67 Riviera steering wheel

[Deadpurpledog]

Seeking blue 67 Riviera original steering wheel in excellent condition.  

[RIVNIK]

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

[Deadpurpledog]

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?

[JZRIV]

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, 2023 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[EmTee]

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.

[Deadpurpledog]

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.

[RIVNIK]

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!

[Deadpurpledog]

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.

[RIVNIK]

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.

[Chasander]

I’m thinking I will try a repair with SEM Dual-Mix™ Multi-Plastic Repair Material (part# 39847) 

[RivNut]

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. 

[Deadpurpledog]

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!

[RIVNIK]

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

[EmTee]

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... 

[Deadpurpledog]

I’m sure it would feel better. . .perhaps more modern.  Would that help protect it from further deterioration?

[RivNut]

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.

[EmTee]

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! 

[RIVNIK]

A few years ago, after an extensive search, I was unable to find a lace-on leather cover that would fit the skinny wheel

[Riviera63]

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 December 2, 2023 by Riviera63 (see edit history)

[Turbinator]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:51 AM, Chasander said:

I’m thinking I will try a repair with SEM Dual-Mix™ Multi-Plastic Repair Material (part# 39847) 

Polyvance is the solution I like.

However, i contend there is more than one better way to a job.

Turbinator

[cquisuila]

On 11/21/2023 at 2:00 PM, RIVNIK said:

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!

Yes this is a good job ! I  need to do this for my own black bakelite steering wheel