Schmiddy

Very nice 65 GS!!! Lookin' forward to see for how much it leaves the carpet! ??

And here is the direct link to it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/332816868308 Looks damn cool (would like to find one for '65) ??

Wow Winson, this steering wheel looks awesome!!! Never thought it would turn out that nice... Price is very fair. Congrats on that little gem! ?? Now replating the horn cap as soon as Advanced Plating could rebuild their shop...

Hey Rupe, black & white... The perfect combi! By the way, tell your wife that she has a very good taste! ?? These charcoal veneers fits surely quite good to the black interior!

Sad to hear that Winston... on the other hand, cool that you still have your rare horn cap!!! In my eyes it is also very fair from you to wait until they have rebuilt their shop and that you still want to let it plate form them! ?...Shit happens some times...

In french we say: "Quand on aime, on ne compte pas!", what means: "When we love, we do not count!" ...I'ts all about passion!!! If you are able and willing to give some huge efforts and spend a lot of money for perfect quality & finish on everything you're doing on your car - just do that, man! The feeling you will have to drive you car when work is done, will never be comparable to any other car you gonna drive! (...somehow like becoming a father and raising your children and be proud of them, so you are not afraid to pay! ??) Please, send us pictures as soon as your steering wheel is done! I'm looking forward to see it, Winston! ??

Ah, if you're looking for that kind of finish, then its alright! I thought first, you wanted to have the same look as the original GS wheel, but with the color fitting you your wood applications. ? Please, show us some pics when its done, I'm very curious about the new look this wheel will have! Good luck with it!!! ??

By the way... Have you seen that one? Fair price, mostly complete GS steering wheels without cracks are much over 1000$ https://clinton-ma.showmethead.com/car-parts/950-64-65-66-buick-riviera-walnut-wood-steering-wheel-hub-horn-bar-cap_19221151.html

Hi Wiston Wow, the wood looks great (I attached the file below so that others can see it immediately ?)! Will the wood be coated the same way as the steering wheel of the Mercedes or will you leave the wood more natural? (...the way it is presented, it looks very shiny, right?) And will they keep the metal ring on the outer border of your old steering wheel? If at Craft Customs they are able to rebuild the GS steering wheel exactly the way it looks originally, dear, this is going to be awesome! Whoohooo!!!! ??

Yep, that' right Mike... there is nothing else to do against these fractures... they are very, very thin but quite deep in the coat why it gives this "ghost diamond" effect when you look from the side... I've the same problem with the emblem between the rear seats. But with polishing you get a very shiny surface - at least that! ?

I'm really looking forward to see some pics of how it came out, Winston! ??

Winston, I had the same problems as you with the emblems (steering wheel and the back emblem of the grill between the back seats...). These cracks are mostly superficial and with some elbow grease and the right polish, that's easy to do ... too for the lens of the gauges I have used the same procedure, they all looks like new again! Also the emblems of the hubcaps can be polished with the same polish, all these parts looks like new again - very satisfying! ?

You're absolutely right Winston, as much cracked as this 57 Studebaker, I would try to find an other one. The vid was meant do inspire Rivnik to repair its own... I don't think his steering wheel is that cracked as on the last vid... I mentioned the clear coat 'cos of the embedded metal strip... The clear coat would seal the inserted metal ring, in case such a ring would ever be inserted. If the furrow will be filled up without this strip, a clear coat makes no sense. Without the strip, I would do it as Pete suggests - with a rig to hold the steering wheel while working on it.

Hey Drew The vid Ed sent shows pretty well how to proceed on these cracks... I haven't seen a better way by now. Here a guy who is restoring the black steering wheel of his 57 Studebaker. For the embedded metal strip, I could well imagine to proceed like on this vid (watch from 6:47). Then after the wheel is lacked in black, I would fill up the furrow with a steel wire. Make sure that no bending occurs when inserting the wire. I would have the two ends of the wire together in the lower middle. Some of the wire should stick out so it can be ground down a bit until it looks flat. Carefully blow out all the dust and then paint everything with an epoxy clearcoat. Evetually apply 2 - 3 coats. This is the way I would do it and would come the closest to the original look. I also would take an epoxy clearcoat that it UV resistant (some are getting yellow and matt with the time and solar radiation). Good luck! ???

