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Steering wheel restoration Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [50 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
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57Groucho |
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Veteran Posts: 127 Location: Minneapolis | How far gone can a steering wheel be before it's beyond restoring? I have one for my '57 Flite that's basically just the steel above the molded grips at the half way point. Just wondering if I should buy another less cracked up steering wheel or save my money and put it toward the restoration of the one I have. As always, thanks for the help and guidance in my restoration. -Dan | ||
Powerflite |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 9664 Location: So. Cal | There are 2 approaches to steering wheel restoration. Fill and fix what you have or re-mold it with new material. For remolding, you can make it work for any condition wheel as long as the metal is sound. For fixing what you have, the worse condition it is, the more work it will require to make it work well. But with patience and careful sanding, you can make it work. I recommend using fiberglass-filled bondo, called Duraglass. It is less likely to re-crack and is much stronger than regular bondo. You can apply a thin layer of bondo on the top of it if your texture ends up being a little rough. Of course, re-molding will look better in the end, but is quite expensive. Here is a thread on how I fixed my wheel. http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=48804&... | ||
57Groucho |
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Veteran Posts: 127 Location: Minneapolis | Thank you sir. | ||
Mike McCandless |
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Expert Posts: 1886 | http://www.stwheelz.com/ He has done 5 steering wheels for me and all of them have been perfect. I sent some NASTY stuff to him and it came back amazing. Tell him I sent you, you won't be disappointed | ||
57Groucho |
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Veteran Posts: 127 Location: Minneapolis | Right on, I'll check it out? How much did you pay to get your nasty did fixed up? If you don't mind me asking. | ||
Mike McCandless |
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Expert Posts: 1886 | Each steering wheel is so different. I can say that I haven't seen a big difference in cost regardless of the condition I sent. Take some pictures and shoot them to him. His name is Doug. | ||
57Groucho |
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Veteran Posts: 127 Location: Minneapolis | Will do, thanks | ||
d500neil |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil! Posts: 19146 Location: bishop, ca | One thing (the most important thing, really) about steering wheel repairs and restorations: The steering wheel's condition will be the FIRST thing that you will experience when you get into your ride....and, it will, immediately, present itself as being representative of your attention to restoration detail (if done poorly). It may not be 'fair' (what is?), but an amateurly restored wheel is obvious, to an observer, and a major turn-off, on a multi-buk 'restoration'. (WA0614-185501_4.jpg) Attachments ---------------- WA0614-185501_4.jpg (72KB - 81 downloads) | ||
Adventurer 60 |
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Elite Veteran Posts: 827 Location: tailFinland | d500neil - 2015-04-16 11:52 PM One thing (the most important thing, really) about steering wheel repairs and restorations: The steering wheel's condition will be the FIRST thing that you will experience when you get into your ride....and, it will, immediately, present itself as being representative of your attention to restoration detail (if done poorly). It may not be 'fair' (what is?), but an amateurly restored wheel is obvious, to an observer, and a major turn-off, on a multi-buk 'restoration'. I totally agree that. This 1961 Chrysler steering wheel was beyond DIY restoration (they all are if clear plastic is cracked) this one was totally gone. There were nothing left of the clear sections, gray plastic was cracked badly, frame was rusted. I gave it to professional steering wheel restorer. It was chromed and recasted. Result is really awsome! sure it was pricey but to me it is worth all that money. This is how the restored steering wheel should look like. It invites you to touch it. (ratt.jpg) Attachments ---------------- ratt.jpg (213KB - 81 downloads) | ||
57Groucho |
