[300deluxe]

Just be glad you found on that color, can't be too many of them out there!

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by GOAT WHORE

So what is an incomplete 1969 deluxe antique gold steering wheel worth? Apparently to me it was worth $650, ouch!
I missed out on a complete one on ebay years ago for $600, well that's what bought it and missed one from Hobi on this forum for $500.
I wasn't going g to let this one go even though I will probably have to restore a center section from on of my wheels.

Does this NOS wheel have that Ooey-Gooey feel to it?

Is there a known rehabiliation procedure if a guy's '69 wheel suffers from same?

...The wheel in my '69 'bird requires gloves to touch it unless you want that irremovable coating on your hands.

TIA

[GOAT WHORE]

Originally Posted by Engine-Ear

Does this NOS wheel have that Ooey-Gooey feel to it?

Is there a known rehabiliation procedure if a guy's '69 wheel suffers from same?

...The wheel in my '69 'bird requires gloves to touch it unless you want that irremovable coating on your hands.

TIA

So this wheel does not have the "ooey gooey" feel. It looks to me as it would have in 69!
I have heard that acetone will take care of the dreaded "ooey gooey".

[GOAT WHORE]

Originally Posted by 300deluxe

Just be glad you found on that color, can't be too many of them out there!

One year only color and trust me, there are not many out there! I have had 2 very well known Pontiac parts guys looking for a couple years at least and I told them I'd give $1000! You know they had their ears to the ground!

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by GOAT WHORE

So this wheel does not have the "ooey gooey" feel. It looks to me as it would have in 69!

That's good news. It seems to jive with the "it's the body oils from people's hands being absorbed over the years and finally being released years later" explanation everyone gives compared to "the plastic is breaking down" story. A new never-used steering wheel won't have body oils!

Originally Posted by GOAT WHORE

I have heard that acetone will take care of the dreaded "ooey gooey".

Yes. I use Simple Green (or Purple Power) to get the black grime and dirt off, then acetone (I use Target brand nail polish remover) wiped on the steering wheel several times will get rid of the goo. My '72 Lemans had a NASTY case and it's almost brand new like after doing this for 6 months periodically. Caveat: all of the steering wheels I've done have been decently "used" wheels, so I can't guarantee that a brand new looking or minty-fresh colored steering wheel won't experience some minor discoloration. But my experience with almost a dozen different cars says it will be fine.

[NYGTO]

I've noticed that sticky feeling on my console and was able to clean it off using glass cleaner wipes. Although I have to repeat the process once in awhile which I don't mind because I prefer using something mild.

[Engine-Ear]

Thank you for the insight, guys. And thanks for letting me deviate from the topic a bit!

[69 RA GTO]

I have cleaned several wheels thru the years just as Ben M mentioned, I first use a degreaser like purple full strength and a tooth brush and clean, and clean, and clean. I then rinse with water and then switch over to Simple Green and a tooth brush and go to town again. Do a final rinse and that seems to last for years in my experience. Everyone has their own way which works and this is just my personal process.

[Andretti]

Originally Posted by GOAT WHORE

So this wheel does not have the "ooey gooey" feel. It looks to me as it would have in 69!
I have heard that acetone will take care of the dreaded "ooey gooey".

I 100% agree, acetone works perfect with no damage to the wheel. Just finished cleaning an old Tasco binoculars that have a rubbery green body with the same sticky problem. No regular cleaner would remove it but the acetone worked great.

[indymanjoe]

3m adhesive remover works great as well to remove the sticky stuff.

[GOAT WHORE]

Pretty much done with interior now just need to restore inner part of steering wheel, paint a few plastic pieces for the front belts and install them. Got the package tray, rear panels and back seat in yesterday. Took Tom and I about 4 hrs to complete. I thought for sure a couple hrs at most but ran into some snags.
First the Legendary rear panels were all jacked up in terms of where all the clips were. They were 3/4" off. Then my arm rests did not want to fit. After much effort I brought one to another car I gave and the holes for the mounting screws did not line up on that car either, was about 1/4" to short on the body verse the armrest. I know for a fact I took them off a 69 LeMans. They must be slight difference between different armrest hole locations. Anyway drilled a new hole in the body for each and good to go.
Crazy what you learn about these cars when you go through a build. I just feel very fortunate that I have other cars and parts to compare.

[GOAT WHORE]

So here is what $1200 seat belts look like. Originally belt from Nanas car in left, restored belt in the middle and unrestored belt on the right. I bought the belts on the right years ago off ebay and planned to use them in my car instead of the standard belts.

As you can see the color of the webbing isn't even close to the original color of the standard belts from my car. After pretty much exhausting all resources to source a more correct color I came to the conclusion that this is probably the best I'm going to get. Disappointing for sure but they do look very good in the car expecially when you don't have the original next to it for comparison.

And here are the tags you pay $20 each for. Nice for sure but not exact to my originals by any means.

Overall happy with the belts and I believe they were the best I could get but I would have loved for the color and tags to be more accurate to originals.

[HWYSTR455]

Who did the belts again?

That color looks closer to camel than anything, but still a little light. They could still be dyed, but you would think paying that much they would be dead on.

.

[GOAT WHORE]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Who did the belts again?

That color looks closer to camel than anything, but still a little light. They could still be dyed, but you would think paying that much they would be dead on.

.

Ssnake Oyl did the belts. They sent me samples before they restored them so I knew what I was getting. Got samples from other places with no better results. Thought about having some dyed buy have heard that's not a good way to go and did not find a company I felt comfortable with that would do it anyways.

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of dying high traffic areas, tends to wear off and/or bleed. I know dyes have come a long way in the last 5-10 years, but I personally try to avoid it if at all possible.

.

[Scarebird]

The other thing about dying is that you still have the same 40+ year old belt - how much strength is left? will it do the job?

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Yeah, I'm not a fan of dying high traffic areas, tends to wear off and/or bleed. I know dyes have come a long way in the last 5-10 years, but I personally try to avoid it if at all possible.

.

Especially something that you are going to be strapping across your favorite white tee shirt.

[Engine-Ear]

"Crazy what you learn about these cars when you go through a build." -Goat Whore

Amen. The expertise level around here blows me away whenever I get to thinking about it. Best of all, the smart people here all seem very approachable (in other words, they're PONTIAC guys)...

[BOB VIDAN]

Got to go out to the new sons, goat whore, today and see the grandma car in person. It's very obvious the son takes after the father and can't take pictures for beans. The car is absolutely stunning in person. He's close to finishing it and when it gets in public he'll have to carry a drool rag or 2 to keep the car clean. He's doing an amazing job on this car and the memories he has make it worth so much more. Nice job "son".

[charles bledsoe]

Any new pics that can be posted?