What's the deal with the front of this steering wheel?

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Thanks for your input. Mine appears closer to new than I thought. Too bad it has a few small cracks.

Ok not working. I will try to post reference of dust shield here in a few...
Posted via Mobile Device

[Spartan]

ok. sorry about that. wouldnt post a pic from my phone so will try the pc.
dust shield reference:

[DeadheadNM]

Sounds like a keeper then. Any idea why there is paint on both sides of the metal plate?

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Sounds like a keeper then. Any idea why there is paint on both sides of the metal plate?

Nope, not a clue. I had to grind some of the surrounding area down some, so a dust shield fits flat. No sign a a rust issue anywhere.

"Someone" knows something we don't about these wheels. That or what are the chances there are two early take off wheels missing their dust shield? This is not who I bought the wheel from, but I do see some irony: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-1972-O...e/323873411100

The new wheel and the original. You can barely make out the part number on the new one, needs a good polish.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

.....I have another wheel which I believe came from my junkyard truck tilt that I will have access to in a couple days. I'll check the part number and post it here.

Part number is also 9749753

Originally Posted by randy500

.....Tony, i looked at a few cracked wheels i have here, the piece that your missing seems to not come off, its glued or molded in. Wonder why its MIA

I agree. This other wheel has a major crack (about 1/4" wide) at the top of the hub. I tried to pry it apart with no luck. That dust shield seems molded in. There is zero grain left on the rim. Tony, if you want this wheel for practice, it's yours!

Jim

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Part number is also 9749753



I agree. This other wheel has a major crack (about 1/4" wide) at the top of the hub. I tried to pry it apart with no luck. That dust shield seems molded in. There is zero grain left on the rim. Tony, if you want this wheel for practice, it's yours!

Jim

There's absolutely some plastic molding to it. See post 29 (revised) for how I think they're assembled, (edit: Which was wrong, I deleted the post).

Nice gesture, thanks Jim, but unless that steering wheel is toast I can't do it. You might be surprised what these are going for now, check Ebay, I think there's one available. Imagine that, 69-72 wheels are now rare. I see some trying to sell complete junk for 200ish. Course they're worth $1, but WTH. Just guessing here, but I feel I can sell my old one for $150+, with cracks and major grain loss. Otherwise I'd pull its shield.

Not sure I can pull a shield successfully, but I think so. Heat it up and see where to pry. Drill more spots if I have to, see what happens. If I take my time, I figure success rate is 80/20. Perhaps their engineering comes in my favor, the only tension on these is vibration.

I forgot to mention, I think I read you can tell part 335212 by the hub, which is missing the 5/16" threaded holes, at least. I believe they all have the later grain. All my wheels have the 9749753 imprint. The # doesn't come up in the parts book, but the replacement (335212) does.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by randy500

Factory service manual explains correcting steering wheel flaws, scratches etc, i believe it says wipe with acetone (which dissolves the plastic) then polish it. I saw it recently in a 72 gm car service manual that covers corvettes, camaro, etc,

I tested some acetone on my old wheel, which is pretty brilliant as is, and I'm going to say acetone is for last resort. And NEVER on the part number or grain. While it cuts through the muck and perhaps scratches too, you end up having to sand and polish afterwards.

As chemicals go, so far 3M plastic polish and rag works best. At some point I'd like to try white rough & flannel buff like Jim suggests. Tried that once, but I didn't expect the white rough to be hard, thought it dried up

Upon further thought & reading, I think that "haze" as I called it is plain 50 years of film. Possibly environment related as well, because like I say, the finish on my old wheel is real good, but I never so much as cleaned it in 25 years.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

... Nice gesture, thanks Jim, but unless that steering wheel is toast I can't do it. You might be surprised what these are going for now, check Ebay, I think there's one available. Imagine that, 69-72 wheels are now rare. I see some trying to sell complete junk for 200ish. Course they're worth $1, but WTH. Just guessing here, but I feel I can sell my old one for $150+, with cracks and major grain loss. Otherwise I'd pull its shield....

I've seen those prices, but with the hub crack and 6 smaller cracks, I think it's beyond repair and not worth the hassle of selling it. Besides, it was on my true truck tilt column when I found it in the junkyard. I paid a total of $50 for the column and wheel. I think I came out pretty well. Here are some pics. The offer still stands if you change your mind.

Jim

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

I've seen those prices, but with the hub crack and 6 smaller cracks, I think it's beyond repair and not worth the hassle of selling it. Besides, it was on my true truck tilt column when I found it in the junkyard. I paid a total of $50 for the column and wheel. I think I came out pretty well. Here are some pics. The offer still stands if you change your mind.

Jim

Wholly fault line, that's the BIGGEST crack I've seen. Thank you for the offer Jim, it's appreciated, but I'm going to pass.

[DeadheadNM]

Definitely avoid an excessive amount of acetone...

[Spartan]

I'm going to try my hand at recasting a couple wheels. Mainly because I'm stuck on the odd ball 69 colors.
I have a couple old pieces and figure ill make the mold with an nos wheel then break all the plastic off the donor and see if I can get it to work.
This thread got me thinking that shield was maybe glued in afterwards.maybe a two part deal. Ill probably sacrifice the dark green first. The hope is that the color in the center of the plastic is accurate. Anyways...
It's threads like this that inform me and guide forward momentum. Thanks guys!
Of course being armed with information just makes me more dangerous. Lol
Cheers!
Posted via Mobile Device

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by Spartan

I'm going to try my hand at recasting a couple wheels. Mainly because I'm stuck on the odd ball 69 colors.
I have a couple old pieces and figure ill make the mold with an nos wheel then break all the plastic off the donor and see if I can get it to work.
This thread got me thinking that shield was maybe glued in afterwards.maybe a two part deal. Ill probably sacrifice the dark green first. The hope is that the color in the center of the plastic is accurate. Anyways...
It's threads like this that inform me and guide forward momentum. Thanks guys!
Of course being armed with information just makes me more dangerous. Lol
Cheers!
Posted via Mobile Device

It is a two part deal for sure. That said, it could have been by the same hand, who knows. Molded plastic is dripped into the holes in the shield. The plastic appears to be the same as what forms the wheel. I think the shield is glued in four spots as well, per the indicators. That or they used molded plastic for those spots too.