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Veteran Posts: 127 Location: Minneapolis | That's a very good point you bring up Neil and Adventurer60. My plan really was always to have it professionally restored, I was just wondering if it would be worth it to buy another wheel that is in better condition as a starting point for the restorer. It sounds like it's not going to matter much so I'll save that money and put it toward the restoration. Now- do you guys have any recommendations on where I should take it? I'll definitely check with Doug/Stwheelz, thanks for the suggestion Mike, I just want to do my homework. By the way, those wheels came out beautifully Neil and Adventurer60! Edited by 57Groucho 2015-04-17 9:03 AM | ||
ToMopar |
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Elite Veteran Posts: 1158 Location: D-70199 Heslach | Hey Jari and Neil, Has DIY restoration any webside ? | ||
ToMopar |
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Elite Veteran Posts: 1158 Location: D-70199 Heslach | By the way, here is an report of how to restore by Doug (http://www.stwheelz.com) http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/interior-electrical/1407-restoring-fac... | ||
stwheels |
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Member Posts: 6 Location: Edmonton/Alberta/Canada | Hi everyone! Thanks for the plug Mike, I've had a blast working with you on the wheels for your awesome cars. | ||
springsweptwing |
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Elite Veteran Posts: 1141 Location: Blackpool, United Kingdom. | would a original wheel be uniform in color, as mine looks to have a marble effect to it? | ||
stwheels |
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Member Posts: 6 Location: Edmonton/Alberta/Canada | springsweptwing - 2015-04-25 6:43 AM would a original wheel be uniform in color, as mine looks to have a marble effect to it? Yes some wheels have a marbled look to them and that can be duplicated ... can you post a close-up shot of your wheel? | ||
d500neil |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil! Posts: 19146 Location: bishop, ca | Paul, this is not a Regal Lancer steering wheel, but it is a surviving 57-58 Dodge wheel, that I've had for around 30 years, now. The horn ring completely covers the middle area of the steering wheel. Pretty, huh? That round feature, on its rear-perimeter, is the wheel's casting-fill mark. Compare the appearance of this OEM wheel, with the blue-painted wheel, above. Edited by d500neil 2015-04-25 7:45 PM (PICT4197.JPG) (PICT4198.JPG) (PICT4201.JPG) (PICT4202.JPG) (PICT4210.JPG) (PICT4211.JPG) (PICT4215.JPG) (PICT4216.JPG) (PICT4217.JPG) Attachments ---------------- PICT4197.JPG (163KB - 83 downloads) PICT4198.JPG (155KB - 80 downloads) PICT4201.JPG (145KB - 84 downloads) PICT4202.JPG (152KB - 84 downloads) PICT4210.JPG (161KB - 91 downloads) PICT4211.JPG (149KB - 92 downloads) PICT4215.JPG (163KB - 87 downloads) PICT4216.JPG (160KB - 86 downloads) PICT4217.JPG (148KB - 76 downloads) | ||
springsweptwing |
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Elite Veteran Posts: 1141 Location: Blackpool, United Kingdom. | You can see the marble effect here (wheel2.JPG) (wheel3.JPG) (wheel5.JPG) Attachments ---------------- wheel2.JPG (48KB - 84 downloads) wheel3.JPG (61KB - 81 downloads) wheel5.JPG (46KB - 86 downloads) | ||
LD3 Greg |
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Expert Posts: 1906 Location: Ontario, Canada | Hi Paul, You have captured my interest. Normally, I wouldn't give a hoot about a steering wheel. Any pics of my car would demonstrate that. My original plastic wheel was toast and I probably just tossed it in the scrap bucket. I'm sure I just grabbed a scrap solid cheap series wheel off my shelf and spray can painted half copper and the other half black!!! No big deal. I couldn't have cared less!! But, if you have enough pics of a correct Regal wheel to detail it so that this guy in Edmonton can make a CORRECT one for me, I'll probably go for it. Maybe we can get a deal on two at once! Like I said, I'm interested! Greg | ||
d500neil |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil! Posts: 19146 Location: bishop, ca | Paul/Greg; if you are able to consumate an agreement to re-pop Regal Lancer steering wheels (with a multi- piece wholesale discount involved, between you two)....there ought to be a profitable market for the creation of at least several of them. Correctly created steering wheels do not go down in value, and : "available for immediate delivery" is a major sales incentive, on almost anything! Edited by d500neil 2015-04-26 1:31 PM | ||
ttotired |
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Expert 5K+ Posts: 8443 Location: Perth Australia | I thought the aero wheels were expencive (they are), but check this one out for $3000(not fl, but its on topic) http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-Oldsmobile-Steering-wheel-clock-restor... ($_57.JPG) Attachments ---------------- $_57.JPG (49KB - 81 downloads) | ||
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