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Need help in determining authenticity of steering wheel
Hi, I had my wife purchase for me a 70-72 series Sport Steering wheel with plenty of grain left on its face from e*ay. The wheel was presented to my wife and me by the seller as original but the hub and cover were reproductions pieces. I had her asked him when the steering wheel was taken out of the car and that I wanted to make sure this was an original steering wheel and not a reproduction. The seller responded again by saying the wheel was an original that stood the test of time and that only the hub and cover were reproductions. I felt assured that this was the real deal - (I had her do a Buy it Now for $425).
I received the wheel today and it looked great but when I compared it to an old steering wheel I have it appears something is different about it. Specifically, the four aluminum spokes where they come up to meet the rubber of the wheel. At this section there is a grove mark that is parallel to the outer portion of the rim. In this small area between the groove and the last seen section of the aluminum spoke the new wheel I just purchased has grain marks on it while my old original is flat and dull with no grain patterns. Was I sold a reproduction or is this wheel possibly a nicely stored wheel from the 70-72 era? I hunted around this site and saw people questioning the curve of the aluminum spokes and the look of the spokes but mine seem to be identical as far as that is concerned. The new wheel also sports the right number on one of the pads on the underside of the wheel. Before I have my wife reach out to the seller I'm looking for some guidance and advice.
Thanks!
Last edited by tdhill01; January 13th, 2018 at 05:30 PM.
I will look at my original later tonite and post back tomorrow.
I wonder if there was more than 1 manufacturer of the sport wheel and as a result some minor differences between them.
ex my 72 tailights needed work I pulled them out and compared to some other 72 tails i had to select the best ones. comparison showed 1 set had convex ribs the other set had concave ribs but both had identical "guide" nomanclature embossed in the tails. I post here and some said they had never seen that before others stated that had observed that 72 tailights came in both styles....so either style appears to be an original 72 tailight even though they are (slightly) different. i had never noticed until i compared side by side.
Thanks for the replies, I dont think I'm nitpicking because I'm looking to make sure I received what I paid for - an original wheel. The wheel appears the same in all other areas except for that one section and every picture I was able to pull up did not have grain texture in that area and since I have never seen a reproduction to check it against I came here hoping for some guidance on it.
Different guy and less than half the price... Taking a look at a stevengerad's post he states about a depression in the back of the original wheel versus no depression on the reproduction - mine has the depression so that's a plus! Here's a pic Stevengerad posted and his text:
"parts place has a number on it, another difference is the slope of the spokes. Here is an easy way to tell a real one. There is one depressed knock out on the back of a real one. At least on all the ones I have seen. Here is an image of two real ones and the repo. One original has little grain left on the front, but notice how both originals look good on the back. The repo is a thicker grain."
Last edited by tdhill01; January 13th, 2018 at 05:30 PM.
Thanks for the replies, I dont think I'm nitpicking because I'm looking to make sure I received what I paid for - an original wheel. The wheel appears the same in all other areas except for that one section and every picture I was able to pull up did not have grain texture in that area and since I have never seen a reproduction to check it against I came here hoping for some guidance on it.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that close examination of details is bad or should not be done to ensure that buyer and seller are on the same page. I was just noting that in the grand scheme of things, it's a detail that won't affect the fit, function, or really even the appearance for most purposes.
I agree though that when it comes to deciding who gets Best of Class... there has to be details that separate BOC from also-ran. So it is good to know these details. Sometimes sellers are not 100% informative, and sometimes they just do not know....
I have not taken a peek at the other wheels I have on hand, partly because all I have handy is the smaller diameter not-442 units, which may not even be made the same.
the seller says was purchased new at a GM dealer in 1974, and comes in the box. It is possible that various production runs used different molds, and so I hesitate to assert that the one is not NOS just because of some subtle grain and PN font differences. It would be easy for an unscrupulous person to use the old GM box to sell a reproduction unit for a premium price though. I do not know the seller.
I notice the seller asserts the spokes are "Alum"
I seriously doubt that they are made of astringent powder.
One suspects the seller cannot discern stainless steel from alumINUM.
I recall buying a rare-number distributor after asking directly and repeatedly if it was original or restamp. I got runaround answers, and upon inspection it had obviously been turned down and restamped. Folks do sometimes present rare parts less than honestly in order to make the sale... Or sometimes they just are not aware. The distributor guy was fully aware as evidenced by some of his other ads.
Last edited by Octania; December 5th, 2015 at 02:26 PM.
Just wanted to put an end to this thread - the seller took back the wheel and refunded me. I appreciated the input from the group on helping me sort out this situation - Merry Christmas or any other holiday you celebrate this time of year. Cheers!
December 4th, 2015, 05:05 PM
