1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

[Paul J.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Could it be that the first 130 wheels made in 63 had these characteristics like mine, different from the later standard production version? Are there known examples out there that were judged to be correct 1963 simulated wood wheel cars?

Could Chevrolet have changed the resin color/graining after the first 130 wheels in 63 to what is known for 64 - 66 production? The black book describes the 63 option as a "woodgrained plastic steering wheel" and the 64 as a "walnut-grained" plastic.

I believe that the wheel that you have was an optional wheel. The standard wheel in 1963 had a rim that was color coordinated to the interior and had a leather grained texture. There are also some production differences with the lines on the spokes during the year. In 1964, I believe that this optional wheel was still available as an option, as the teak wheel was not yet available and the standard wheel was changed to the plastic burled walnut wheel. There is a picture of this standard wheel in The Real Corvette by Ray Miller (although I recall that this book has some errors in it). I have'nt studied 65-67 wheels and I'm not sure what happened in those years.

I was hoping that someone would either confirm this or correct me if it's wrong.

Paul

[Pancho T.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

I have 20 some steering wheels.Some are darker than others.Some have more grain than others.I also have a NOS '67 wheel.The nos wheel is lighter in color with a red gold color with a ton of grain.I think the less use the more graining.I would guess as well the less sun light the lighter the color.Check this out

[Dan C.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Hi Poncho,

Thanks for your post. A few questions for you on your collection:

Can you differentiate the midyear wheels by their color or grain patterns? (i.e. 64 walnut-grained only) or are random color/graining patterns accepted by NCRS for all 63-67 applications? Do all midyear wheels have simulated finger joints?

Bottom Line: Would NCRS acknowledge my wheel as the correct application for a very late production 1963 (after 18400 with radial stainless) ? Would there be a specific challenge to authenticate it as 1 of 130? If so, what would that challenge be?

Either way, I am cool with the outcome and very appreciative for all who have posted.

Thanks,
Dan

[Pancho T.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

I do not think that you can differentiate the wheels by color.I think that they were all the same when new and they end up losing graining and getting darker in color with use.As far a the '63 wheel goes I thought that the I saw one time that the direction of the grain marks on the aluminum center was different on the '63 wheel than on the others.I am no '63 expert by any means and have been told that I am wrong many times.Just ask my ex wife!

[Dan C.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

You are correct about the marks on the stainless being different for most 63's - circular till approximatly vin 18400, then radial afterward like the wheel in my photo posted earlier. When you have time, check some of your other plastic wheels for simulated finger joints and please let me know.

Hopefully someone who has judged a 63 with a simulated woodgrain wheel can address my application as being appropriate.

Thanks! Dan

[Pancho T.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

is this what you mean by simulated finger joints

[John M.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

I just took a closer look at that wheel and there are finger joints in it. Who would take the time to fake them?
Maybe the line along the middle is the joint between the wood pieces? A little cut into it somewhere would give the answer. Very interesting....

[Dan C.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood? - more photos

I have attached more photos of the finger joint detail on my wheel which appears in 6 different locations. There is also a photo of a small hole where someone apparently probed to determine its make up. This prompted me to post if the wheel could actually be made of wood. I am not an expert but it looks like wood to me - but after membership comments, I am content to settle for it being officially and finally determined as plastic! If someone has probed or broke a plastic wheel, maybe you can compare that visual to this one. Or if someone can confirm if their simulated wood wheel from any midyear has finger joints on it, we could begin to narrow this down.

[Pancho T.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

all of my wheels are exactly like the one that you have pictures of.They are plastic

[Dan C.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Poncho,

I looked at your last photo and the "bumps" or "grip" on the backside of that wheel appears to have larger and more rounded bumps than the one in my photo. Maybe there is some variation through the years that someone has studied. Thanks for your post for comparison. By the way, when you said that yours are like mine, did you find the fingerjoints on yours that are illustrated on my last post?

Thanks, Dan

[John H.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

The molded plastic rim was identical for all '64-'67 standard steering wheels; only the center spoke configuration changed for '67. Over time, the "texture" wore down with use, and as a result, some have a more "smooth" appearance than others; they all started out the same.

[Pancho T.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Poncho,

I looked at your last photo and the "bumps" or "grip" on the backside of that wheel appears to have larger and more rounded bumps than the one in my photo. Maybe there is some variation through the years that someone has studied. Thanks for your post for comparison. By the way, when you said that yours are like mine, did you find the fingerjoints on yours that are illustrated on my last post?

Thanks, Dan

yes,all of my wheels had the finger joints like yours.Some are more pronounced than others.I agree with John H. that the texture wore down with use

[Mike M.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Guys,
This has been confusing enough, now it looks like somebody is making-up new words, or combining two words: Fingerjoints?
Dan, your wheel appears to be TFP plastic, with practically no wear.
The "Fingergrips" in both photos appear to be the same, just different camera angles.
Since wooden wheels could not be configured from a single piece of wood, there would be "Joints" between the pieces. The optional production Teak wheel is comprised of nine piecs with nine joints that were finished with wood filler as needed.
If your 47 year old wheel were made of wood, there would most likely be some separation at the joints. Yours has none. It is also highly unlikely that in this application the wood could have cross-grain cracks as shown in your pics, these appear to be simulated into the plastic as well.
HaND

[John C.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Mike

Finger grips and finger joints are two different things. The plastic steering wheel Dan shows does have very faint molded in finger joints. I'm very suprised to see they went to this level of detail.

Finger joint - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_joint

John

[Dan C.]

Re: 1963 N34 steering wheel - real wood?

Hey guys, I respect your experience and hope that you feel I have come up with some good thought provoking technical questions on midyear wheels. In summary, here is what I've learned:

• I have a plastic wheel that has little wear, retaining original color and grain.
• simulated finger joints are visible on all simulated wood grain wheels
• simulated wheels produced from 64 - 66 are all the same

My final questions are:

• Has anyone judged a Top Flight 1963 car with a simulated wheel? What were the considerations authenticating the wheel as one of the first 130?
• Are there any visible unique features of the first 130 wheels of 1963 other than the metal circular markings on earlier cars?
• Could a judge comment if this wheel in particular would be considered correct application and full Top Flight points on a March 1963 car?

The only other back up I can find to suggest there may be a difference from the first 130 wheels to later production is:

1. There are different definitions in the Corvette Black Book describing 63 wheels to 64: woodgrained plastic and walnut-grained respectively.
2. The NCRS Judging Guide (steering p29) describes 1963 wheels as "simulated wood grained plastic" and 1964 as "simulated woodgrained plastic having pronounced and clearly visible grain.

Thanks, Dan