Aluminum spoked, wood wheels for early 911s

[Jim Breazeale]

Please post pictures of your aluminum steering wheels. I am convinced that the spokes are painted and not anodized. It stands to reason that they would not be anodized because of the sharp lines between the black spokes and the bare aluminum exposed metal in the rim of the wheel. You could not do that with anodizing. Look at the detail of the center hub. It is painted and is, obviously, original and unrestored. Differing opinions and evidence to the contrary is welcomed. I've got other thoughts about these wheels that I will share a bit later.

Regards

Jim

[Jules Dielen]

+1 on paint.

[Cliff]

Here is my aluminum/wood wheel # 1290 appears to be painted! Don`t know how early of a wheel this is compared to others. Perhaps a `later` wheel was anodized in an effort to strengthen the wheel!....Cliff

[Jim Breazeale]

I have a new thought on the " annodized vs painted" debate.
Both sides are right! I now believe that the front of the spokes ( the side facing the driver) were, in fact, annodized but the back side was painted. This has been confirmed by not just me. What say the rest of you?

Regards

Jim

[Cliff]

I have no idea; not so failiar with anodize. Mine appears to be paint on both sides,I think......Cliff

[Jim Breazeale]

I have no idea; not so failiar with anodize. Mine appears to be paint on both sides,I think......Cliff

Hi Cliff

Just look carefully at the finish on both sides.
Do they appear to be different?
Thanks for taking the time.

Regards

Jim

[356rider]

Hi Jim,

The one I have, which appears in pretty decent original condition, is definitely anodized on both sides. I say this because it has the look, feel and texture (as in none, other than the base aluminum) of an anodized piece, especially when compared to the black painted horn mount base. Also, it passes the acetone test in that after cleaning, rubbing an inconspicuous spot both front and back with acetone on a white Q-tip produces no color on the Q-tip. Conversely, rubbing the horn mount base instantly produces black on the Q-tip. As to the sharp lines at the transition from the spoke to the bare aluminum, I would offer the explanation that the entire aluminum frame was anodized and one color, then the wood was applied around the circumference and there was a sanding/milling operation around the inner circumference between the spokes to smooth the aluminum/wood seam -- probably done on a jig. I think you can see this clearly on my wheel. Note, these are only my observations on this specific wheel. I claim no knowledge on whether they were all one way or had variances. Also, there are no numbers on this wheel and I do not know which car it is from. See photos.

Regards,
Chuck


Notice the color difference between the spokes and the horn base.




Back is the same as the front.




You can see the transition on mine where the spoke edges have a slight radius and the part sandwiched between the wood appears to me milled.




Another view of spoke detail. following the radius of the spoke as it transitions to the wood, it definitely looks milled to me.

[Jim Breazeale]

Hi Jim,

The one I have, which appears in pretty decent original condition, is definitely anodized on both sides. I say this because it has the look, feel and texture (as in none, other than the base aluminum) of an anodized piece, especially when compared to the black painted horn mount base. Also, it passes the acetone test in that after cleaning, rubbing an inconspicuous spot both front and back with acetone on a white Q-tip produces no color on the Q-tip. Conversely, rubbing the horn mount base instantly produces black on the Q-tip. As to the sharp lines at the transition from the spoke to the bare aluminum, I would offer the explanation that the entire aluminum frame was anodized and one color, then the wood was applied around the circumference and there was a sanding/milling operation around the inner circumference between the spokes to smooth the aluminum/wood seam -- probably done on a jig. I think you can see this clearly on my wheel. Note, these are only my observations on this specific wheel. I claim no knowledge on whether they were all one way or had variances. Also, there are no numbers on this wheel and I do not know which car it is from. See photos.

Regards,
Chuck


Notice the color difference between the spokes and the horn base.




Back is the same as the front.




You can see the transition on mine where the spoke edges have a slight radius and the part sandwiched between the wood appears to me milled.




Another view of spoke detail. following the radius of the spoke as it transitions to the wood, it definitely looks milled to me.

Chuck

Thanks for your input and excellent photos. I agree with you that your wheel is anodized on both sides and the finish appears to be the same on both sides. My wheel, on the other hand appears to be anodized on the side facing the driver but is painted on the back side. The 2 surfaces are quite different in appearance and are 1 mil different in finish thickness, to boot.
It certainly looks like not all aluminum/wood wheels were finished in the same fashion.

Regards

Jim

[356rider]

Jim,
I would think that having two different finishes for front/back would be odd in that it doesn't seem like it would be by design. Just speculation but perhaps while ramping production, some wheels might have been inadvertently scratched on the anodized surface during assembly and instead of scrapping the entire wheel after the wood was applied, they were painted. Maybe sometimes just one side? It shows the disadvantage of the easily scratched anodizing in the manufacturing process. Maybe they realized this and just started painting the later aluminum wheels before the transition to steel.

Regards,
Chuck

[Haasman]

Jim- Here are some pictures of my aluminum wheel. Sorry they aren't better. This wheel is not the finest example.

I couldn't find any part numbers but I looked quickly.

I'd be glad to bring it up to the next EASY Saturday.

Jeff