Are the Grant "TUFF" wheels any good ?

[71 Bee Man]

G'day guys,

thinking of buying a Grant Tuff wheel for my 71 Charger.

Are they any good, and does the adaptor kit look OK.....I have no idea about them living in Australia not having anything to use as a guide. Might order one off the net if concensus is good. Love to hear what your thoughts are - good or bad. In pictures they look just like the originals.

Thanks

Peter
Sydney, Australia.

[twilt]

 I`ve never cared for the Grant wheel. In my opinion it just looks cheap. The ridge in the foam is a dead give away.  If I was going to buy a repro wheel, I`d go with the other repro which is more  expensive and more accurate. 

[71 Bee Man]

So where do you get the other repro wheel from ?

Also, remembering that there's no-one else to compare my wheel to down here, does the Grant Tuff wheel look OK in general or is it just that they aren't exactly like the originals ?

peter

[twilt]

When compared to an original, the Grant wheel is not the right size, spokes are not properly dished, spokes are painted instead of plated and the foam grip has a tell tale ridge in it, grip around spokes is different.  Its probably not fair to call the Grant wheel a repro. I dont think they made the wheel attempting to copy the Mopar wheel. I don`t like the fact that the spokes are painted. Thats cheap and cheesy. When I see a Grant wheel on a car......its screams to me......"my owner was too cheap to give me the best"  I would not use one of the the Grant install kits either. Getting a  original tuff wheel adapter/can looks so much better  You have a real nice car, why not put a real nice wheel on it?   
The higher quality repro wheels are sold in a couple Ebay stores. here is a link to one. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-Dodge-Plymouth-SHOW-Tuff-3-spoke-steering-wheel_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ140729QQihZ012QQitemZ220099363844QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[BrianShaughnessy]

The 846 is fine.   You'll just have to deal with some 3rd gen owners attitudes   

[Nacho-RT74]

I'm agree with twilt on everything.


and yes, you have to deal with 3rd gen owners attitudes... oh, wait, you are also a 3rd gen owner LOL

[TruckDriver]

I'm agree with twilt on everything.

[Charger1970]

Looks pretty good there Brian. Was the adapter kit OK or was it a pain it the butt?

That tach looks fantastic, also.

[charger Downunder]

Peter have you looked at the Grant tuff wood grain wheel you might want to consider it?
Steve

[71 Bee Man]

Peter have you looked at the Grant tuff wood grain wheel you might want to consider it?
Steve

G'day Steve,

I've seen pics of the woodgrain one but have only ever really considered the Tuff wheel option.

I'm going to keep looking - it is good to get the varied opinions and reasons, isn't it ?

Peter

[dkn1997]

The 846 is fine.   You'll just have to deal with some 3rd gen owners attitudes   

When I see a Grant wheel on a car......its screams to me......"my owner was too cheap to give me the best"  I would not use one of the the Grant install kits either. Getting a  original tuff wheel adapter/can looks so much better  You have a real nice car, why not put a real nice wheel on it?   

the key being "real nice car"  anyone with a "real nice car"  aka: points type car, would not even consider this wheel. for the rest of us, it's a choice, not "cheap"  why does a weekend cruiser need a 100% correct looking wheel?  how many chargers out there are bone stock even in appearance?  not many.  for those of us who just love the look of a tuff wheel, the grant is more than ok.  and you can take the extra 5 minutes to redrill the wheel to fit onto the factory tuff adapter.  looks close enough for most people.  and for most of us, close enough is good enough because we want to just put the damn thing on the road and have fun with it.

[Nacho-RT74]

ok we must to make diff between REPRO tuff wheel and a NICE tuff wheel.

Repro must be accurate, don't you think ? that's the deal on repro parts.

The grant one is ok, but what I think is not right is calling as REPRO tuff wheel. Or call it as THE MOPAR TUFF WHEEL when is not. Is just an emulation

[71 Bee Man]

the key being "real nice car"  anyone with a "real nice car"  aka: points type car, would not even consider this wheel. for the rest of us, it's a choice, not "cheap"  why does a weekend cruiser need a 100% correct looking wheel?  how many chargers out there are bone stock even in appearance?  not many.  for those of us who just love the look of a tuff wheel, the grant is more than ok.  and you can take the extra 5 minutes to redrill the wheel to fit onto the factory tuff adapter.  looks close enough for most people.  and for most of us, close enough is good enough because we want to just put the damn thing on the road and have fun with it.

