1960 through 1968 Pontiac Transparent Steering Wheels

The Process:
1960 through 1968 Pontiac manufactured a clear and a solid color steering wheel.  1960, 1967 and 1968 had clear plastic only on the upper section of the rim where as 1961 through 1966 had clear plastic on both the upper and lower sections of the rim.  The steering wheel was originally injection molded with a transparent acrylic thermoplastic over the top and bottom sections of the chrome plated rim reinforcing ring. This plastic was not Ultra Violet (UV) stable thus the clear would turn yellow with exposure to sunlight.  Exposure to heat accelerated the evaporation of the plasticizers out of the plastic and cracks would develop. As the steering wheel received more exposure, the effect became cumulative and the plastic became more brittle. Eventually, the plastic would fall off the wheel. Our steering wheel restoration process uses a UV stable specially formulated thermoset proprietary urethane plastic that does not turn yellow with exposure to sunlight.  The plastic has excellent compression and tensile strength and does not shrink. It’s strength and ductility allows it to expand and contract with the rim reinforcing ring as the surrounding temperature changes. This material is expensive, the process is complicated and time consuming, however, this is the best system available for steering wheel restoration.

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1961 Pontiac Transparent Steering Wheel

Condition as received with the original clear acrylic plastic mostly missing from the top half of the steering wheel. This plastic was not UV stable and after years of exposure to sunlight and heat, it turned yellow, shrunk, developed cracks and fell off the reinforcing frame. The solid color portion of the steering wheel fared better, however, it also developed shrinkage cracks.

Note the finished wheel below along with other years and colors