What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-1961?

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Jonathan Trichel
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What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-1961?

#1 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

As I continue the restoration journey on my 1961 T5 356B, I am looking to "upgrade" the steering wheel. I plan to bubble wrap the original black standard steering wheel. So, it doesn't really matter what I use, this is a reversible modification. But ideally I would like to have something that is period correct. In using the search function here, I have seen some different opinions on this topic. For instance, some say the Carrera 2 wood wheel was an option, other say that didn't start until 1962. Per the COA & kardex, my car was actually produced in 1960 and sold as a 1961 model. So I would be happy with anything from that era. I would like to NOT put on a wheel that would have been T6 or later. As an example, I know that Porsche built a T5 356B Super 90 "GT" in very limited numbers (I think, like five of them). I also believe that car came with a wood wheel?

I have spoken to a couple well regarded steering wheel restorers/refurbishers, everyone seems to have a little different opinion on this topic, depending on what they sell. haha.

VDM, Nardi, LL, its all a little confusing.

Thanks for any advice.

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Doug McDonnell
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#2 Post by Doug McDonnell »

Seven pages of discussion on this subject: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=38013 Which covers what people think.I doubt that you will find a better discussion.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

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Jonathan Trichel
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#3 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

Thanks. I did read through it. I didn’t really see a definitive answer in there. Just more debate lol

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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#4 Post by Edwin Ek »

I posted a few times in that thread. One of the main points being debated was whether there was any factory-supplied wood wheel after the flat A VDM and other than the dished T-6 Carrera 2 with segments. The definitive conclusion: there was a dished slotted-spoke wood VDM. It was not determined when those wheels became available.
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Jonathan Trichel
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#5 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

Here are my 3 candidates. I’m told all 3 could have been available in 61 for a T5. For example, which would have come on the very rare 356B Super 90 GT?
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#6 Post by Edwin Ek »

The first wheel is perhaps a Carrera 2 wheel, which became available in the summer of 1962. I say perhaps because I don't see any segments.

The second is a flat Nardi. Flat wheels were for A cars, and no Nardis were fitted by the factory. There are dished Nardis that were available in period. They have a YY stamp in a little box on the back of one of the spokes.

The third wheel looks like a dished LL (reproduction?). LL wheels were not fitted by the factory except in 904 race cars.

Sorry to say, in short, you have been misinformed. A dished Nardi would be appropriate for sure, but not factory-supplied. Original ones were supplied until 1966 or 1967, or maybe a few more years. There have been re-issues of that wheel within the last 10 years or so, maybe even longer. But the re-issues don't have a YY stamp in a little box on the back.
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Jonathan Trichel
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#7 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

This information is invaluable, so thank you! I’m going to try to find a deep dish Nardi wheel. I have no idea which one you’re talking about. The Nardi presented here has a 61 date stamp on the back of it. So this is very interesting information indeed. The plot thickens.

I wonder what wood wheel was original to a 1961 356B Super 90 GT. I think there were only about 5 made. Anyone know?

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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#8 Post by Edwin Ek »

The plot really isn't so thick. :) Nardi continued to make flat steering wheels after Porsche stopped making cars with flat steering wheels. So the pictured Nardi was made in 1961 for an A Porsche.
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Jonathan Trichel
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#9 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

Haha. No offense to you directly, but everyone thinks they have the definitive answer to these questions and to a newcomer (not to Porsche, but to 356s) it’s hard to know what is true north. I have asked the question a few times in this thread about the 356B super 90 GT. I can see in pictures of that car that there is a wood steering wheel in it. That would have been a T5 vehicle. Any idea? The Carrera 2 wheel is something that many have said were available in the late production of T5, but you say not until the summer of 62. You say that a deep dish Nardi was appropriate but not available from the factory? So wouldn’t that just mean it was made during that period of time? I guess the same could be said of the flat spoke wheel made in 61 in this picture thread. I’m just trying to stay reasonably correct to the period of my 1961 T5, and put a wood wheel in there that would have been attainable to a customer at the time.