Hi Winston, As a purist, I like original parts far better than bespoke solutions ... But this time I have to admit that the idea of putting a hubcap into the horncap is the best alternative solution I've seen so far - and looks absolutely gorgeous! Congrats Winston, pioneering work at its finest! ??

Keith, I have exactly the same problem... Couldn't solve it by now. Only with with 2 of these "ears", my wheel cap seams to stay at its place not too bad (why I didn't had to solve this issue that quick). Of course 3 would be better... If anyone has a good idea how to solve this problem, I would be very happy too! ?

...and I thought we could have a couple of beers together... ?? That sounds great Winston, you must send us pictures from your brand new steering wheel! To rechrome my own horn cap will be an option as soon as I start to rechrome all the other parts like bumpers, trims etc. Let us know how it turn out!

Hey Winston, Hahaha! ?? Klick on the Logo Riviera65 in my signature and got to "get in touch"... there you will find my address. I bet, it will be a bit cheaper if you steal one in the states (with the costs for a flight to Switzerland and back, you could buy 2 complete steering wheels with hornbar and cap! ? ...but in any case you come over one day or an other, it would be nice to be my guest! (Say when so that I can hide my horn cap first! ?? ?)

Hey Hans If there is a reason, I don't know it. This part is a very rare one and, as I know, a lot of Riv owners are searching for such a good piece. Seems that it is not that easy to restore, replate or reproduce them... As I said, Rick Rawls was the man who was able to reproduce these caps in the required quality. He is also the man for reproduced horn bars (I got one from him, they are outstanding!!!). If he says, it is complicated to reproduce these horn caps (or find anyone who is able to do so), then it probably is... If you hear about anybody who is able to do it in a good quality, please let us all know!!! Thanks!

Thank you for that nice feedback Winston, I do very appreciate! ?? Well, the original GS steering wheel is not made in wood - some kind of robust plastic who looks like wood. If you have original wood on your door panels and center console that looks lighter than the plastic of the GS steering wheel, I agree that it will not fit that well... I made it the other way round. I took a wood for my panels and center console that looks as similar as the plastic of the GS steering wheel, and then oiled the woods of my panels shade by shade until I had them all in the same color as the wheel. Sound like a lot of work, but it wasn't. Took me 2 or 3 hours to hit the right color! Your situation is exactly the other way round... You want the wheel matching the color of the panels wich is a different approach and needs to rebuild the steering wheel completely in the same wood you used for the panels and center console.... A wood rebuild will probably generate a lot more expenses than repainting the "wooden" parts of the steering wheel and then have a epoxy coat as finish. There are some very talented airbrushers in your country who could do that very professionally - your steering wheel would exactly look like the wood on your panels... But you are a purist, Winston - just like I am - so you will choose the harder and lasting way to do it in veritable wood! ? Yes, please send us then some picts when its done! ?Looking forward to it! (in my humble opinion, the steering wheel you have in your gorgeous 65 fits absolutely well, doesn't it? Hahaha, if we where neighbors Winston, no need to swipe my horn cap in the middle of the night - you would come over for a couple of beers, speaking about cars the whole night, and we we could share that horn cap until you find yours! ??? Have a great start of the week, we stay tuned! By the way, I got my Riview last friday and I read your article... oh my gosh, what a car, and what a great story!!! That 65 looks soooo damn good! I bet, you and Cindy have a lot of fun every time you drive it out! Enjoy that car and keep it as long as you can! So I will do it with mine ?

Hey Ed This is right, Rick used do do some very nice replicas of the horn cap and I wanted one of these for myself. However, how I understood his situation, he is not able to produce them. What he wrote in his email at that time (that was April 2017): "Unfortunately I don’t see the production of horn caps happening anytime in the near future." I don't know ir that changed since...

And here is the link to that episode of the Corvair: (unfortunately not the full episode).

Very interesting, thank you Jan! Amazing the tooling they built to reproduce these interior parts!

Absolutely agree with Pat... never will be the same without Ed!

This is how I did it too... My 65 have now a very nice GS wooden steering wheel I put together from 2 other ones. Only for the horn cap, I had to buy a whole steering wheel! The cap was in mint condition but the steering wheel was brocken at several places (the guy didn't wanted to sell separately). The other wheel I bought was in top condition, but had no horn cap nor horn bars. These caps are pretty rare to find! ?). I hope you will have a bit more luck than I had! ?? The horn bar I got from Rick Rawls who are very nice and robust (and not so expensive like the one on ebay the other day! ?)