What color is this OEM Blue steering wheel?

[georgieb51]

I have an old OEM wheel and have always wondered what color it is called. I took photos of it with two repro wheels that are called Dark Blue, and Medium Blue. Neither is close to the color of the OEM wheel.

The most accurate depiction of the OEM wheel is the photo that shows the backside of the wheel where the spoke meets the rim and you can see a small crack. There is also an identical crack on the opposite spoke in the same location, and these are the only cracks on the whole wheel, so I am sure nothing has ever been done to the wheel to alter it over time.

Is this the unicorn of blue wheels that I read about? It is definitely not a dark blue, nor is it close to the color of either reproduction wheel.

Thanks, George

[georgieb51]

Here are a few more photos. You can probably figure out which are repro. The detail on repros is just not as crisp and sharp.

[randy500]

Thats the blue everybody wants, 71-2 for sure. I think the column paint is darker than the wheel which ,makes me wonder if the wheel was darker when new.

[randy500]

How did you end up with 2 of those repro steering wheels?

[randy500]

And....there is a thread here about 2 different grain patterns on these steering wheels, i think the consensus was later van wheels had a different grain.

[randy500]

Yours seems to be later model grain pattern, see this post
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=792472

[special-K]

That original wheel is rare to be in such decent condition. But I guess to repair it would lead to paint. That leads me to say if you want a perfect new wheel, why don't you match paint to the original and paint a repro? Use urethane. The only repro I ever bought was painted (blue), not molded in color. Not sure if the same is true with current offerings. But GM painted 67/68 wheels

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by randy500

Thats the blue everybody wants, 71-2 for sure. I think the column paint is darker than the wheel which ,makes me wonder if the wheel was darker when new.

I find all your input about steering wheels fascinating. I had no idea there was so much to it. It appears to me that the color on the backside of the wheel is a more accurate measure of the true color, and that the color on the front is a bit faded. I wonder if some sort of polishing would bring out that color better? I purposely have not done anything to this wheel but have left it as I found it and will do so until I am absolutely sure I will do nothing detrimental.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by randy500

How did you end up with 2 of those repro steering wheels?

Hello Randy,
I actually have three trucks that all need blue steering wheels of some color. So I got each blue that I could find to see which would work best in each situation.
I have a survivor 1970 GMC that came with a circa 88-98 GMC steering wheel and I have always wanted to put an original wheel back in the truck since all the rest of the interior is in good shape. Oddly enough the Medium Blue repro more closely matches the steering column color of the GMC. It makes me wonder all sorts of things regarding color because GMC seem to like playing with odd color combinations such as the instrument cluster matching the glove box door.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by special-K

That original wheel is rare to be in such decent condition. But I guess to repair it would lead to paint. That leads me to say if you want a perfect new wheel, why don't you match paint to the original and paint a repro? Use urethane. The only repro I ever bought was painted (blue), not molded in color. Not sure if the same is true with current offerings. But GM painted 67/68 wheels

Hello Tim, I always enjoy reading what you have to say on the forum. Has anyone posted anything near as much as you? And I have always enjoyed talking with you at Carlisle. Twenty years ago I tried painting a repro wheel with single stage acrylic urethane and it worked out quite well. Unfortunately the wheel itself underneath the paint started cracking and then the paint started cracking, but only at the places where the wheel itself was failing. So it was not the fault of the paint. And this is in a truck that is kept in a garage out of the sun all the time, so there should not be any environmental stress on the wheel. But it does make me wonder if the new repros are made any better?

[georgieb51]

So can anyone tell me why Blue OEM steering wheels are so rare? I have to admit the ones that came in the trucks I have owned over the years were all in seriously bad shape.

[randy500]

Looking at your 70 GMC and the column paint color looks like the 71-2 dark blue i always see and your dash pad appears much lighter, like i always see too. I really only have knowledge on the 71-2 trucks.
Your used blue steering wheel color seems to match the dash pad.

[tdangle]

I have the original blue steering wheel out of my 70 chevy. It is about the same color as the OEM one in the picture.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by randy500

Looking at your 70 GMC and the column paint color looks like the 71-2 dark blue i always see and your dash pad appears much lighter, like i always see too. I really only have knowledge on the 71-2 trucks.
Your used blue steering wheel color seems to match the dash pad.

Yes. The dash pad is a different blue. I have since replaced it and regret it simply because the soft foam dash pads do not have the correct color. I am going to try buying one from Seth Doulton. He used to own Golden State Pickups (I think that is correct) and he is selling his own dashpads on ebay that look like they are made correctly with the steel in them.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by randy500

Looking at your 70 GMC and the column paint color looks like the 71-2 dark blue i always see and your dash pad appears much lighter, like i always see too. I really only have knowledge on the 71-2 trucks.
Your used blue steering wheel color seems to match the dash pad.

Yes. The dash pad is a different blue. I have since replaced it and regret it simply because the soft foam dash pads do not have the correct color. I am going to try buying one from Seth Doulton. He used to own Golden State Pickups (I think that is correct) and he is selling his own dashpads on ebay that look like they are made correctly with the steel in them.
I know this is not the correct location to be asking about anything to buy but sometime I need to find the correct OEM GMC horn cap, but I would guess that most of what I would come across would be faded bigtime?

[randy500]

Originally Posted by georgieb51

Yes. The dash pad is a different blue. I have since replaced it and regret it simply because the soft foam dash pads do not have the correct color. I am going to try buying one from Seth Doulton. He used to own Golden State Pickups (I think that is correct) and he is selling his own dashpads on ebay that look like they are made correctly with the steel in them.
I know this is not the correct location to be asking about anything to buy but sometime I need to find the correct OEM GMC horn cap, but I would guess that most of what I would come across would be faded bigtime?

Please post up when you get that dash pad. Im thinking of getting a blue one too. Im fine with the flimsy pads just don't like the shade of blue.

The horn buttons polish up if not deteriorated too bad, problem is the grain might be able to get the white out of the grain with walnut shell blasting or something like that.

[georgieb51]

Hello Randy and Tim, Even though you were the only two to respond to my question I really appreciate you input and helping me to understand more about these trucks, I have owned more than 30 of these over the years, and I now feel confident that this wheel will be OK in by 1970 GMC. Maybe not exactly perfect but it is a daily driver anyway (not in the winter) and any sort of intact OEM blue wheel will be better than a reproduction. Thank guys!

[special-K]

The only repro wheel I bought was blue and I bought it in '01. It was certainly the first and only reproduction wheel offered. With little use, within four years the rim split at high noon and separated about 3/16" leaving a gap. Those wheels were crap. I noticed mine's failure after we had a cold snap that brought temps down to single digit. I went out to start and let run a while, as I always do after a cold snap, in addition to the regular intervals. Those wheels were molded black and painted to color