My unofficial polling at Lit and at Luft5 is that there is not consensus on whether or not Porsche made ANY wood wheels available to T5 customers, of either regular 356s or race variants... some say yes, some say no...

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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#10 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

Example - 1960 gs-gt? In the Porsche museum. Wood wheel showing, but I have no idea which one.
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#11 Post by Richard Milstead »

Jonathan,
I, like Edwin, was a contributor to that old thread and I concur with his summary on the existence of the slotted VDM wheels in the T-6/C period. I did not go back to read every post in the thread but I do remember that the slotted type is even shown in one "Factory" accessory book photo but I am not sure if it was in the '62 or '64 edition.

One of the "truisms" of the Porsche "Factory" operation seems to have been a great willingness to supply anything the customer wanted (and was willing to pay for). Another was that to get cars complete for shipment, if they needed a special part they would go out and get it from wherever they had to, whether it was standard or not. It is, therefore, likely that in the T-5 timeframe if a wooden wheel was requested, they got one and installed it. That is different from an orderable option. Also, most dealers had aftermarket sources that could supply "specials" and they would get them for paying customers. This would be especially true for non factory "racing" applications.

With respect to your question on T-5 Super 90 GTs, I have only one reference point which appears in an article in the October 1961 edition of R&T on the S-90 GT. In that article there is a picture very clearly showing one of those cars with the standard black plastic VDO wheel, so not all GTs were delivered with wood wheels (if in fact any were).

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Jonathan Trichel
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#12 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

You can see in this Porsche factory museum picture, a wood steering wheel in this T5 356B GS-GT... would have been which one I wonder?

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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#13 Post by Doug McDonnell »

I have seen Kardex show wood wheel on 64 and 65 cars but so far I have never seen anyone post a Kardex or COA showing wood wheel for 60/61 T5. There of course were period correct wood wheels fitted at dealers or aftermarket I am sure. I guess that it wouldn't surprise me if someone has Kardex/COA proving wood wheel from the factory. If so please post.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

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Jonathan Trichel
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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#14 Post by Jonathan Trichel »

Doug McDonnell wrote:I have seen Kardex show wood wheel on 64 and 65 cars but so far I have never seen anyone post a Kardex or COA showing wood wheel for 60/61 T5. There of course were period correct wood wheels fitted at dealers or aftermarket I am sure. I guess that it wouldn't surprise me if someone has Kardex/COA proving wood wheel from the factory. If so please post.
I agree and I would love to see also. Really doesn't matter so much to my car, I am bubble wrapping the standard T5 black steering wheel and just like the look and feel of wood. So wanted to stay as true to period as possible. But now it has just become a curiosity thing. How could we be staring at the 1960 T5 356B factory GS-GT in the Porsche museum with a wood wheel, but none were put on cars? Would the Porsche museum highlight a car with an aftermarket steering wheel?

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Re: What factory WOOD steering wheels were available 1960-19

#15 Post by Richard Milstead »

Jonathan,
Since you seem very intent on using the Porsche Museum example as your "poster child" example, I actually suggest that you contact them to find out what it actually is. Just be aware that later wood wheels and many aftermarket examples would had the same hub as the standard T-5 wheel. One other point, if the wood wheel is original to the car and was installed at the factory, it should appear on the Kardex for it and they should be able to confirm that.

By the way, if you check out the T-5 section of the 1996 Book "356 Carrera - The Four Cam Production Cars" by Cole Scrogram you will find the following sentence: "The improved steering wheel and gear lever were also of 356B type, lending to the notion that this 356 (i.e. 356B GTs my note) was nothing special at first glance." What Cole was refering to and what is shown in all of his photographs of original examples is the presence of standard black plastic knobs, the standard black plastic gear lever knob, and the standard black plastic coated steering wheel in T-5 GTs whether Carrera or Super 90. Maybe the Porsche Museum example was unique.

My last reflection, having studied these cars for approaching 40 years I have learned to "Never say Never" and "Never say Always."

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