67-68 GTO Deluxe Steering Wheel
 

Performance Years is in the early stages of making the 1967-68 Pontiac GTO Deluxe steering wheel.

We are wanting to know out of the colors that are being made, which ones would be most popular.

We are only planning to make Black, Aqua, Blue, Ivy Gold & Red.

Please select the choice you'd be most interested in.
If you have another color in mind, feel free to reply to the thread.

Thanks!

That is not a 68 Firebird deluxe wheel. I attached a photo of a correct one.

Hi silverbullet07. We had a typo. Thanks for catching that..!

? Is this for GTO or Firebird.

It for a GTO. They originally stated for a firebird but he corrected it.

And the post says besides black, what colors would be most popular. 6 people have voted for black - DOH!
I say Red would be the second most popular.

Any plans for a clear top B-body version?

no plans for any full size wheels at this time...

Assuming this wheel would fit the b-body. I would be interested (black), but would be the estimated availability date and price?

When I first saw you post this Eric, my line of thought was how about casting a few as smoke clear/ black wheels... same color wheel as used in a large amt of black & parchment interior '67 & 68 B series. Several big car guys would purchase, even though smaller diameter, as well as '67-68 GTO & '67 Firebird guys who are after a subtle custom look.

Rustyrelic: these wheels would fit the FB & full size cars too, but you can not use your original spokes... you would have to purchase the repro set we will have available too. The FB & full size cars used a larger diameter wheel. Projected price is around $300 just for the wheel and approx $100 for the spokes, horn button, & horn wiring harness. I do not have a date yet, but we are estimating late summer-ish...

ol' pinion head: Making a part of the wheel clear & black would be difficult for our mfg and very costly. Say we can get it done... we would have to run 1000 wheels and to find 1000 people wanting them would be tough... If we run 100-200 wheels the price would triple or quadruple, so I'd doubt we'd run them...

Mike, Just throwing it out there thinking your mfg was open to small batch runs, since your considering doing more than black. Have sold several nice used clear and black B series wheels, have had quite a few calls for more, just doubt I run across any more that aren't falling apart.

They don't like running small batches. There are guys out there that refurbish these wheels, like we do for the wood wheels... One is Gary's Wheel Restoration in Carlisle, Pa. I've seen his work and it's beautiful...

Its a pity they can't run 100 wheels in just clear. Fullsize car guys can then paint to match their interior at a fraction of a $1000 restoration.

Red is a popular color, although not a rare color, it seems to be a color people ask me about a lot. Just saying.

Why is black one of the Poll choices if you're polling for colors other than black?

Agreed :)
These will sell if they are good. I just paid A LOT of money for a mint original 68 black wheel

^^^ And even harder to find in decent shape than original wood wheels of the same condition... I got a good deal on a very nice black one here on these forums.
I couldn't bring myself to paint it so I put it in my turquoise car in it's original black finish. Matches the vinyl top... ;)

We could potentially run the entire wheel in clear. The problem is if we had to run the wheel in two colors. So if the wheel was run in clear and up to the owner to paint the parts he wanted, then I think that has some merit. I believe quite a few F/S and Firebird owners would go this route considering the lack of alternatives.

The full size clear and colored steering wheels are bigger diameter than the GTO steering wheels.

67 deluxe wheel

Bob, Don't you think a lot of Fullsize and Firebird owners would use the GTO diameter wheel if it had the clear part even though the diameter is wrong?

It's the only way we can consider doing the FS and FB.

I'm glad they did because we do want to get an idea how many owners would buy the popular black version.

This project is the most difficult we've ever attempted. I hope more than 30 people would buy a 67 or 68 wheel! :(

I just joined the group, I have a '67 GTO and have heard rumors of this being reproduced.
I will take one in black when it happens.

Did anything ever come of this project?

Hi Guys. Yes, the wheel project is moving forward. I have seen samples of the wheel and it looks very good. The metal spoke inserts fit very well. The next thing we are waiting for is the center of the wheel to the top of the column. The mfg needs to shape it to fit the column better. Once that happens, I think we are good to go... We are also working on the center cap too... I have seen the green lucite insert and that looks real nice... I'll see if I get some pictures of the wheel & cap posted... Gp
Mike

Any idea if blue will be an available color?

We were toying with the idea of doing popular colors, but not sure yet. If we do colors, we'll do Red, Blue & Ivy Gold. Once the black comes out and see how they are selling, we can do another batch of colors. Hopefully the Pontiac community will realize this wheel is available for all models... The FB & full size wheel are a different size than the GTO, but not noticeable...

Does this imply that the black wheel is the same size (GTO or full size)???

no... the FB & full size are the same wheels and the GTO is another. If you had them next to each other, you can tell, but just by looking at them you can't. Please continue to take the poll at the beginning of this thread. Thx!

Interesting....I measured my (overly expensive) wheel this morning. The diameter is 15" or 16" depending on where you measure.
It certainly doesn't look very round.
I sure hope this is a GTO wheel??

^^ That's a GTO wheel.

Your measurements are for the GTO wheel. These wheels are not truly round... If you measure along the horizontal spoke, you get 16", but if you turn it 90° I get 15-1/2"

Thanks, All
If anyone needs anything off this wheel for the repro, just let me know. Close-ups etc

Thanks. We already have made the 67 spokes WITH the horn buttons and contact wiring AND the 68 spokes without the buttons but with the harness. We are working on the center cap now...

Is there a ETA on the black 67?

Bump.

Just wanted to see where this is at after over a half year of silence.

Yep, curious here too ... will be needing one in the next year.

I want to know what the new wheel weighs, compared to the heavy original.

Me thinks an ivory wheel would be stunning with the Parchment Interior.

--> Can PY make that wheel on the "Cars" Album cover?

Any idea when the 68 wheel will be available? I see this thread is fairly old and I don't mean to rush you but could you hurry up. :D

Honestly the 67-68 deluxe steering wheels are the most iconic in my opinion.

Need a red one. I'll take one as soon as they are ready.

I'm in for a Black. Any update as to when they may be ready?

I'm thinking never.

The samples are at the new mold makers. We are hoping for the 1st sample late this Fall.

Don't forget this is the 2nd time around on this project. We were 2 years into it and the 1st mfg could never get the wheel right.

So it's hard to give dates until we approve a sample.

Might as well get it right the first time.
If you need a beta tester I'll volunteer!

Any update on the reproduction deluxe wheel?

I take it this wheel will not be made.
I restored my original with the kit from Eastwood and it came out nice but I will still purchase a remake if it ever happens.

I'm guessing (hopefully wrong) that this project is dead.

It's not dead yet... We're working on the wood wheels with another mfg first, just to see how they meet our demands, then we'll get back on this wheel...