Steering Wheel Trim Ring ‘68-‘70

[bakerjf]

So... I recently purchased what is basically a NOS steering wheel from Japan, including a perfectly preserved horn button and trim ring.
We all are familiar with the translucent brown surviving trim rings, and many know Dean sells reproduction rings, along with a description on his site of what he believes they looked like when new. However, what I received from Japan doesn’t match his description. What I received has a satin white finish, with just a hint of pearl in it. This matches the promotional pictures, which I always thought were enhanced after-the-fact, or just a very shiny metallic that photographed that way...nope. I believe this ring sheds its paint fairly easily, leaving behind the translucent ring. The reason the paint on the backside persists, I believe, is because it’s held in place by the ring itself against the pad. Anyway, just a data point for those wanting to achieve a true OEM appearance. Not a ding against Dean at all; I don’t think these lasted very long in the wild, and probably wasn’t a particularly memory-worthy detail back in the 60’s and early 70’s.

8B921424-D5C9-48A0-A999-2E6DA2BECB64.jpeg

[jrusso07]

Interesting- thanks!

[davdav2000]

Looks cool. How can the rest of us get an OEM ring?

[bakerjf]

That was the only NOS (almost) OEM ring I’ve ever seen since I got my Roadster eight years ago. I would think buying Dean’s and painting it white is the only way to go.