[67cruiser]

OK Somebody explain who,s smokin what to make a wood grain wheel worth that much???
Most parts are made over sea,s (as if we didn,t know that). They are not worth half that price, Give us a break here, Please do not turn this sport in for the rich only.

[cuz68]

I think the prices are way over board also, Ill just keep the one that i dont have.

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by 67cruiser

OK Somebody explain who,s smokin what to make a wood grain wheel worth that much???
Most parts are made over sea,s (as if we didn,t know that). They are not worth half that price, Give us a break here, Please do not turn this sport in for the rich only.

Ok, I'll take a stab at it. And I assure you I am not high on any substance at this moment. The $500+ wood wheels ARE made in the USA. We have them made ourselves. It takes 7 different suppliers to make those wheels and about 6 months to make about 50 wheels. To you, they are not worth 1/2 that much. That's your price point and the value you have placed on a wood wheel. No problems there. However, We've made those wheels for 15 years and they are a giant pain to make and we won't be lowering the price any time soon nor has the price been a deterent for the 750 owners that we have sold them to over the years. Theoretically we could lower the price in 1/2 and sell a lot more. But we'd lose money on every sale. That's bad. Sadly, you can't buy one anywhere for the price you seek but luckily you still have choices. a) You can just browse ebay and wait until you MAYBE find one for $250. But keep in mind it will be highly likely to need the woodgrain redone, fix the pitted spokes, replace the cracked lucite emblem and replace the pitted or missing chrome center cap and/or collar. (now you have $600+ in the wheel). b) Buy an aftermarket Grant Wood wheel for $100. c) Don't buy one.

GTO's are selling for $30k-400k. This is not a 'sport' for the poor. But our $500 wood wheel didn't make GTO prices escalate. Supply and demand does that. The values of the cars have skyrocketed over the past 10 years yet our wood wheel prices remain basically the same. So putting a $500 wheel on even a $30,000 car is not really that out of line. A wood wheel is an accessory. It's not necessity. If you are on a budget, use your hard earned dollars for necessary parts for your car and don't worry about the price of a wood wheel.

If you were a newbie, I'd certainly give you a pass but you've got 2600+ posts here on PY. I would think you would know better than to make such an uninformed comment about any part.

[Jeff Walker]

It isn't any more crazy than the 30-40K+ dollars that people spend on a new vehicle.

Sorry but it's not the 70's or 80's any more and the price of stuff reflects that.

[Old Goat 67]

Good stab Cass.

[PITTSBURGH 64]

Get the Grant, it's real wood.

I bought a re-pop wheel 5 years ago but not from P-Y. It's faded where I hold the wheel and cracked. I should of bought a $100 Grand wood wheel......

I agree, for the most part, this is a rich boys hobby. I couldn't afford it if I didn't do my own work. Of course after seeing the really lousy work some people pay big bucks for, I'm better off doing it myself anyhow.....

I don't think 5 bills is out of line though....... People from our area are tight ases lol...... I think it comes from doing real work for a living like Steel Mills and Coal mines....

[mike nixon]

Originally Posted by PITTSBURGH 64

Get the Grant, it's real wood.

I bought a re-pop wheel 5 years ago but not from P-Y. It's faded where I hold the wheel and cracked. I should of bought a $100 Grand wood wheel......

I agree, for the most part, this is a rich boys hobby. I couldn't afford it if I didn't do my own work. Of course after seeing the really lousy work some people pay big bucks for, I'm better off doing it myself anyhow.....

I don't think 5 bills is out of line though....... People from our area are tight ases lol...... I think it comes from doing real work for a living like Steel Mills and Coal mines....

And that's Chris's point. If you want a correct looking repro buy the 500.00 wheel. If you're not concerned with originality then buy the cheap way out.

Mike

[71 T/A]

Another option which I took for my 69 GTO is buying a worn wood wheel (or sending the one you have) and then sending it to a steering wheel restorer. The guy charged me $200, but I received a great looking wheel that has held up for 5 years so far. It's quite possible that there are people out there who will still do this service for $200-$300.

