Woodgrain steering wheels for 68-9 B-Bodies

[WINGMAN]

  Has anyone bought the new repo wood grain steering wheel and center cap, are they nice. Thanks.  (Wingman).  Jay.

[Dino]

There are some comparison reviews online.  From what I remember the spokes are too shiney and the color and grain of he "wood" is a bit different from the originals.  They can still be considered nice though if you don't need it to be factory correct.  Some of these steering wheel resto guys will make the repro wheel look like the original so there's that option.

[4406pack]

The steering wheel was brushed chrome so if you buy a repop just take some fine steel wool and take the shine out.

[68 RT]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Mopar-Plymouth-Dodge-Charger-GTX-Road-Runner-Woodgrain-Steering-Wheel-/172119507698?hash=item28131f42f2:g:97oAAOSwp5JWa24c&vxp=mtr

If you are doing a 100pt resto I would buy an original one. Repo when side by side aren't even close. But not bad for driver/local show car.

[lukedukem]

Wow 1400 bucks. And it came off a simulator. Not even a real car. Does that make it worth more? Or less.

Luke

[MoPaR 312]

Wow 1400 bucks. And it came off a simulator. Not even a real car. Does that make it worth more? Or less.

Luke

Same wheel but less "wear and tear" and probably sunlight too so I would say more, but for $1400 I'm glad I started buying them years ago!

[Ghoste]

The simulators didn't typically get hot and cold of a car installed one either.  With NOS sources drying up, the simulator wheels are generally the next best thing.

[Brock Lee]

You can judge the overall level of accuracy and quality of a repro part when you look at what it has done to the values of original parts. Original woodgrain wheels command as much money now as they did before the reproductions came out. In fact, restorable cores seem to be worth more now than before.

Back just as the repro wheels were announced, I hit the huge regional Mopar show and bought an uncracked, but slight wear wheel from a guy that did woodgrain wheel restorations, but decided to unload all his cores once the new ones were on the horizon. I bought it and a tan horn pad for $120 (he valued the pad more than the wheel). I just saw him the weekend before last and he recognized me. He once again had a table full of restored wheels. He said the repro wheels are so wrong that it is like they do not even exist. He is back in business 100%.

[Mike DC]

You can judge the overall level of accuracy and quality of a repro part when you look at what it has done to the values of original parts. Original woodgrain wheels command as much money now as they did before the reproductions came out. In fact, restorable cores seem to be worth more now than before.

Back just as the repro wheels were announced, I hit the huge regional Mopar show and bought an uncracked, but slight wear wheel from a guy that did woodgrain wheel restorations, but decided to unload all his cores once the new ones were on the horizon. I bought it and a tan horn pad for $120 (he valued the pad more than the wheel). I just saw him the weekend before last and he recognized me. He once again had a table full of restored wheels. He said the repro wheels are so wrong that it is like they do not even exist. He is back in business 100%.

. . . and when you complain to the repro sellers, they say "your hobby won't pay for anything to look as good as you want."  That's funny because we sure pay up for the old stuff. 



BTW:  are the new repro wheels a functional problem, or just appearance? 

I wouldn't mind some cosmetic inaccuracies if the wheels basically work. 
If "inaccuracies" means the wheels get bent out-of-round any time you lean on them, and the plastic starts splitting off the rim after 6 months in sunlight, that's different story.

[Brock Lee]

I have seen only one, and it seemed to just be appearance to my eyes. The wheel was slick and shiny. It had no texture at all. The repro woodgrain wheels likely appeal most to those that would not have had a wheel restored. The guys that would have used a decent but not show car condition original.

I have no idea how durable they are. That is a good question though.

[miller time]

I just bought a mostly black with almost cherry wood "grips" wheel cover from advance auto, on sale for $5 and it looks pretty darn good with black interior añd wood grain trim on the dash and console! Plus the it was $1,395 cheaper and no shipping then the simulator wheel, and if any asked I'm protecting then original! They don't know I have a 1\2 inch gap from the wheel plastic shrinking, only myself and whoever reads this does!