Matt Harwood Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Would any of you gentlemen be able to determine by looking whether the wheel in my '63 Riv is splined? I have a replacement wheel, but the guy selling it says it's only for splined columns and I don't much want to take it apart to see. Are they all splined or was there a changeover at some point? Here's the wheel in the car now. Any idea? Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 The wheel on my 63 is splined. Same type, different color. Worst case, its about a 10 minute job to pull it off using a steering wheel puller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slosteve Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 6 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: Here's the wheel in the car now. Any idea? Thanks! Absolutely outrageous photos! Top Notch. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren@65GS.com Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 10 hours ago, Zimm63 said: The wheel on my 63 is splined. Same type, different color. Worst case, its about a 10 minute job to pull it off using a steering wheel puller. I think you only need to remove the horn bar completely and the nut that holds the steering wheel on. The you are looking at the splines. No need to remove the steering wheel from the shaft. Just hoping to add some clarification. Loren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Thanks for the information. I'm going to get the replacement wheel. It should be nicer than the one on the car now and it sounds like changing it is no big deal. The interior is so nice, the wheel really stands out and more than one person has asked if it's the wrong color. No, just old and deteriorated--I'm sure it used to be silver or gray. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 If you have never changed a wheel before.......... Start with the steering wheel straight (like you are driving down the road) When you get the horn off so you can see the shaft and nut.......look for an alignment notch...the steering wheel will have a mark and the end of the shaft will have a mark. By aligning those two marks, the new wheel should be straight as you drive down the road.....if it is not, remove the nut and move the steering wheel one or more splines to get it straight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 To do the removal properly & avoid damaging anything use a steering wheel puller. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 You can also have your original wheel refurbished to match the beautiful interior of your car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 42 minutes ago, 68RIVGS said: You can also have your original wheel refurbished to match the beautiful interior of your car? Who is recommended for steering wheel reconditioning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 6 minutes ago, NC68Riviera said: Who is recommended for steering wheel reconditioning? I would think that could be a DIY project. Unless you have a real wood wheel or a rim blow wheel. There are videos on YouTube that show different techniques. Eastwood sells a kit for refurbishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC1968Riviera Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 30 minutes ago, RivNut said: I would think that could be a DIY project. Unless you have a real wood wheel or a rim blow wheel. There are videos on YouTube that show different techniques. Eastwood sells a kit for refurbishing. My original steering wheel is severely split and cracked around the hub. This is not a refurbishment job I want to tackle myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, NC68Riviera said: Who is recommended for steering wheel reconditioning? I have a friend that used Quality Restorations, Inc. in San Diego CA. He was very happy with their work. It is pricey but, They recast your wheel to the color you want. From what I have heard this is the only way to solve the cracking for good. If I ever get my wheel done this is the route I will go. You can repair/get it repaired but, the cracks will come back. He has a nice website that shows examples of his work. Here is an excerpt from his website. Bill The Process: I remove all the old plastic, bead blast the frame and paint it in the original color as the plastic. Through my proprietary process, I cast on a specially formulated thermoset UV stable proprietary plastic in the original configuration without loss of the original detail. The plastic does not shrink, crack, turn yellow or change colors. The steering wheel frame is placed into the appropriate mold. The clear liquid plastic is tinted to the desired color and added to the mold. Upon completion of the curing process, the plastic is heat treated, sanded and polished. The color is uniform throughout the plastic and the finished product is polished plastic, not a painted wheel. The molded plastic is one complete casting, there are no joints. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, NC68Riviera said: My original steering wheel is severely split and cracked around the hub. This is not a refurbishment job I want to tackle myself. Take a look at a couple of videos on YouTube that deal with steering wheel repair using KBS Coatings. The tech repairs a hub which has a big chunk out of it. If you need to replace the one you have, you have nothing to lose by giving a try at repairing it. The only thing not covered is repainting. That process is covered at the end of a similar video by Tony the Tool Dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 4 hours ago, NC68Riviera said: Who is recommended for steering wheel reconditioning? . . . It was so long ago I don't even remember the name Mike, but I think he was from Florida. He was at Fall Carlisle, PA and had a display trailer set up, so I left my best steering wheel with him and picked it up the following spring. It cost about a $100 US greenbacks way back then, and has stood the test of time as it still looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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