Re: Advice from those in the know on 1949 Super 8 Coupe

Posted by packardsix1939 On 2022/7/1 11:03:10

MJG: Good catch on the steering wheel in Max's car. I took another look at the interior photo and expanded it. Obviously, someone painted a Standard wheel white and added a decorative touch to the spokes. The correct wheel for a Super 8 would be white Tenite plastic with the chrome spoke ornaments. If you expand the picture I posted for my old Super 8 convertible, you will see the correct wheel. I believe that this was referred to as the Deluxe steering wheel. It was standard equipment on Custom 8 and Super 8 cars but was optional on the Standard and Deluxe 8 models. The Standard wheel was brown hard rubber with no spoke ornaments.

The big problem with the Deluxe wheels is the warping and cracking caused by the natural deterioration of the plastic. Tenite was an early plastic and while widely used in cars of the period, it is unstable and is easily degraded by heat and sunlight. The plastic on the wheel on my Super 8 Club Sedan was literally crumbling off of the steel core when I purchased the car. My Super 8 Convertible had a Standard 8 wheel that had been painted white, just like Max's car. I found a Deluxe wheel from a parts car and had it recast. It cost over $500 to do and this was about 20 years ago. No idea what it would cost today. Also, I had to wait months to get it.

One thing to note about the steering wheels in 22nd and 23rd series cars is that the same wheel was used through 1954. And I think that at some point, Packard started putting the chrome spoke ornaments on all of the wheels. I had a 1954 Clipper Club Sedan around the same time I owned the '48 Super 8 convertible and noticed that the Clipper's wheel also had the chrome spoke ornaments. And it was a painted hard rubber wheel, not Tenite plastic.

I don't think I'd bother to change the wheel in Max's car for authenticity. It does look nice the way it is. The plastic center on the horn ring looks much better than what I typically see. Often, the plastic has crazing or cracking in the surface. I've seen some really bad ones over the years.