my 70 electra wheel is ok but in between the 2 pieces of plastic is a beed of shiny material that goes all the way around and needs replacing,marty
"Rim blow" is where that centre trim ring in the centre of the rim of the wheel (the part you hold onto) is actually sprung and activates the horn. I don't recall it being offered on the 1970 full-size line. What electraboat is referring to is the inside trim ring which is a paper-thin chrome strip behind clear plastic. This ring usually is the first thing to craze and crack apart. I would imagine there are very few original wheels left with that ring in good shape. I haven't seen one up here in Canada. There are a couple of good restorers on line; but they are pretty pricey. I'm still looking for a nice wheel for my car, but it looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet (or at least bend over and bite a pillow) and pay for a restoration of one of mine.
that gets it exactly.....a friend suggested taking it apart and using aluminum foil but it seems bogus.........hey anyway im pretty good at finding parts/got a speed/trip cluster in 1 week....well havent recd it yet. what wheel are you looking for in case i see it,marty
Marty, I'm looking for a black 2-spoke wheel for my 66 Electra; the standard wheel out of any 65-66 full-size Buick. Like yours, mine is missing the inner trim ring and since it is so thin it is pretty badly cracked up. I haven't seen a good one yet. So far I have one extra one, it's cracked in exactly the same places as the one in the car. Weird how that happens...
Hemmings is full of steering wheel restoration people. I have had some (not Buick) redone and they are as good or better than new.
If its a rim blow, the different car manufacturers bought them from the same company. When Kleiner needed parts for a Buick wheel I gave him the Ford part numbers and it worked fine (I think he only had to trim a little off one end to make it fit.) I am sure the Ford parts are now gone, but the wheels were also used on Mustangs so the parts might be reproduced now. It's worth checking into to save some bucks. Duane
Hi marc my steering wheel on my 70 electra custom is looking rough too. but it has a rimblow wheel on it. The car is a two door hardtop with dics brakes orignal paint.vinaltop and interior power windows power driverseat tilt wheel speed alert trip odometer trunk release AC and power door locks and map light and cornning lights.Nice orignal car. craig
Cool! I've never seen a rim-blow wheel in a full-size Buick; I'd love to see a picture of it! Would that have been a dealer installed option or was that actually factory installed?
This guy is only 12 miles from me. http://www.garyssteeringwheel.com/ I'm taking him my 69 Eldorado "rim blow" in a few weeks. I'm estimating about $300 for a complete restoration.
