Re: {Chrysler 300} 1960 Chrysler Steering Wheel Restoration Feedback

I, too, got my G wheel back from Dennis last week. It was $2800 + $80 shipping. It took about 8 weeks, as he originally said. He did a perfect job. It was money well spent. I would definitely use him again. JN

On Sun, Mar 16, 2025 at 4:01 PM <cbilter@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Following up on my post here from 2/28 as Ron requested: My recast 300G wheel arrived from Dennis Crooks earlier than expected - total turnaround time (including shipping both ways) was only 8 weeks! I am delighted with the results - it is flawless! Museum quality. Molded plastic color match is perfect with proper marbling. With shipping both ways all-in cost was approaching $3000, and to me, it is worth it. I would use Dennis again. Photos attached.

Carl B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Grady" <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Ron Waters" <ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, March 1, 2025 2:42:28 PM
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} 1960 Chrysler Steering Wheel Restoration Feedback

I used to use , early on, a pretty good guy in NC , cannot remember his name , I did not know of Dennis .

The NC fellow became a friend , but he stopped doing it , I may have done 4-5 wheels there (F) , — if Dennis is 100 this fellow was 96 , for less $ at the time .

I found Dennis after that contact ended , and at first choked a bit on price , but later found his work is of such spectacular quality it is worth every cent , imho .
In particular he did maybe 3-4 F wheels over the years all perfect .

But in particular he did a 37 packard 115 coupe wheel , the deluxe wheel with groups of wire spokes , ( I think called a banjo wheel ) on which he insisted he had to replace those spokes completely due to known structural failures at factory hub attachment. This adds $ . Good talk with him , very smart guy . Honest discussion. He refused to do it on the old spokes / hub .
That wheel should hang in a museum it is so good . Getting into that car you feel good just looking at it or holding it , especially the cream colored rim molded to spokes — the same quality as the F wheels
I cannot imagine the pain of getting into a restored F and looking at a B- wheel ,, because you saved 800 … . it is the focal point of that beautiful dash / interior , And it is now a 70 k up car . Way it is
Dennis was on time , proud of his work , did what he said , when he said it
You will be really happy . Right choice . Cannot get a 2500 wheel for 899 .
jkg

On Feb 28, 2025, at 4:14 PM, 'Ron Waters' via Chrysler 300 Club International <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

BQ_BEGIN

Carl –

Please let us know how you make out. Hope your experience is a lot better than mine.

Ron

From: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Bilter
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 4:09 PM
To: Peter Scherer <caprockconnections@xxxxxxxxx>; chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} 1960 Chrysler Steering Wheel Restoration Feedback

FYI only, as of January 2025, Dennis quoted me $2800 plus shipping to do the F/G wheel (same wheel, different colors) with a 10-12 week turnaround. Turnaround is based on having a core in stock that is already rechromed (which saves up to 6 months in turnaround time right there), and how many wheels he receives between the time you talk to him and your wheel arrives at his place from the shipper (FIFO). For shipping, he uses UPS and insures the wheel for $3500, which raises the shipping cost (but obviously offers protection against a complete loss). UPS raises their rates almost weekly as well, it seems,.

At the time I sent him my G wheel in January, he had F/G rechromed cores ready for restoration. I am hoping to receive my restored wheel in April.

>From Peter's summary it seems like "you get what you pay for. " After reading this I'm glad I went with Dennis. Nice fella to talk to as well and a true patriot.

Carl B.

------ Original Message ------

>From "Peter Scherer" < [ mailto:caprockconnections@xxxxxxxxx | caprockconnections@xxxxxxxxx ] >

To [ mailto:chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ]

Date 2/28/2025 2:16:44 PM

Subject {Chrysler 300} 1960 Chrysler Steering Wheel Restoration Feedback

BQ_BEGIN

Greetings all, I figured I'd share here some information on my efforts to have a 1960 300F steering wheel restored by Steering Wheel Kris out of California.

I initially made contact with him in March of 2024, having followed him on Instagram for awhile. His quote for a 1960 300 Wheel was $2,000 and an estimated turnaround time of 2-3 months. This was slightly better pricing than Dennis at Quality Restoration, and since I wasn't looking for the perfection that Dennis is dedicated to, I was open to giving Kris a shot with this one.

After shipping the wheel and $1,000 deposit, they arrived on March 22nd, 2024. To avoid a long post, with multiple messages back and forth over the following months it literally just got delivered Yesterday! First it was one excuse, and then another, never seeing pictures or proof of updates. Seems like his local customers and buddies got priority over me, even though I had told him I could keep him busy with wheels for years between all my projects and the folks here in the club.

Finally after sending a very serious and consequential message back in December, it seems I got through to him. Even then, after I got pics of the wheel and set him the 2nd payment it took another week of silence and unanswered messages to get the package shipped...

So anyways, here's pics of the wheel in comparison to a Quality Restoration's product on the Left that was done probably 20years ago. Notable issues are porosity bubbles on the outsides of the grips, a few discolorations in the tan (I think from debris or cure issues), the edging between the Tan and Clear isn't crisp and clean like you see on the wheel from Dennis.

I had him add the Flake since this wheel is going in a non-correct 300F anyways, but clarity of the resin seems fine, and chrome is good.

Here's a Google Photo Album with all the pics: [ https://photos.app.goo.gl/ygTShbRSbnW3SLYb8 | https://photos.app.goo.gl/ygTShbRSbnW3SLYb8 ]

Ultimately, I could've had Dennis redo it for like $500 more and it would've been done in 4-6months and would've been a better quality result, so a frustrating but I think worthwhile experiment. I cannot recommend Kris because communication is key and he failed me too many times, and the cost savings are minimal in the grand scheme of things.

~Peter Scherer

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