Tire brand
Coker Tire
Coker Tire is an American company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, specializing in vintage-style tires for collector vehicles.
Intermédiaire
Brand profile
Coker Tire is an American company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, specializing in vintage-style tires for collector vehicles. Founded in 1958, it manufactures and distributes whitewall, bias-ply, and radial tires that faithfully reproduce original designs using restored molds. Its customer base brings together restorers, collectors, hot-rodders, and classic-car enthusiasts throughout North America, including Quebec.
Positioning: Vintage-style tires for collector vehicles: whitewalls, bias-ply, and radial.
History
Coker Tire was founded on January 30, 1958 by Harold Coker, originally as a tire and service center in Tennessee. In 1960, the company moved to Chattanooga and became the city's first major BFGoodrich tire dealer. Having himself struggled to find tires suited to vintage automobiles, Harold Coker came up with the idea of producing and selling period-correct tires for collector cars. At first, these vintage tires occupied a modest space at the back of the retail store, with most of the revenue coming from regular customers who came in to fit out their daily drivers. His son, Corky Coker, took charge of the vintage tire division and devoted some forty years to growing it. The company made a name for itself by working the car shows and swap meets, an on-the-ground presence that continues to this day with around forty shows per year. In 1994, Coker Tire launched a wide whitewall radial tire, a world first, which remains one of its signature products. Over the years, Coker developed its own brand (Coker Classic) while also securing the rights to reproduce tires from historic brands such as BFGoodrich Silvertown, Firestone Deluxe Champion, Michelin, U.S. Royal, and Excelsior. The group also expanded its operations into wheels (Wheel Vintiques), vintage motorcycle tires, racing tires (performance division), and officially licensed Michelin and Firestone collectibles. In November 2018, Corky Coker sold Coker Tire and its parent company, the Coker Group, to the investment firm Irving Place Capital. The company remains based in Chattanooga and continues to serve the collector-vehicle market in North America, with Bruce Ronning as chief executive officer. Coker does not operate a plant in Canada: its presence in Quebec is handled through remote sales and specialty retailers.
Technologies
Coker's technical signature rests on manufacturing from restored original molds or new molds reconstructed from period drawings, which ensures visual fidelity to vintage tires (profile, tread pattern, lettering). The materials and processes, however, are modern, for safe and reliable on-road characteristics. A distinctive area of expertise involves colored sidewalls: whitewalls, redlines, or goldlines are built into the tire during manufacturing rather than added afterward, which guarantees their durability and authenticity. Coker has mastered both traditional bias-ply construction and steel-belted radial construction. Its major breakthrough, the wide whitewall radial launched in 1994, combines the look of a vintage bias-ply tire with the handling of a modern radial. The company also offers "bias look radials," radials with a narrow profile and pronounced shoulders that mimic the bias-ply tire.
Innovations
Coker's flagship innovation is the world's first wide whitewall radial tire, introduced in 1994: it allowed classic-car owners to keep the vintage look while enjoying the safety, comfort, and longevity of radial construction. The company built on this with the Coker Classic Star series, a whitewall radial offered in many sizes (from 13 to 17 inches) covering the 1940s through the 1970s, with modern ratings such as a treadwear rating of 480, a T speed rating, and reinforced (XL) load capacity. The "bias look radial" concept, which reproduces the narrow profile and "pie crust" shoulders of a bias-ply tire on a radial casing, illustrates an R&D focus on authentic appearance without sacrificing on-road performance. The performance division also develops racing tires (drag racing), and the mold-reconstruction work is in itself a form of preservation of the tire's industrial heritage.
Manufacturing
Coker Tire's head office and distribution center are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where design, mold management, and shipping are concentrated. The company manufactures its vintage-style tires from restored or reconstructed original molds, and reproduces historic brands under license. The site is also home to a museum and the Honest Charley Speed Shop store, both reflections of the hot-rod culture surrounding the brand. Coker does not operate any plant in Canada or Quebec. Availability in Quebec relies on online sales, cross-border shipping, and specialty retailers in collector vehicles, restoration, and hot rods that source from Coker or from North American distributors.
Reputation
Coker Tire enjoys a solid reputation in the automotive restoration and collecting community across North America. The brand is recognized for the visual authenticity of its tires and for having popularized the whitewall radial, prized by enthusiasts who want the vintage look without the compromises of the bias-ply tire. Tests and reviews from enthusiasts praise the finish quality of the sidewalls and the fidelity to original fitments, while noting that these tires are intended for fair-weather collector use, not winter driving. In Quebec, Coker caters to owners of vintage cars, hot rods, and customs: its tires do not carry the 3PMSF symbol and are not suitable for winter driving or for the December 1 to March 15 requirement; they serve recreational vehicles that are stored away during the cold season.
Models and families
Related Coker Tire models
These families are presented for reference. Actual availability depends on the catalogue and sizes.