JSBulmer Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 GreetingsAm looking to get an "original" wood rimmed steering wheel for my 1968 GT6 MK I. Have seen various replicas, but have not seen any with the '5 hole' spokes. Checked with the Graveyard and they didn't have onelAny recommended sources for a wood steering wheel? Or does anyone have one that is merely collecting dust and they wish to part with?I missed out on the one that recently showed up on eBay.Also, any idea which other British cars would have wheels that would fit the GT6. Understand that the Vitesse, Herald and Spitfire will. Also some of the Jag E-types, but requires some modification to the mounting.Would prefer to source an original Formula wheel, but understand that they could be pricey. The repro ones, however, just don't look that great to me.One technical item - where are the dimensions taken on the wheel? I check the various websites and they quote 13, 14 and 15 inch wheels, yet when I measure mine I am usually off by 1/2 to 3/4 inch.Thanksjb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I love my Moto-lita MK3, its wonderful. It was advertised as 14", and measures about that. In my experience, add 1/2" to whatever they say it is if you have a leather/vinyl one, because they are always thicker and slightly wider than the wood equivalent. Perhaps they just round them up or down...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumpith Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I've heard horror stories about the injuries suffered when a wooden steering wheel breaks and splinters as your chest slams into it in an accident, which is why I opted for the leather option! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimtavies Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 An immaculate one just finished on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190435121123&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:ITI have seen reported on the net in the States these have sold for far more, they do crop up, I picked up an immaculate leather one and a wooden one needing work recently for very good prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted User Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 RumPith wrote:I've heard horror stories about the injuries suffered when a wooden steering wheel breaks and splinters as your chest slams into it in an accident, which is why I opted for the leather option!Ditto, would not do a wooden wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimtavies Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Surely if you are wearing a seat belt that is properly adjusted, your chest shouldnt be near the wheel in an impact, on older cars without belts I can see this as an issue then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willcolumbine Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 You'd be suprised how much seatbelts stretch in an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted User Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 willcolumbine wrote:You'd be suprised how much seatbelts stretch in an accident.Yep, in a crash, seatbelts are designed to stretch. even at 30MPH, the belt will permanently stretch by 13% and at higher speeds, the webbing will stretch more and even start to melt as it absorbs the impact. This is why you should never buy used seat belts unless you can verify 100% they've never been in an impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimtavies Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 very interesting, I didnt realise about seat belts, but I still like that wood rimmed wheel though, it was a shame the standard GT6 Mk2 steering wheel was so awful, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 It sounds like what you want is the Stanpart Dealer fit optional wood rim wheel. Or a Les Leston from a Bond Equipe.A decent one of either will cost you £200 plus on Ebay usually.I like mine in teh spitfire.I'll see if I can get some photos uploaded.CheersColin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSBulmer Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 Hi and thanks for the repliesIn regard to the eBay one I was watching it and didn't make up my mind to buy it until after the auction closed.I don't really care for the Moto-Lita repros as for some reason they only have 3 holes in the metal spokes as opposed to the 5 holes on the original rims - silly reason to not want one, but I have never been known for clear logic at times.Yes, the Stanpart optional is more in line.Will keep the search going. It is not a major panic in my life at the moment as I only have 3 more weeks of driving until holidays and winter cause the car to be parked for a few months.jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drofgum Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 JSBulmer,You might also expand your search to cover wheels fitted to Lotus Elans in the sixties and perhaps the Europa as well. Both of these Lotus models used the Triumph steering column and rack, so I would think they would use wheels that will fit. Cheers, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSBulmer Posted September 4, 2010 Author Share Posted September 4, 2010 awesome - thanks PaulI knew the E type had a similar wheel, but the only ones I have seen are 16 inch. The 15 inch wheel makes it tough enough to get in the little car as it is.jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 RumPith wrote:I've heard horror stories about the injuries suffered when a wooden steering wheel breaks and splinters as your chest slams into it in an accident, which is why I opted for the leather option!I take it this would be for the ones that only have wood in the rim? The other type are a wood/alloy/wood sandwich, I can't see that splintering in an impact. Broken ribs perhaps though. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Gingell Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 1317 wrote:You might also expand your search to cover wheels fitted to Lotus Elans in the sixties and perhaps the Europa as well. Both of these Lotus models used the Triumph steering column and rack, so I would think they would use wheels that will fit.Although the Lotus wheels initially look the same having 5 holes per spoke, I believe some are subtly different around the centre of the wheel to take a much larger boss.To my knowledge, on the Triumph wheel, the boss is made in three pieces. The front and back are bakerlite, and the middle is aluminium and interchangeable with a spline to suit the application's steering column spline. I was going to fit one of these wheels to my Coupe, but they are just too damn big for me to get in and out of the car. (being 6' 5" does have its disadvantages)I've seen several examples for sale with either cracked, damaged or missing bakerlite boss components - I'm sure there must be a market to have the boss remanufactured - I wonder if the whole thing can be made from just two pieces of aluminium, with the spline directly incoporated into the rear half.Food for thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebobby Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 willcolumbine wrote:You'd be suprised how much seatbelts stretch in an accident.You'd be suprised how much all parts of a vehicle move in a crash, things like dashboards, pedals and the like can move back into the cabin area.If you had your non inertia belts pulled so tight that you could not move, the momentum in a crash can rip the seats forward on there rails.The worse impact you can have, especially in one of our cars, would be a side impact.Have seen some quite devastating crashes where this has happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 There are at least two patterns of woodrim wheel used on Triumphs. One is as described by Craig, ie palstic front and rear exteranl shaped parts, with a large aluminium component inside the rear portion, to form the mounting for the wheel onto the column. I don't think it's Bakelite though, it seems far closer to a stryrene in the way it behavesm particularly it's susceptibility to solvents.The other type has an aluminum hub with no plastic outer dressing. This again has a plastic front piece, however the detail design of the moulding is quite different to the other type. Both of these designs are the long spoke type, not to be confused with aftermarket designs by Moto-lita and the like.I've had both types down the years, but never the two types alongside to compare whether or not the wheels themselves are iinterchangeable, ie could one design of replacement mountings replace both of the original designs?Incidentally, the above information is equally applicable to the leather rimmed wheels.Cheers,Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 firebobby wrote:If you had your non inertia belts pulled so tight that you could not move, the momentum in a crash can rip the seats forward on there rails.Why would the seat be moved forwards if you are wearing static seatbelts but not inertia ones?It is the driver that has the inertia in the accident, and with static belts you are relying on just the stretch in the belt to slow you down, rather than allowing a bit of slack to allow you to accelerate then slow you back down using the stretch in the belt.Inertia belts are more gentle on your body in an accident I guess, but you get closer to things that will hurt you, which is why you have airbags to catch you.CheersColin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Gingell Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 This one finished on eBay tonight, and looks a steal for £102...http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160478973577 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSBulmer Posted September 20, 2010 Author Share Posted September 20, 2010 Did not see that one.Wonder if it would work on the GT6?jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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