Over the years Dougal has worked as an
unoffi cial ship’s engineer, deep-sea fi sherman,
removal man and a marquee erector before
ending up running his own business as a tree
surgeon. “It got to the point where I was going
to have to employ someone to set two teams
up,” remarked Dougal as he recalled how he
eventually became involved with Longstone
Tyres. “My father came back from a VSCC event
at Silverstone and said that Mike Hurst was
selling his vintage tyre business and thought it
would be a good opportunity for me to became
involved with something I really enjoyed.
“We ended up making an offer for the
business, which was based in Great Longstone
at the time, hence its name and the offer
was accepted. I worked with Mike for a short
while and in the early days after Mike left, I
was constantly on the phone to him asking
for advice until I became familiar with the
business. At fi rst, all we sold were pre-war
car tyres, but I quickly realised there was a
massive market to supply tyres for classics as
well,” said Dougal before going on to tell me
how he expanded the business.
“Owners of cars built in the ’50s and ’60s
were telling me that it was getting diffi cult
to source tyres, as fast fi t depots weren’t
interested,” added Dougal as he recalled how
a stroke of luck resulted in him becoming a
major UK distributor for Michelin classic tyres.
“This allowed me to rapidly expand the business
and I can’t praise the bullet-proof construction
of Michelin cross-ply and radial classic tyres
enough,” added Dougal. “As you know, the X was
the fi rst radial tyre and we even stock metric rim
sized versions suitable for cars such the early
Citroën 2VC and Traction Avant.”
Walking to the rear of the depot past racks
neatly laden with tyres echoing evocative names
from the past such as Dunlop SP Sport and
Pirelli Cinturato, Dougal pointed out ‘Piglet’,
his dismantled 1929 GN Frazer-Nash special
languishing in a bay beneath the mezzanine
fl ooring. “Now this is what you call a car,” smiled
Dougal as he gave me a quick run down of the
chain driven Frazer-Nash’s specifi cations. “The
Nash is powered by a Ford Model A engine
and goes like stink on the track. If you’re brave
enough, top speed is somewhere around
130mph and it handles surprisingly well,” grinned
Dougal as he explained how the body had been
removed from the chassis while the mechanicals
were being fettled in time for the new season.
Dougal’s obviously got a very eclectic taste
when it comes to cars, as parked close to his GN
Frazer-Nash was another part dismantled Model
A Ford. After admitting he considers himself a
master of bangernomics and has seen more than
20 towbar-equipped Cortinas off to the breakers,
Dougal revealed his everyday transport for the
ten-mile journey to work each day currently
alternates between several vehicles; a work
stained, high mileage 1990s V8-powered Lexus,
a 1975 jet black Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and
a yellowish 1972 Daf 33. Explaining how he
is planning to sell the Silver Shadow to buy a
classic drophead, Dougal suggested we go for
a quick drive to demonstrate how well the Rolls
handled with the correct profi le tyres fi tted.
“Obviously you won’t know how this car drove
when I fi rst had it, but fi tting the correct rubber
has transformed how its handles”, grinned
Dougal as he powered his red velour upholstered
Rolls through the South Yorkshire lanes on our
way to his home. During our brief trip to pick
up some paperwork, Dougal recalled how he’d
recently driven the Rolls down to Milan for a
meeting with Pirelli. “This was a very important
meeting for us and I wanted to be noticed,
so decided to combine the trip with a family
holiday and we all set off for Italy in the Silver
Shadow.” Asked if the meeting was successful,
Dougal replied: “Pirelli fell out of making classic
tyres for a while, unlike Michelin who’ve made
them for ages. However, I’m pleased say that
Pirelli are rapidly expanding their range, so
something good must have come out of my visit
as every week we ship out loads of Cinturatos to
destinations all over the world”.
While enjoying a cup of tea with Dougal up
on the mezzanine surrounded by stacks of
imperial and metric sized tyres to fi t everything
from a 2CV to a high performance Ferrari,
the master of the black circles heaved a
Michelin XAS onto a pallet for me to admire.
Dougal explained how this really well made
asymmetric tyre was originally designed for
the Citroën DS and Longstone now stocks
versions to fi t a range of classic cars, such
E-Type Jaguars and big Healeys.
The XAS came out in 1965 and Dougal
pointed out one of the really good features of
this tyre is how it improves a car’s directional
stability. “This is a good tyre to fi t to ’50s or
’60s classics that originally had cross-ply boots,
as you don’t want to fi t a modern shaped tyre
with a square shoulder to these cars. What you
need is a round-shouldered radial like an XAS or
Cinturato designed to work with cars that don't
have an adverse camber suspension set ups.”
When asked why this was important, Dougal
explained that when cornering you need a tyre
that keeps the maximum amount of tread on
the road. The tyre shouldn’t climb up onto the
sidewall under these conditions as this makes
any break away progressive and controllable.
If originality is what the customer is looking
for, Dougal told me he can also supply a set
of cross-ply tyres and also has the specialist
equipment to balance wires along with a skilful
contact who can adjust out-of-true spoked rims.
Before leaving the depot, Dougal suggested I try
out a set of Pirelli Cinturatos on the MBG, and
said “You’ll be amazed by the difference a proper
set of tyres will make on this car.”
After a couple of hundred miles, I have to
agree as the car drive superbly on the new
rubber. It turns in tighter too and the judder that
used to be felt through the steering wheel when
approaching the national speed limit has gone.
So if you’re fed up with all the nonsense fast-fi t
depots spout about classic tyres, give Dougal a
ring on 01302 71123 and he’ll put you straight.
Or if you’re in the Doncaster area, drop in and
tell him Iain sent you – there may even be some
Jammy Dodgers biscuits on offer to enjoy with
the cuppa! CCM
92 Classic Car Mart Spring 2016
Longstone Tyres have the correct machinery to balance wire wheels once new tyres and inner tubes have been fi tted. The company has also invested a lot of
money remanufacturing tyres for vintage vehicles and offers an impressive choice of authentic tread patterns to suit the period of the car.
Longstone Tyres have the correct machinery to balance wire wheels once new tyres and inner tubes have been fi tted. The company has also invested a lot of