Deadpurpledog Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 Seeking blue 67 Riviera original steering wheel in excellent condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 I hate to see a post go unanswered so I did a quick search. That is truly a rare item. On the net there is what appears to be a complete wheel (with no price listed) from Borthauto, & on Ebay a restored (but not painted) wheel with no hornbar or hardware from partshouseclearance. That one is a little pricy(or maybe not) at $1700+. there are more out there somewhere. anyhoo, good luck. Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpurpledog Posted November 20 Author Share Posted November 20 Thanks RIVNIK. I am always amazed with the collegiality demonstrated on this site. There must be thousands of blue steering wheels sitting in rusting cars somewhere, don’t you think? Don’t have much experience with this. Do you know if there is a junk yard association listing that might help with contacting them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 (edited) If you find one in a parts car it most likely will be in very poor condition. Steering wheels that survived father time are in garage kept pampered cars in which the owner isn't going to part. Always a chance a used parts supplier might obtain one through a big lot parts cleanout or someone that removed one to install an aftermarket wheel decades ago and have it sitting on shelf but extremely rare to find. Even most common color "black" in nice shape are difficult to find. Blue is going to be a challenge due to very limited number of blue interiors. Can yours be repaired? There are places that specialize in steering wheel restoration. Edited November 20 by JZRIV (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 If the cracks are hairline with no chunks missing I suggest fixing the one you have. It's virtually impossible to find one without at least couple of hairline cracks. My black wheel has a couple of cracks in the usual locations, but they are only noticeable up close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpurpledog Posted November 21 Author Share Posted November 21 Thanks! Mine has a couple of hairline cracks with significant cracks under the steering wheel(hub). Not visible unless you look and sounds as though there aren’t any easy fixes. Please contact me if you know of someone who can repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted November 21 Share Posted November 21 Greetings DP-dog! I repaired several major cracks in my '65 wheel & it not only turned out like new but was actually pretty easy. The wheel should be easy to remove especially if you have a body shop manual to refer to. (Pay close attention to the placement of the hardware so you can reinstall it properly). Basically you need to clean up the cracks with a small file or Dremel tool & then fill them in with some type of epoxy product. I used JBWeld on the recommendation of a forum member & it worked like a charm. Fill those cracks, file & sand them down, prime it so you can inspect your work, sand some more, then take it to a local body shop & have them lacquer it the proper color. Hopefully your wheel will will have enough of the original color for them to make a close match,or you may need to provide them with an object of the desired color (or possibly a photo of a door panel). Bear in mind the epoxy will not work well on hairline or tiny cracks. They must be widened to aprox. a file-width to accept the epoxy for a proper bond. You should also take into consideration the condition of you existing horn bar & hardware as they will also be hard to find if needed. If you are moderately handy this will be an easy job, if not time-consuming, & you will should proud to have saved major$$$. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpurpledog Posted November 23 Author Share Posted November 23 You always offer such practical, meaningful & complete suggestions, RIVNIK. I’ve reconsidered. Mine has a couple hairline cracks which are barely visible and a larger crack on the “hub” which is not visible to driver. Otherwise, looks like new. Now understanding how hard they are to find or fix, will be standing pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted November 24 Share Posted November 24 Couple more things...It's practically impossible to get hairline cracks to accept filler, hence the need to widen them. & my body guy recommended lacquer as it stands up well to damage, say from your Super Bowl ring, Rolex watchband, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasander Posted November 24 Share Posted November 24 I’m thinking I will try a repair with SEM Dual-Mix™ Multi-Plastic Repair Material (part# 39847) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 24 Share Posted November 24 4 hours ago, Chasander said: I’m thinking I will try a repair with SEM Dual-Mix™ Multi-Plastic Repair Material (part# 39847) Prep has to be your number 1 consideration. Open the cracks with a Dremel tool. Apply some plastic adhesion promoter, fill, sand, and top coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpurpledog Posted November 24 Author Share Posted November 24 At thoughts. Think I’ll leave wheel alone and tackle larger crack on the hub. Even if it ends up being a slightly different color it’ll be difficult to compare with wheel in the way. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted November 25 Share Posted November 25 another important tip: don't use your wheel to lower yourself into or pull yourself out of the drivers seat. those hairline cracks will be open cracks before long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 25 Share Posted November 25 I keep thinking that a fitted leather cover would look nice on the wheel rim of my '67, but that skinny plastic rim just feels so "1960s" that I can't bring myself to do it... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpurpledog Posted November 25 Author Share Posted November 25 I’m sure it would feel better. . .perhaps more modern. Would that help protect it from further deterioration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 25 Share Posted November 25 If you restore it correctly, you won’t have to worry about deterioration as long as you have the car. I imagine cracks are more a product of heat and cooling expansion and contraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 25 Share Posted November 25 1 hour ago, Deadpurpledog said: I’m sure it would feel better. . .perhaps more modern. Yes, but that's precisely why I will probably never do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted November 26 Share Posted November 26 A few years ago, after an extensive search, I was unable to find a lace-on leather cover that would fit the skinny wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted Saturday at 12:17 AM Share Posted Saturday at 12:17 AM (edited) On 11/25/2023 at 3:27 PM, RivNut said: If you restore it correctly, you won’t have to worry about deterioration as long as you have the car. I imagine cracks are more a product of heat and cooling expansion and contraction. I had my wheel professionally restored last year. He was very thorough and even used "rebar" for lack of a better term to span wide cracks before filling to keep them from expanding further. He told me the worst enemy for a steering wheel restored or original is the heating, cooling, expansion and contraction. He strongly suggested to me that if I want to keep my wheel looking as nice as it does now is to remove the wheel when I store it for the winter and keep it in the house. Maybe overkill but, I took his advice and have and will remove it from now on. Bill Edited Saturday at 12:17 AM by Riviera63 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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