Superior "the 500" wheel? FIXED PICS

[reflectionpoint]

Hey all,

After looking around at what some have done for interiors in their F's and similar vehicles I decided to keep and refinish my existing wheel. I believe it is a 'Superior Performance Products' model 500 knock-off.. but it's comfortable and looks good in the cab. I am wondering if this may be a real 500 because there IS is vintage 'SPP' sticker on the back window of the cab. My thought is maybe at one point they had a Superior wheel and for whatever reason this was replaced with what is in there now. The wheel I have is still old true to the style and vintage, but it doesn't have any of the markings I've seen on other 'real' SPP 500's.

Any clues on who actually made this wheel?


Front of wheel, same number of rivets as SPP 500.


Hub has no markings whatsoever, also spoke has only 3-holes, other SPP 500's I've seen have 4.


Back shows finger notches, unlike the 500 shown below which is smooth.

These are a couple shots of a real Superior 500 circa early 60's to early 70's.


Clearly identifies itself.


Different spoke hole arrangement and different back piece (no finger notches).

Both wheels are the same size (13.5") so my though is they'd be almost identical if mine were 'real', ya?

It's not life-or-death what steering wheel is in my truck, I'm just curious. I love the style of these wheels, gives the interior a nice touch.

[fordman]

the first set of pics dotn seem to work for me. i will refresh it and see if they work. if no responce then the links are working.

[reflectionpoint]

the first set of pics dotn seem to work for me. i will refresh it and see if they work. if no responce then the links are working.

Got them fixed, I'm a bone head.. haha

[fordman]

well its not a sport wheel. but it does look good. the rest i cant help you with.

[papabug71]

Its not a SPP wheel. It looks to be a Grant. I have a NOS foam 500 in my truck. Just a little info on the SPP wheels: Superior was bought out by Grant in the 80's & Grant continues to produce the wheels with only minor differences. Mainly the # of holes in the spokes. SPP spokes had 4 holes & Grant produces them with 3 holes. Once Grant took over, the SPP logo & "flying man" stamps were replaced with Grant logos some time later.Since yours has no markings, I bet its from right around the time Grant took over & was getting around to putting a marking of some sort on the wheels. Never the less, its a good looking wheel & I love woodgrain! Here are some pics of mine:

I wish it was woodgrain



Horn button:

[reflectionpoint]

Mainly the # of holes in the spokes. SPP spokes had 4 holes & Grant produces them with 3 holes.

That's kinda what I thought. I like it because it's still old(ish), kinda rough at the joints in the wood..like the truck itself. I'm going to refinish it probably with a cherry stain so it's a little closer to how the cab will look when I'm done. I was going to drill the rivets and do the wood separate but I don't trust that I'll get the new rivets in nice and tight like these so I'm gonna do it the hard way I think, .

Thanks for your insight Papa.. maybe you'll stumble on an SPP wood wheel at a swapmeet or something. =)

-~E

[papabug71]

I hope so. The real wood 500's go for big bucks on ebay, way more than I would spend on a wheel. & most of them need restored as well.

Its no biggie refinishing your wheel. Just use super fine paper & hand sand it. I wouldnt use anything less than 200 grit to sand & then go back over it with 400 grit. Finish it off with 0000 steel wool & stain. It will look very nice!

Reason I say is cause I did a wood wheel years ago & I wasnt pleased with it. I used 40 grit paper to sand & 120 grit to finish. I put a nice varnish finish on it & even with 2 coats, you could still feel the grit of the wood from the paper.

[reflectionpoint]

The one advantage of a little texture is better grip--but only if all the texture matches so it doesn't feel weird. I'll take your advice and post a picture sometime this week.

I'll keep my eyes out in the junk yards and if I find one I'll keep you in mind.

Thanks again,

-~Eric

[papabug71]

[reflectionpoint]

This is a picture of it refinished. I used a Varathane 'Cabernet' and three coats of polyurethane. The poly is still wet in this picture.. I'll post another one in a day or so with the finished installed result.. well worth the 2-3 hours work. The color didn't come out well at all (gotta love camera phone's), it's redder and more even than it shows here.

[papabug71]

Looks good to me!

[flatblack]

and if you need a horn button heres an idea :hehe:

[GSequoia]

Chevy.

Go figure.

[flatblack]

ya ya.... cant beat a free truck so i could stick my 3 dollar steering wheel and my 5 dollar cope i picked up in montana

[papabug71]

I have used center caps from Cragar & Rocket mags for horn buttons. They actually look halfway decent.