Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels #14699
03/07/05 09:27 AM
03/07/05 09:27 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,595
TX , NJ , FL
W
WINGCARS_6970 Offline OP
master
WINGCARS_6970  Offline OP
master
W

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,595
TX , NJ , FL
I got a few of these for my 70 dodge coronet Im restoring.But I see a difference in the color of the wood. 2 light tan 1 darker type .Which would be the most correct for a 70 dodge coronet. Or does the woodgrain color matter they are all 70 b body woodgrains .The wheel on it now from a 70 plymouth runner.Its a peanut butter tan color wood

1549712-DCP_0270.JPG (209 downloads)

1969 Daytona 440 L9B410772 1970 Coronet 500 383 Presently owned 1970 Superbird 440 U 166242 1970 Superbird 440 U 174597 1970 Superbird 440-6 V 179697 1970 Coronet RT 440 U 224126 1968 Road Runner 426 J 134509 1970 Daytona Replica 318 G 178701
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: WINGCARS_6970] #14700
03/08/05 01:01 AM
03/08/05 01:01 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
1_WILD_RT Offline
Management Trainee
1_WILD_RT  Offline
Management Trainee

Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
I believe the darker wheel is 68-69 even though it is drilled for the 70 filler, attached is an pic. of a NOS 70 wheel


1552019-wood1.jpg (204 downloads)

"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: 1_WILD_RT] #14701
03/08/05 01:02 AM
03/08/05 01:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
1_WILD_RT Offline
Management Trainee
1_WILD_RT  Offline
Management Trainee

Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
Close up of the grain


1552024-grain1.jpg (132 downloads)

"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: WINGCARS_6970] #14702
03/08/05 01:45 AM
03/08/05 01:45 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
Quote:

I got a few of these for my 70 dodge coronet Im restoring.But I see a difference in the color of the wood. 2 light tan 1 darker type .Which would be the most correct for a 70 dodge coronet. Or does the woodgrain color matter they are all 70 b body woodgrains .The wheel on it now from a 70 plymouth runner.Its a peanut butter tan color wood




After working on hundreds of MOPAR wood grain steering wheels I can tell you there is no one correct shade of Brown for any given year, make or model.

The "Tan" plastic that was used for the rim of the wheels came in dozens of shades. Check the attached photo of several wheels and tell me how many different shades of Brown, Tan and Yellowy Tan you can pick out and this is just a small selection of what's out there.

On top of the plastic rims they applied brown transparent paint. The final value of Brown depends not only on how many coats of paint were applied but also on what shade of Brown, Tan or Yellowy Tan plastic rim the paint was applied over! Did the paint vary in shade from batch to batch? Probably, so there's another variable you can add to the mix.


In my opinion, it came down to making steering wheels as fast as they could and still stay within the color perameters that Chrysler supplied them. Having said that, I've refinished NOS wood grain wheels that were so dark Brown that you couldn't even see the wood grain. This involved carefully striping the Brown paint off down to the photo etched wood grained plastic rim and then re-applying the transparent Brown paint.

I can refinish your wheel to be as light or dark as you want. The final shade is up to you. Most wheels are finished in a "middle of the road" Brown that lets the wood grain show through the paint without being obscured.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in MOPAR wood grain steering wheels


Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14703
03/08/05 02:02 AM
03/08/05 02:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
1_WILD_RT Offline
Management Trainee
1_WILD_RT  Offline
Management Trainee

Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
Quote:



After working on hundreds of MOPAR wood grain steering wheels I can tell you there is no one correct shade of Brown for any given year, make or model.

The "Tan" plastic that was used for the rim of the wheels came in dozens of shades. Check the attached photo of several wheels and tell me how many different shades of Brown, Tan and Yellowy Tan you can pick out and this is just a small selection of what's out there.

On top of the plastic rims they applied brown transparent paint. The final value of Brown depends not only on how many coats of paint were applied but also on what shade of Brown, Tan or Yellowy Tan plastic rim the paint was applied over! Did the paint vary in shade from batch to batch? Probably, so there's another variable you can add to the mix.


In my opinion, it came down to making steering wheels as fast as they could and still stay within the color perameters that Chrysler supplied them. Having said that, I've refinished NOS wood grain wheels that were so dark Brown that you couldn't even see the wood grain. This involved carefully striping the Brown paint off down to the photo etched wood grained plastic rim and then re-applying the transparent Brown paint.