I kind of agree with this sentiment. Look at my case for example - I have my car because I love the look of it, and it's fun to drive. I like the fact it's actually a Superbee, but let's be honest.....here in Australia I'm not competing with anyone for authenticity because it's the ONLY one I've ever seen down here. I know there's a couple of others in the country, but I've never seen them.

So........should I care if the Grant wheel isn't 100% as per factory - I guess not. So long as it looks like I want it to look, and that is I wqant it to look like the original style Yuff wheels. As for it's quality, well I've never seen one up close so I don't know. What I do know is that if  I have to choose between spending $350 US for an old original one that's weathered, or $100 for the Grant one, then I'm probably going to lean toward the Grant one.

Mind you....I haven't decided yet. I do like having the right gear, it's just not paramount.

Peter

[AKcharger]

I put one in my '72 and I'm happy...that extra $200 can go to something more important. I used an original adapter and it fit right up, I do need to find the correct horn switch however.

And remember...it's only a 3rd Gen, who cares! Now had this been my '70 I would have bought it the best 

[twilt]

Another good choice is to pick up a decent used Tuff Wheel. With the increased availability of more accurate reproductions, the price of decent used wheels has fallen a LOT over the last couple years. I usually keep 3 or 4 kicking around as extras. I actually prefer the post 74 Tuff wheels as they have a firmer grip.   

Nobody with an 846 needs to get their panties in a wad over my comments. The guy asked for opinions and I gave him mine. 

I like OEM Tuff wheels......I have one on all four Chargers and a couple spares to boot. 


 

[69bronzeT5]

What kinda wheel did they put in the General Lee from the 05 movie?

[71 Bee Man]

I put one in my '72 and I'm happy...that extra $200 can go to something more important. I used an original adapter and it fit right up, I do need to find the correct horn switch however.

And remember...it's only a 3rd Gen, who cares! Now had this been my '70 I would have bought it the best 

Ahhhh.....very nice "shot" at 3rd Gens - well done. But seriously, doesn't it worry you that every man and his dog seems to own a 68 - 70 Charger ? 

Peter

[Bob]

I put one in my '72 and I'm happy...that extra $200 can go to something more important. I used an original adapter and it fit right up, I do need to find the correct horn switch however.

And remember...it's only a 3rd Gen, who cares! Now had this been my '70 I would have bought it the best 

Ahhhh.....very nice "shot" at 3rd Gens - well done. But seriously, doesn't it worry you that every man and his dog seems to own a 68 - 70 Charger ? 

Peter

[BrianShaughnessy]

Looks pretty good there Brian. Was the adapter kit OK or was it a pain it the butt?

That tach looks fantastic, also.

Adapter kit is no big deal.   Changing a wheel is no big deal if you have a puller in the tool box.  Any $15 harmonic balancer kit from the chinese tool vendor at the swap meet will work.

Tuff's weren't available on 2nd gens anyway so it doesn't matter what I do.   This is just very easy and better for me than the original Queen Mary wheels.   The 860 was a bit hard and kinda small.   This 846 is just a tad larger and feels just right to me.   Wheras the 860 had painted spokes,  the 846 is nickel chrome.   I've only had 1 guy that actually knew his stuff comment on the 846 and that was about the horn button.     Most people don't know. 

Good old Tuff's are hard to find and most aren't worth the coin when the foam is crumbling and falling off.   Leave those for the 3rd gen connaisseur.   

I might get off my ass and put on my cherry wood pistol grip my friend gave me and after that I might be tempted to put on the Grant 246 wood Tuff.   For all I know right now I might put that on a chrome XV tilt column   


That's a Restorations by Julius tach.  VDO guts.  Dead nuts accurate.   No tic toc clock to block the view 

[BMOTOXSTAR]

I put a Grant Tuff Wheel on my 73' Rally Charger and all I get is compliments at the car cruises & shows. I think it is great,  I love mine.
I do not have a concourse show car so I really do not give a f--- about what ridges and plating should be like to look exact. I drive my car and it looks fine on mine.
  If you are looking at my wheel that close at a show or cruise to tell it is a re-pop then all I have to say to you is, Back Off My Grill.