Steering wheel

Moderators: 330GT, abrent

Post Reply
Wrigs2019
Posts: 52
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:45 pm

Steering wheel

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Just took delivery on my car on Friday and am easing into the restoration with some small projects. My first goal is to restore the steering wheel. I’ve discover a split in the wood along the top third of the wheel that has been exposed to the sun. It’s a sizable crack maybe 2mm. I was thinking about just filling it with epoxy and sanding it. I’ve read about steaming the wood clamping it to get the wood to come back together. Anybody have any experience with this or suggestions?
66 330 GT 2+2 #9153
enio45
Posts: 826
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2003 6:56 pm
Location: Gilbert, AZ

Re: Steering wheel

Post by enio45 »

no experience doing repairs but i have a guy that we use for yrs that does amazing work at very reasonable prices.....if interested in going that route, let me know.

My ellena wheel had some major cracks in the wood and he redid it 4 yrs ago and it still looks like new.
Ed Montini
330 GT 2+2 Series II - 8289
58 Ellena - 0855GT - orig drivetrain
87 El Camino SS
Melchior
Posts: 149
Joined: Thu May 03, 2018 11:44 am

Re: Steering wheel

Post by Melchior »

I have sent my steering wheel to NARDi - they restored it perfectly for about Euro 850,-
The contact person is Ms. Carla Moiana, the contact data is:

Nardi Personal
Via Vittorio Veneto 85
Tradate 21049
VA, Italy
Tel: +39 0331 811118

Believe me it is worth both, the effort of sending and the money - no way that someone without the experience and handcraft like the workers from Nardi can do that in this perfect quality. I also learned that the early steering wheels have the black stripe made of an inlayed vinyl whereas the later models were painted a black stripe - big difference how to treat this when restoring.

I was so overwhelmed that I sent the factory fitted oroginal steering wheel of my Austin Healy also to Nardi - same result, perfect restoration.

Good luck and best regards, Martin
250 GTE #3631 (series Ii)
Melchior
Posts: 149
Joined: Thu May 03, 2018 11:44 am

Re: Steering wheel

Post by Melchior »

Here are the pics - the picture where the wheel is fixed to my GTE is the ‚before‘ - note the vinyl stripe in the left corner down
Attachments
9ADF2AAD-ABE0-4E55-842A-8F37A8BEDADC.jpeg
B881581E-8FF3-4281-B12A-B380ECD562CE.png
AE5C8223-9692-4EDE-8097-8BB3F193D2F7.png
62952A0C-83FD-4D69-A08C-8A6E8E070BF1.png
E7E029E5-54FD-4BBD-B6DB-539215DD19D1.png
250 GTE #3631 (series Ii)
Wrigs2019
Posts: 52
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:45 pm

Re: Steering wheel

Post by Wrigs2019 »

So I ended up using slow set epoxy that I got at Walmart for 10 bucks. I injected the epoxy into the crack using a blunt needle and 10cc syringe I liberated from the hospital. After the epoxy set, I used a razor to scrape off the excess epoxy before sanding. Stained the wood and used a spray on polyurethane to finish. Final result was a perfectly imperfect steering wheel. :lol:
Attachments
496C784E-F89F-4979-B84E-F3B5F1F0DD63.jpeg
66 330 GT 2+2 #9153
Wrigs2019
Posts: 52
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:45 pm

Re: Steering wheel

Post by Wrigs2019 »

B5BB1A08-A4D9-480F-B682-CB79DD21D388.jpeg
66 330 GT 2+2 #9153
User avatar
tyang
Posts: 4060
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: New York
Contact:

Re: Steering wheel

Post by tyang »

Hi Clint,

Good job!

Wait until you put your son to work polishing those wire wheels. Those little fingers come in handy!

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
Post Reply