I can refinish your wheel to be as light or dark as you want. The final shade is up to you. Most wheels are finished in a "middle of the road" Brown that lets the wood grain show through the paint without being obscured.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in MOPAR wood grain steering wheels




Doug that picture is just sick!
If anybody dosn't know it already Doug's wheel restorations are top notch the nicest I've ever found! Here's a picture of the wheel Doug did for me!!



"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: 1_WILD_RT] #14704
03/08/05 02:43 AM
03/08/05 02:43 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
Doug that picture is just sick!

Randy, if you think they look sick ... you should smell them!


Thanks for the nice words on my work, I'm really happy you like the finished product.

I've got about 300 cores (only about 50 wood grain wheels though and mostly for E-body's)

The worst smelling one was a 1932 Rolls Royce wheel. I think it was made from Soy Bean plastic similar to the stuff Henry Ford came up with. Oh My Gawd!! It was tuff too. I had to cut grooves in it with a dremel cutting wheel and then grab hold with pliers and keep bending till it broke off. I had to remove all the plastic because the spokes are made of aluminum and they were quite corroded and had white powder all over them from 70+ years of moisture.

A full face mask was required as the schrapnel had the stored up energy of a superball and sounded like small arms fire when it snapped! I'm sure my ear will heal any day now.

Here's a picture of the back of the hub after it was completed. That's over 100 coats of acrylic urethane sprayed (with an airbrush) over 2 days. It was the only way to build up the rim and spokes to the original thickness. That's almost 3/32" thick! The finger grips and other details were molded right into the steel rim and aluminum spokes so it was just a matter of laying down coat after coat after coat of paint.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in Mopar wood grain steering wheels


Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14705
03/08/05 07:24 AM
03/08/05 07:24 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,595
TX , NJ , FL
W
WINGCARS_6970 Offline OP
master
WINGCARS_6970  Offline OP
master
W

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,595
TX , NJ , FL
Thanks all its all great info I Never knew that much just about a steering wheel


1969 Daytona 440 L9B410772 1970 Coronet 500 383 Presently owned 1970 Superbird 440 U 166242 1970 Superbird 440 U 174597 1970 Superbird 440-6 V 179697 1970 Coronet RT 440 U 224126 1968 Road Runner 426 J 134509 1970 Daytona Replica 318 G 178701
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14706
03/08/05 07:52 AM
03/08/05 07:52 AM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,346
It's a dry heat
gtx6970 Offline
Too Many Posts
gtx6970  Offline
Too Many Posts

Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,346
It's a dry heat
While we're on the subject. Why does the 1970 wheel carry a different part number from 1968/69 . Wasn't the adapter/filler not serviced with the wheel

Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: gtx6970] #14707
03/08/05 02:41 PM
03/08/05 02:41 PM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
Hi Bill, I'll post 3 pictures of 68/69 and 70 wood grain wheel part numbers that are stamped on the back of the spokes of wheels I'm working on presently.

Picture #1: 1970 B-body standard wood grain wheel.

All 3 wheels have exactly the same part numbers but take a look at all 3 pictures to see the differences. The 1970 wheel will be readily apparent as it has the hole drilled in it for the 1970 only adapter/filler ring.

Either there were at least 2 suppliers to Chrysler for wood grain wheels or another possibility would be that they started using new stampings sometime during the run.

If there were 2 companies that made these wheels, did they both make wood grain wheels at the same time or did they switch manufacturers at some time during the 1968/69 production year?

As the 1970 wheel pictured has the larger, more defined stamping, just like the other 1968/69 wheel I would dare say they were built either by a different manufacturer than the wheel with the more shallow/different positioned part number or with new stampings.

"Wasn't the adapter/filler not serviced with the wheel?"

I doubt it was a complete unit with the wheel over the parts counter. It's more likely that you'd have to order the adapter/filler ring and mounting clips seperately.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in MOPAR wood grain steering wheels


Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14708
03/08/05 02:43 PM
03/08/05 02:43 PM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
Here is a 1968 or 1969 wheel with exactly the same stamping and part number.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in MOPAR wood grain steering wheels


Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14709
03/08/05 02:44 PM
03/08/05 02:44 PM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
And here is another 1968 or 1969 wheel with the same part number but a completely different stamping.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in MOPAR wood grain steering wheels


Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14710
03/08/05 11:05 PM
03/08/05 11:05 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,346
It's a dry heat
gtx6970 Offline
Too Many Posts
gtx6970  Offline
Too Many Posts

Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,346
It's a dry heat
I see the differences in the color and I believe the steel portion is the same (stamping number verifies this)

But due to different part numbers on the 68/69 = 4016DTT wheel compared to the 1970 wheel 4016FTT ??????
Leads me to believe the difference is in the color OR maybe the filler ring was attached OR maybe the steel portion was modified to accept the adapter, hence the different part number.

