Adhesive composition

A rubber, .alpha.-methylstyrene-modified piperylene/2-methyl-2-butene resin adhesive composition which comprises an admixture of (1) about 100 parts by weight of a rubber comprised of at least one of natural rubber, synthetic cis-1,4-polyisoprene elastomer, and an unvulcanized elastomeric styrene/isoprene block copolymer having the general configuration A - B - A wherein each A is an independently selected nonelastomeric styrene polymer block having an average molecular weight of about 2,000 to about 100,000 and a glass transition temperature above about 25.degree. C., the total block A content being from about 10 to about 50 percent by weight of the copolymer, and B is an elastomeric conjugated diene block of polyisoprene having an average molecular weight from about 25,000 to about 1,000,000 and a glass transition temperature below about 10.degree. C., said copolymer having a tensile strength at 25.degree. C. in excess of about 200 pounds per square inch, and (2) about 60 to about 140 parts by weight of a compatible piperylene/2-methyl-2-butene type, thermoplastic tackifying resin, modified with a minor amount of .alpha.-methylstyrene containing carbon-to-carbon unsaturation therein and having a softening point in the range of about 80.degree. C. to about 105.degree. C. prepared by the method which comprises reacting in the presence of an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent and a catalyst selected from at least one of aluminum chloride and ethylaluminum dichloride, a monomer mixture consisting of about 92 to about 99 weight percent of a diolefin/olefin mixture of a weight ratio in the range of about 0.6/1 to about 1.4/1 and, correspondingly, about 8 to about 1 weight percent .alpha.-methylstyrene, where said diolefin is at least about 95 weight percent piperylene and said olefin is 2-methyl-2-butene;

• wherein said diolefin is optionally modified by containing up to about 5 weight percent isoprene and wherein said monomer mixture is optionally modified by containing up to about 10 weight percent of at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of piperylene dimers, piperylene trimers, 2-methyl-1-butene, 2-methyl-2-pentene, 2-methyl-1-pentene, 2,3-dimethyl-1-butene, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, 2-methyl-2-pentene, cyclopentene and 1,3-cyclopentadiene.