the years too.

[111Robin]

Yes I bought a pair from the Planet service station in Kingswinford in 1968, it was an Esso garage.
They fitted them free to my cosmic wheels
They looked a bit like Aquajets, lasted ages.
Sold them still on the car.
Happy days, I think they were £20 the pair.
T

Great recall indeed. £20 was quite a lot at that time I'm sure.
Just looked it up on an inflation calculator, £290 in today's money!!. Not cheap tyres then.

[Polarsilver]

£20 half a weeks Wage for me . ( before Tax )

[trevorhp]

£20 half a weeks Wage for me . ( before Tax )

I saved up for ages, back then I was looking for wide tyres and no one had them available.
It was Hobson's choice.
The wheels also cost me a fortune.
I dreamed of earning £40 a week.
I even worked Saturday in the morgue at the crematorium in Powke lane,Rowley Regis.
Always had somewhere to warm up your sausage rolls.
T

[trevorhp]

Yes I bought a pair from the Planet service station in Kingswinford in 1968, it was an Esso garage.
They fitted them free to my cosmic wheels
They looked a bit like Aquajets, lasted ages.
Sold them still on the car.
Happy days, I think they were £20 the pair.
T

Great recall indeed. £20 was quite a lot at that time I'm sure.
Just looked it up on an inflation calculator, £290 in today's money!!. Not cheap tyres then.

So Polarsilver was earning £580 per week in 1968 by that reckoning WOW (before Tax)
I was earning around £8 per week including Saturday, they didnt charge me for the 'heating'

[Polarsilver]

Just proves you should not trust modern calculations all political crap with incorrect calculation to say we are so much better off today as the UK .. Bring Back GB ..However just to confirm as Engineering Apprenticed at the age of 19 ..i could get onto Production Piece Work where the max apprentice wage payable was £40 before stoppages.. helped to run my 1961 x 997 Cooper

Maybe today Teenage Engineering Apprentices do earn £500 per week before stoppages?

[Old English White]

I also recall Esso tyres being around for a few years. I expect one of the other tyre manufacturers made them for Esso(?) but I don't know.
The garage I worked at was a Shell garage so we didn't have them - and as an apprentice I started on £5.00 per week
Tell that to young folk today and they don't believe you

[Ronnie]

In 1970 a Rolex Explorer cost £67 for the precision (there were two versions) or £87 for the chronometer

[r.tec]

Esso branded tyres were sold all over Europe. The established tyre manufacturers refused to produce Esso branded tyres. Then Esso asked the Italien second greatest (to Pirelli) tyre maker "CEAT" who agreed to produce them. The idea was to sell the Esso-tyres 10% under the usual price range of other makes. The tyres were delivered free to the Esso stations and had to be payed for only after selling them. A big PLUS for the concessionaires.

[mab01uk]

Motor Sport magazine ad 1969

[r.tec]

...by the way the mentioned batteries in the advertisement were produced by Bosch and labelled Esso.

[mab01uk]

Motor Sport magazine ad 1970

[111Robin]

Esso branded tyres were sold all over Europe. The established tyre manufacturers refused to produce Esso branded tyres. Then Esso asked the Italien second greatest (to Pirelli) tyre maker "CEAT" who agreed to produce them. The idea was to sell the Esso-tyres 10% under the usual price range of other makes. The tyres were delivered free to the Esso stations and had to be payed for only after selling them. A big PLUS for the concessionaires.

Thanks for that.

[111Robin]

Who remembers the Esso Squelchers books for the 1970 world cup ?. My dad got me these in the day, I remember him leaving one under my pillow every now and then, happy days.
I recently bought a full set on Ebay for sentimental reasons.

[mab01uk]

I still have my Esso 1970 World Cup Coins that were 'free' with every gallon of petrol. I had an older brother who worked in the local Esso garage so he used to put aside any coins petrol customers did not ask for. As usual with such collections there were always certain coins which were really common and a few rare ones which were hard to get to complete the set before the offer ended.



Also still have the Historic Car Esso Coins which were also free with petrol and included one for the 1959 Morris Mini-Minor.

[111Robin]

I remember my dad leaving these coins under my pillow as well. A great surprise for a wee car and football mad laddie.
Please excuse the childhood memory ramblings, my dad passed last week so I'm continually remembering stuff from back then. He was my inspiration for all things car related and always kept me right.
This is us on the day the garage closed in 2013, another sad day.

[mab01uk]

I remember my dad leaving these coins under my pillow as well. A great surprise for a wee car and football mad laddie.

Yes, each coin was individually sealed in a wrapper so it was quite exciting tearing them open to see if it was one of the ones you needed or yet another of the common ones to try swapping in the school playground.

Man in Flight I think was a Shell petrol coin collection during the Apollo moon landing missions.

[111Robin]

Yes I remember the blue packets the coins were in, great memories thanks.