But, In the upper level show circles it's the general accepted rule the 1970 wheel is darker.

Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: gtx6970] #14711
03/09/05 01:21 AM
03/09/05 01:21 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
(Quote) But due to different part numbers on the 68/69 = 4016DTT wheel compared to the 1970 wheel 4016FTT ??????

Leads me to believe the difference is in the color OR maybe the filler ring was attached OR maybe the steel portion was modified to accept the adapter, hence the different part number. (Quote)
_________________________________________________


Hi Bill, the "D", "E" and "F" in the part number refers to the year it's applicible to and has nothing to do with the darkness of the color on the wheel or any other design feature.

D = 1968
E = 1969
F = 1970

The "TT" stands for "TAN" as in the color of the rim. The first "T" signifies the front of the rim is Tan in color and the second "T" signifies the back half of the rim is also Tan.

For example, the 1970 rim blow wheels are coded 4020 FTX. The "F" designates the year (1970), the "T" means the front of the wheel was Tan in color and the "X" means the back of the wheel is Black in color.

________________________________________________
(Quote) But, In the upper level show circles it's the general accepted rule the 1970 wheel is darker. [Quote]

_________________________________________________

I will stand by my previous observation on the variety in color of the plastic used for the rims as the reason you could get a range of final values/shades of Brown during any year the wood grain wheels were produced.

Colors varied greatly during a production run and I think it's a mistake to generalize by saying that the 1970 wheels are accepted to be darker than previous years. This goes for other makes of wheels such as Ford and GM too.

Just my

This is an interesting subject (and not just because I'm "The Steering Wheel Guy" LOL) and I think it's a good thing to debate the information. Hopefully this thread will bring out some documentation that will help prove any theory's that are put forth.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in MOPAR wood grain steering wheels



Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14712
03/09/05 08:01 AM
03/09/05 08:01 AM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,346
It's a dry heat
gtx6970 Offline
Too Many Posts
gtx6970  Offline
Too Many Posts

Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 21,346
It's a dry heat
Doug,
I'm not arguing. I'm curious as to why the different part number for the 1970 wheel ?, parts numbers were changed for a reason. I personnaly didn't know about ANY differences in the wheels until I got out of the judgeing circle several years ago. Up until that time I thought they were all the same.

Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: gtx6970] #14713
03/09/05 10:52 AM
03/09/05 10:52 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
stwheels Offline
top fuel
stwheels  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,947
Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
Hi Bill, no arguing from my end either, I just answered your questions with what I know to be true.

The codes Chrysler used can be a bit confusing at times (Lord knows, I'm learning something new every day) but they have an underlying pattern that can be followed and with a bit of research it all makes sense.

Did my explanation of the color codes explain the difference in the part numbers to you?

I just want to share some of the information I've learned from my years of working with Mopar steering wheels.

Doug Lepak
The Steering Wheel Guy
web site: http://drive.to/stwheels
Specializing in Mopar wood grain steering wheels


Doug Lepak
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: stwheels] #14714
03/16/05 11:35 AM
03/16/05 11:35 AM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,595
TX , NJ , FL
W
WINGCARS_6970 Offline OP
master
WINGCARS_6970  Offline OP
master
W

Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,595
TX , NJ , FL
So much correct detail on these woodgrain wheels this should be in the archives.Thanks again for all the info guys


1969 Daytona 440 L9B410772 1970 Coronet 500 383 Presently owned 1970 Superbird 440 U 166242 1970 Superbird 440 U 174597 1970 Superbird 440-6 V 179697 1970 Coronet RT 440 U 224126 1968 Road Runner 426 J 134509 1970 Daytona Replica 318 G 178701
Re: ? on 70 B Body woodgrain steering wheels [Re: 1_WILD_RT] #14715
03/16/05 01:04 PM
03/16/05 01:04 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,907
U.S.S.A.
JohnRR Offline
I Win
JohnRR  Offline
I Win

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,907
U.S.S.A.
Quote:

I believe the darker wheel is 68-69 even though it is drilled for the 70 filler, attached is an pic. of a NOS 70 wheel






i have an NOS wheel , its darker and is drilled for the 70 filler


running up my post count some more .






Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.1