Rebuilding Steering Wheel

[Geoff Dowdle]

Ash,
I probably warned you about at least two BOCA members who had problems with
Pearlcraft in Australia.
Patching a cracked wheel rim can only be a temporary fix .
To do the job properly all the original plastic material needs removing and
the rim replaced with stainless steel or bead blasted &plated .
The cracking of the plastic is sometimes caused by the original steel rim
rusting & expanding .

For a 400 type rim I suggest one buys a new wheel , if available ,which can
be attached to a original hub ,the three spokes are usually pitted under the
chrome.
The new wheel should outlast all the individual members of this Forum.

About 20 years ago a member of the BOCA here in Sydney rebuilt his own 401
steering wheel . Completely removed all the plastic rim , made a rough mould
out of three pieces of plywood or
cheap compressed board , suspended the rim in the centre of the mould then
poured the mould full or Araldite two pack glue .
Once hard smashed the mould and hand filed the rim , finishing with various
grades of sand paper , then painted with a good quality two pack paint.
The 401 went to UK some years later so I cannot comment on how well it has
lasted , but it was a very inexpensive option just taking some time, it
certainly looked perfect.

Geoff