On the "old" site under the archives I remember seeing a bunch of posts on steering wheel replacements for a '56 Fairlane but those are all gone.

I pulled my wheel off to "repair" it with an Eastwood kit, but I think it's in too poor of a shape for safety reasons - major cracks at all of the spokes where they connect to the horn hub.

Most "used" wheels seem to be in really bad shape too.

I want to stay with a classic look - chrome trim at least - but don't want to spend $300+ for a billet or "banjo" wheel.

Any ideas ? Replacements, places to look, good online vendors, etc. ?  

Steve '56 Tudor Club Modified - Suburban Philadelphia, PA 

The '56 wheel has a steel hub with steel spokes and a steel rim, all encased in a molded plastic/rubber material for cosmetic purposes.  So your wheel, though the plastic is cracked, is not unsafe.  The appearance reconditioning kit would make the wheel look as new if carefully done.

John 

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

I agree with John .I have repaired a few  very sad looking steering wheels .Bondo or "Bog " as we call it here ,will work wonders .All it takes is lots and lots of filling and a heck of a lot of sanding . If you want a really good paint finish ,have it sprayed in 2 pac . For a custom finish ,have it sprayed with old fashioned "Metal Flake ".$20 or $30 worth of Bondo & sand paper should cover it ?Sure beats $300 for a billet wheel .

Regards Lon

yblocksdownunder

i agree with john & lon i have repaired the one on my customline  it had been hit with a hammer on the spokes  i was going to use bog untill an old mechanic friend told me to go to the local toy shop that sells plastic model cars etc & buy some modelling putty you mix the 2 parts together put it on the steering wheel mould it to the shape you want let it cure minnimal sanding to make it smooth & paint it brand new steering wheel

moz. geelong victoria australia.

graduate 1980, bus, truck, car, hot rod, boat, submarine, hovercraft, hydrafoil, firetruck, mobile home, jet, helicopter, cruise ship, motorcycle, bicycle, santa's sleigh, clock, alloy bullbar, alloy fuel tank, lens, dr who's tardis, matter - anti matter warp drive buffer & y-block lover

Hey Lon,

Maybe Lynne can fix YOU up with $20.00 with of bondo and a lot of sanding??????

Nah! She'd probably say it would be better to scrap you and get a newer model!

Rob

I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!

Eastwood has a steering wheel repair (kit?).

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Further, the deep dish wheel is unique & originally designed as a safety feature. However, as they have gotten old the rim which is somewhat thin and a bit hard to grip, particularly with manual steering, could use some help. One things that helps and looks alright, is one of those Black Leather sew on covers.  

Paul

Paul,

You're right about those sew-on covers,but I've not been able to find them anymore.I got one at Walmart for another car about 6 years ago,but they don't have them anymore.Neither does NAPA,O'reilly's or J.C.Whitney.I finally went to a truck stop where I found they have stretch on covers for big trucks that are big enough for the old Ford car wheels.

 

Paul,

Boonville,MO

g'day gary

i still have the modelling putty at work i will get the name of it & send you a pm its only about 5 years ago i bought it

moz. geelong victoria australia.

graduate 1980, bus, truck, car, hot rod, boat, submarine, hovercraft, hydrafoil, firetruck, mobile home, jet, helicopter, cruise ship, motorcycle, bicycle, santa's sleigh, clock, alloy bullbar, alloy fuel tank, lens, dr who's tardis, matter - anti matter warp drive buffer & y-block lover

I have a leather, sew on cover on my steering wheel. You can see it in my profile pictures. It really enhaces the grip on the wheel. I perchased mine through a local speed shop called "Performance Improvements" and it was a kit form. I can't remember the name of the company, but I know it came from the US. They had standard ones on the shelf for 12" & 14" whhels, but I had to custom order one for the stock 18" wheel. It works very well and comes in lots of colours, I will try and find the name of the company and post it.

Rob

I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!