Steering wheel

[mpothuizen]

Hi everyone,
Back with another question:
My steering wheel is pretty messed up (cracked even) - i want to replace it since i want the car to be in exellent condition.

Does anybody know where i can find a vintage steering wheel -model Deluxe 88.89.TORO. early seventies (1972 to be exact) -preferably in the colour green(ish).

The only good option i found so far is 'Gary's steering wheel restoration' -but that'll mean i will dearly miss the wheel for 3 months (with the possibility of loosing it, sending it back and forth across the Atlantic)

Anybody any suggestions???
Thx
Martijn -the Netherlands

[oldssragtop]

I replaced mine in july just watch e-bay for the right one becareful when you replace yours .on mine 69 cutlass one screw is hidden save all old parts to reuse. tim

[markowyo]

I redid one, as a novice, and it was actually pretty straightforward, and fun. Easton sells a kit of good epoxy for steering wheels. After carefully cleaning out the cracks and cavities with small files and picks, you paste the epoxy in there, let it cure awhile, and then sand and file it down. After that, clean well with grease/wax remover, Bulldog it, paint with a lacquer or polyurethane paint, then clear coat it. I gave mine plenty of coats and curing time, and lightly Scotchpad-sanded and tack-clothed between each coat. It looks nearly good as new.

Good luck, hope this helps.

[Olds64]

I definitely think repairing a steering wheel is the way to go. Oldsguy repaired a steering wheel in his 69 Delta 88 and it turned out pretty good. Of course, if you are rebuilding a car to be a show winner then you might want to send it to a professional.

[occupant]

I have seen one here and there on eBay. Hard to find them in green for my car, at least for less than $80-$120. I'm hoping to spend $10-$20 for one and it doesn't have to be from a Delta 88/98 Regency. Last one I tried bidding on was from a 1972 Cutlass and I think was too dark of green but I got outbid. Still looking myself and I can help look for you as well as I intend to visit many junkyards here in Texas looking for that and many other interior bits. Let me know color, style, pic if you have one, I'll see what I can find.

There's one NICE white '71 98 coupe in a junkyard that has a medium brown wheel in nearly new condition, the whole interior is nice except for the seats being gone, in fact if the seats were in it and the wheels back on, it'd probably be a show car with one weekend of detailing. No idea why it's in there except for maybe an AirCheck trade-in. Some people make me sick.

[markowyo]

I restored my own and it was pretty easy, and came out great. Easton sells a kit of epoxy and surface prep, and an instruction book (which was for really wasted wheels, didn't do me much good). Some small tools (like dentist picks) help with cleaning out the cracks so you get good adhesion. The epoxy works nicely and sands easily. There are numerous preps, paints and clear coats to finish. It's not hard, and you'll be proud you did, and pleased to have saved the $$.

Please let me know if you need any specifics.

[67CSragtop]

Originally Posted by markowyo

I restored my own and it was pretty easy, and came out great. Easton sells a kit of epoxy and surface prep, and an instruction book (which was for really wasted wheels, didn't do me much good). Some small tools (like dentist picks) help with cleaning out the cracks so you get good adhesion. The epoxy works nicely and sands easily. There are numerous preps, paints and clear coats to finish. It's not hard, and you'll be proud you did, and pleased to have saved the $$.

Please let me know if you need any specifics.

Where did you buy the Easton restoration kit? Did it take along time and how much was the kit?

[Oldsguy]

I think he meant EastWOOD. here is a link to that product.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...g_wheel_repair

[markowyo]

Sorry, yes I meant Eastwood ...

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...8&iSubCat=1499

http://eastwood.resultspage.com/sear...steering+wheel

I didn't find the book to be of much use. What I would stress is that proper preparation is the key, the epoxy and sanding part is pretty straightforward. I had some small files and dentist picks that allowed me to open up the cracks all the way to the core, and that gave me real good bonding. As for the grease remover and etch that they sell, it worked well, but about the same as the grease remover and Bulldog I've used on other plastic parts. If I had it to do all over again, I'd just get the epoxy.

I used SEM paint and clear coat. I put on quite a few lighter coats and gave it plenty of curing time in betewen cause I figure a steering wheel's going to see lots of rubbing, so I wanted plenty of material on the wheel. It came out remarkably well.

Good luck!