body and interior 72 tii OEM Steering Wheel Question: Black or Gray?

[COOP]

Hello,

 

The original steering wheel on my '72 tii (same with every other 02 that I've ever encountered with an original steering wheel) is clearly black in color. 

 

I just acquired a "New Old Stock" steering wheel, still wrapped in the original packaging.  It is distinctly grey in color, almost a battleship gray.

 

Any insight into this?!  Did they make both colors (highly doubtful)?  Did the original gray color change to black over the past 43 years on all of those old 02s?  Is the black correct and the gray on the NOS wheel incorrect?  Was the gray NOS wheel black at some point but then faded to gray due to storage conditions?

 

Thank you,

 

COOP

[John_in_VA]

We'll need photos, but I've never seen a gray 2002 wheel in the 38 years that I've been looking at them.

[LJtii]

Black.

[COOP]

We'll need photos, but I've never seen a gray 2002 wheel in the 38 years that I've been looking at them.

 

Thanks John...Will have to wait until the next time I'm at the shop...but for now, it's just as I said:  The 43 year old wheel on my car is black, as is every other original 02 wheel I've ever laid eyes upon.  This NOS one in the wrapper is very obviously gray, just a touch darker than a military ship but nothing even close to black or even dark, charcoal gray.  Very strange!  I haven't agreed to buy it yet and probably won't unless someone here educates me to the effect that these wheels were originally gray which doesn't seem likely...

COOP

We'll need photos, but I've never seen a gray 2002 wheel in the 38 years that I've been looking at them.

 

Thanks John...Will have to wait until the next time I'm at the shop...but for now, it's just as I said:  The 43 year old wheel on my car is black, as is every other original 02 wheel I've ever laid eyes upon.  This NOS one in the wrapper is very obviously gray, just a touch darker than a military ship but nothing even close to black or even dark, charcoal gray.  Very strange!  I haven't agreed to buy it yet and probably won't unless someone here educates me to the effect that these wheels were originally gray which doesn't seem likely...

COOP

[adawil2002]

All 2002 steering wheels I've seen are black except Esty's tan NK wheel.

[Mike Self]

At least all the US spec 2002s used the same black bus wheel from 1968 on, the only variation being the 72-73 wheels were slightly smaller than the earlier ones, and squarelights used a four spoke wheel with a much larger center pad.  

 

Wonder if that wheel could have come from either a late NK sedan or an early E3 ("Senior Six", like a 2500/2800/Bavaria)? 

 

Does your grey wheel have a BMW part number on it?  Then we could look it up on REALOEM...

 

mike

[PaulTWinterton]

Probably why it's NOS. Nobody wanted it.

My guess too...for another model. It will be interesting to hear the end to this story. IF it can be solved.

[COOP]

Thanks guys & gals...looking forward to getting to the bottom of this one! I'll check for a part number the next time I'm at the shop. The good news is that I haven't stroked the check yet...

COOP

[artbo]

Which style horn contact does it have. Might shed light on what it was intended to fit. Never seen a gray wheel either! Maybe it's some incredibly rare piece and you stole it......

[dlhoovler]

At least all the US spec 2002s used the same black bus wheel from 1968 on, the only variation being the 72-73 wheels were slightly smaller than the earlier ones, and squarelights used a four spoke wheel with a much larger center pad. 

 

Mike, don't forget the metal-spoke "sport" wheel fitted to many 1970 calendar-year cars (like mine). It has exposed black metal spokes with one indentation per spoke, a brushed-metal "cap" at the outer end of each spoke, and the horn button under essentially the same center pad as the regular bus wheel. It also had a leather rim, though I have a wrap on mine since the original leather was falling apart. As you've reported before, they were installed due to either a fire or a strike at the bus wheel factory that year.

 

 

-Dave

Edited January 14, 2015 by dlhoovler

[JohnS]

I just checked my '73tii.  Black bus style wheel 400mm Diameter.  

[Conserv]

How did we get 10 replies into this thread without so much as a photograph of the guilty wheel?

Steve

[Kronos]

How did we get 10 replies into this thread without so much as a photograph of the guilty wheel?

Steve

Thank you for steering this thread in the right direction.

[COOP]

How did we get 10 replies into this thread without so much as a photograph of the guilty wheel?

Steve

 

Lol, it's coming Steve, I promise!  I just need to bust out of work and run down to JP's shop to snap off a few pix.  Hopefully today...

 

Thanks,

COOP

[Conserv]

Lol, it's coming Steve, I promise! I just need to bust out of work and run down to JP's shop to snap off a few pix. Hopefully today...

Thanks,

COOP

OK, COOP. We have a lot of enthusiasm, but only so much patience!

Regards,

Steve

Edited January 15, 2015 by Conserv