[BigBird05]

I believe the process was to place the dust cap over the plastic studs on the wheel then hot melt (stake) those studs tight. The process might be called sonic welding.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by BigBird05

I believe the process was to place the dust cap over the plastic studs on the wheel then hot melt (stake) those studs tight. The process might be called sonic welding.

Be nice if that's all, I'll find out when I pull one. There may be one stud only. It's that or one is shorter than the other. The wheel I'm working on only has one, and I can only make out one on my other wheels. If you have a wheel handy I suspect you'll only see one as well. Both holes in the shield are filled, what you reference as sonic welding.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

I forgot to mention, I think I read you can tell part 335212 by the hub, which is missing the 5/16" threaded holes, at least. I believe they all have the later grain. All my wheels have the 9749753 imprint. The # doesn't come up in the parts book, but the replacement (335212) does.

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

....I have a spare tilt I rescued from a van that has the part #335212 wheel. I don't recall the year that the van was, but it must have been early 70s since the tilt has a metal gear indicator housing, a truck type indicator lens (both supposedly used only on truck tilts) and a curved wiring connector. That wheel has a pattern similar to what we normally see on van wheels.

More info, 335212 vs. 9749753:
My 335212 wheel (pics 1 and 2) does have the threaded holes for a puller, but they do not go all the way through the hub. I was successful at getting the dust shield off the 335212 wheel. It was held on at 4 points by some sort of adhesive that's still slightly tacky and a melted plastic stub at the 12:00 position.

I also took a better look at my original 9749753 wheel. It appears to have 4 melt marks that are circled in the 3rd picture.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

More info, 335212 vs. 9749753:
My 335212 wheel (pics 1 and 2) does have the threaded holes for a puller, but they do not go all the way through the hub. I was successful at getting the dust shield off the 335212 wheel. It was held on at 4 points by some sort of adhesive that's still slightly tacky and a melted plastic stub at the 12:00 position.

I also took a better look at my original 9749753 wheel. It appears to have 4 melt marks that are circled in the 3rd picture.

Awesome Jim, thanks for the clarifications. Looks like you pulled the shield off in one piece.

[Andy4639]

I was given this wheel yesterday.


https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...31#post8618731

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by Andy4639

I was given this wheel yesterday.


https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...31#post8618731

Nice. You mentioned the part # was worn, but it looks pretty good to me.

Jim set me up with a dust shield, very cool.

[Andy4639]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

Nice. You mentioned the part # was worn, but it looks pretty good to me.

Jim set me up with a dust shield, very cool.

Yes, after cleaning on it it came out nice. It had so much crud on it I thought it wouldn't even be readable.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

So first owner, I didn't quite appreciate how well you pulled that dust shield off until I pulled one myself. Both are usable, but the steering wheel gets yours, it's in perfect order. I pulled the other off my C20, the wheel is pretty bad.

Go figure there are variances in dust shields, but both work. I've never worked with plastic before. Heat it up, play with it It's no longer flat, I formed it to the hub.

Looks like they're all tacked in four places, which is the widest spokes on front of the hub (two top, two bottom).

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

So first owner, I didn't quite appreciate how well you pulled that dust shield off until I pulled one myself. Both are usable, but the steering wheel gets yours, it's in perfect order. I pulled the other off my C20, the wheel is pretty bad.

Go figure there are variances in dust shields, but both work. I've never worked with plastic before. Heat it up, play with it It's no longer flat, I formed it to the hub.

Looks like they're all tacked in four places, being the spokes on front of the hub.

I thought about this thread last week and wondered if you'd had any luck. Glad to hear it worked for you!

[LockDoc]

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I have a few non-useable wheels around. I wonder if I should try removing those dust covers from them before I scrap them. Are there any companies that re-mold the plastic on the original rings? I didn't have time to re-read the whole thread, maybe that was discussed.

LockDoc

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
I have a few non-useable wheels around. I wonder if I should try removing those dust covers from them before I scrap them. Are there any companies that re-mold the plastic on the original rings? I didn't have time to re-read the whole thread, maybe that was discussed.

LockDoc

Definitely remove them. Sometimes they crack. Interesting of note, there was a run on decent to 9 of 10 scale steering wheels on Ebay, and all were missing the dust shield. All the same description too, "early takeoff for GT" or something like. Either it's BS and something else is going on, perhaps some work on the hub?, or the story is genuine and they pried the steering wheels off busting the shields.


I didn't cover up, but it's probably toxic some. Bring light and patience, I think it's the top of the wheel that's a little tight. I used a utility & putty knife - ended up cutting some of the perimeter off with the putty knife, my confession Still would work.

[LockDoc]

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OK, Thanks.

LockDoc

[EagleChief]

Going to bring this back, mainly because I'm curious. Looking at the pictures that you guys posted, then comparing to mine, makes me think I have a repop steering wheel. What do you gurus think?