[Ccass]

good point. I forgot to mention that PY still performs that service for $250. We break off all the old plastic and put the wheel in a new mold. The wheel looks NOS when returned.

[66Post]

Not an issue for me, my car never had one in the first place and I have no interest in shelling out that kind of money to make other people think it did.

[JLHarper]

I have a 67 GTO wood wheel core with fairly nice bezel.

I might be better off sending one I have in for resto before selling since this one didnt really cost much, a few dollars in a parts deal.

Do they restore the wheel spokes as well?

[grrr421]

i know this is a old post but i got one of your wood wheels and I love the way it looks well worth it to me I use it every time i drive.

[Tim john]

Platinum Al is a memebr on this board and he also offers a wood wheel restoration service. Al has done a few wheels for me with excellent results. Well worth your time to give him a call. PM me if you would like his contact information.

Tim john---

[i82much]

I like the grant wheel. I think most people would have more fun in this hobby if they relaxed a bit, went with non-original/factory type stuff when it was practical, and drove their cars more!

[steveK]

Not too long ago there was a great article in @ Pontiac mag (name escapes me at this time but either PE or HPP) that showed how to restore grain and fix cracks in the "wood" wheel. For about 25 bucks and several hours of work spread out over a few days, my wheel came out beautifully and almost impossible to tell it was a restored wheel . Basically it is 5 coats of red based primer sprayed on the wheel. Then 2 coats of light brown spray paint applied to it. Next 100 grit sand paper to scuff in the grain which takes some practice to get it right. Next dark red oak stain then applied and quickly wiped off to enhance the grain to a darker color. Flat clear applied in 2 coats to protect finish. Done!

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by steveK

Not too long ago there was a great article in @ Pontiac mag (name escapes me at this time but either PE or HPP) that showed how to restore grain and fix cracks in the "wood" wheel. For about 25 bucks and several hours of work spread out over a few days, my wheel came out beautifully and almost impossible to tell it was a restored wheel . Basically it is 5 coats of red based primer sprayed on the wheel. Then 2 coats of light brown spray paint applied to it. Next 100 grit sand paper to scuff in the grain which takes some practice to get it right. Next dark red oak stain then applied and quickly wiped off to enhance the grain to a darker color. Flat clear applied in 2 coats to protect finish. Done!

Don't forget you have to fill the cracks with PC7 first. That's the hardest part. We use to restore the wheels this way before we made a mold. It was very time consuming. It looked nice but you can't make it look like real wood. Also a lot of times the original plastic would continue to shrink and the cracks would appear again within a year.

Anyway, now you are talking about restoring the wheel. You don't need to spend $500 for a new original looking wheel. PY breaks off the old plastic, puts the rim in a mold that already has the grain in it, then injects new plastic, stains and clear coats the wheel for $249. For those of you who have original wheels, it's a good option. For those that just want a nice wood 'effect', the option above is certainly much less expensive.

[19652plus2]

FWIW, I recently spoke to an owner of a '65 2+2 who is having his original wood wheel restored. In the interim, he has a $150.00 Grant wheel on the car that he absolutely loves and that he says is almost a dead ringer for the original.

[steveK]

I agree that the PY wood wheel offered is of course the number one choice. 2nd -if you don't have a wood wheel to start with or metal is pitted, the PY wheel is dead nuts on on quality and looks. 3rd-The PY restored wheel is good if your plastic is too cracked for the paint restore method. Lastly-My wheel had no cracks but most of the grain was gone on the front side of the wheel along with the color. The resto is comparable to new but took a lot of time and patience, but result is very nice.

[Jeff Hamlin]

Pearl anyone...

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=619781

[Brad_bb]

$500 bucks, big deal! Try getting a used ratty 64 wood wheel and it will cost you more than that. In the late 80's I picked up an NOS one for $800, which I'm just putting on a car now. Everyone thought I was nuts. I'm not rich either. But how many NOS 64 wood wheels are out there? 64's did look the coolest by the way. I think if they made repo's (done well), if affordable, could probably sell them to street rodders too as they look better than a grant wheel. You'd need a generic center cap though.

Hmmm, original poster never responded...