Teak Or Walnut

[Todd L.]

What wood was used in a 74', Teak or Walnut?

Thanks

Todd

[Patrick H.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

What wood was used in a 74', Teak or Walnut?

Thanks

Todd

Todd,

For what part?
Steering wheel? Door and dash trim?

Steering wheel is "neither."

Dash and door trim is not teak. I suspect it's another hardwood; walnut may be a reasonable guess.

Patrick

[Todd L.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

The wood is for the doors and the shift console. I have the deluxe interior, all the part catalogs have teak and walnut listed but they do not specify a date.

Todd

[Patrick H.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

The wood is for the doors and the shift console. I have the deluxe interior, all the part catalogs have teak and walnut listed but they do not specify a date.

Todd

Todd,

Corvette Central only shows walnut, but Zip and Doc Rebuild (can I put them in the same sentence? ) both show teak as 1976 only.

Also, I do not believe that any of the replacement wood pieces currently available (unless they've changed very recently) are anything like your originals. If you have originals in reasonable condition you are better off restoring them than replacing them. Most replacements are esentially "wood looking shelf paper" stuck on a metal backing, not real wood.

Patrick

[Todd L.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Unfortunately the wood is missing from the door plates, if you know a way to restore the wood on the shift console, I am all ears.


Todd

[Wayne W.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Todd,

Zip and Doc Rebuild (can I put them in the same sentence? )Patrick

Only if you dont use illustrations.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Unfortunately the wood is missing from the door plates, if you know a way to restore the wood on the shift console, I am all ears.


Todd

You can remove it very, very carefully and then refinish it. If you're nervous, find someone in your area who refinishes wood and let them do it - it won't be expensive.

If you do wood, I know people who have used a thin veneer to reproduce wood trim in Corvettes.

Patrick

[Todd L.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Thanks, it's looking like the wood is walnut.

Todd

[Reba W.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

The 1970-72 JG describes original woodgrain and also the problem with the repros. I believe the later cars were the same.

[Kenneth T.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

I have a '71 with dark saddle, walnut trim. The '70 thru '72 cars I have seen have similar wood trim on the panels, not exact as they are real wood. I have seen later cars with a much lighter wood trim that does not have the grain and color of the earlier cars. Look online at wood veneers
and you will see the difference between the walnut and teak. I am posting a picture of a walnut trim piece. I don't have a teak one for comparison.

You can buy thin wood veneer and choose the grain and color and cut them out to fit your panels. The formica repros are...well, not.

Ken

[Dick W.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Once upon a time, there was a member that had access to a cnc laser that was going to make some panels. I do not remember who he was or have not heard anything further

[Kenneth T.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Once upon a time, there was a member that had access to a cnc laser that was going to make some panels. I do not remember who he was or have not heard anything further

Dick,

When I can get away from business; I have a template I made and will try to cut out the veneer with a router and sharp bit. I will let you know of my progress.

[Dick W.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

That is gonna be a trip! I bet the original veneer is not over 1/32" thick. Lotsa luck.

[Mike M.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

Dickie, right on. The wood may be less than 1/32" thick.
The real problem is that the wood is actually glued to a simarlarly thin piece if aluminum (If I remember, or some kind of metal). Trying to get that off of the door or separated from the metal or re-straightend to lie flat on the door panel is nearly impossible.
On one car I was lucky, the piece just fell off. I refinished and reapplied.
The second one was so mangled that I started with new material. I found a machine shop that had enough of a piece of scrap aluminum for the base and a woodworking friend with a left over piece of walnut veneer, I used the original as a pattern to trace the metal and cut the wood with an X-acto knife, touched up the radii with sandpaper, finished and re-applied.
Good Luck
Roll up your sleeves and HaND

[Dick W.]

Re: Teak Or Walnut

For the enterprising member out there, I found this veneer at Wood Workers Supply. It is 5 mil thick. http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPR...3&LARGEVIEW=ON