I'm looking for some feedback on the appearance/feel of an original 68 simulated wood steering wheel. A couple years ago I bought what was supposed to be an oem wheel, and it had a smooth shiny finish, with a sort of flowing woodgrain appearance to it. Not "grainy" or rough at all, but not WORN smooth, it was made that way. It had all the typical cracks of an original wheel. Is that what the correct wheels were like? I've also owned a couple of reproductions the last few years that I was disappointed in. They felt heavier, were not smooth really, and not remotely close to the same woodgrain look of the oem I had. I now have another 68 wheel that is supposed to be oem, but I'm not sure. Would like to email good closeup pics to someone who can give me a positive ID on if it is oem or repro. My car had a Grant wheel when I bought it, so I don't really know for a FACT what oem really looked like. Any help out there?
Mike, that's exactly what I wanted to see. The one I sold last year was just like that, but with more/bigger cracks than I wanted. Roberta, is that what yours look like too? If so we can skip emailing the pics, 'cause the one I just got is not the same. It is a rough finish, darker, more of a hard rubber than a plastic.
This is the wheel I have that I'm questioning as being oem. ---------- Post added at 08:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 AM ---------- Another... could it be from a Chevy app and look different than our Buick wheels? The dark coloring in the pics is very accurate.
David, I have owned 3 or 4 68 sim wood wheels and NONE of them had a 'texture'. ALL were smooth. I also had a few Chevy sim wheels and they were smooth as well. Roberta? Other 68 owners w/ sim wood steering wheels???
What do you guys think of these: ---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 PM ---------- Mike, have you seen other oem wheels that do NOT look like yours? I'm wondering if there was possibly some inconsistency in manufacturing these. The ones I just posted are supposed to be mostly original.
Mine looks exactly like Mike's and is smooooooth to the touch. It was on BigRed when I bought it back in '93 and the previous owner said it was on it ~10 years earlier when he bought it. It wears a later year black cap, not the correct one for the wheel. I've had a few corvette guys over the years ask me what "their" wheel is doing on a Buick. It will go on Sportn"Wood as soon as I get the black GSX repro from Duane ... still need a good center/horn cap without the "normal" crack. If you want me to snap some pics tonight I'd be more than happy to.
Before finding a decent '68 Buick wheel I purchased 3 from a local car vendor that specializes in mostly chevy parts. The 3 wheels were all cracked and were not aftermarket. Some were thicker than others, some had a deeper dish and some were darker. I would say that you have a OEM GM wheel but not those sold with '68 Buicks. I believe GM offered them in "Rosewood" and also "Walnut" over the years. I would think that GM used the same wheel over all lines each model year. You could even get the same simulated wood wheel for a '68 Olds 442 (3 spoke not 4 like most Olds). The wheel shown in my photos is the same color, size and style that I have seen on '68 Buicks. Check out this web site for a few examples http://www.camaros.org/swheel.shtml#67
Sure Alan, you can email me a pic or 2. Good luck finding a 68 horn cap with no crack. I now have one that looks almost NOS, but still has the tiniest little crack there, just barely visible if you look real close. I just don't look real close at it anymore. ---------- Post added at 04:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ---------- I believe my 68 parts book actually states "Walnut" in the desc. I've wondered about this one maybe being Rosewood.
Mike, Is the 68 Buick wheel a (2) piece spoke design requiring the recessed hub, like the N34 listed in the link you provided? Thanks, Patrick
