Cracked Steering Wheel?

[kwilford]

I am posting this message that I just sent Graham (a fellow Canadian Opeler) regarding his search for a crack-free steering wheel:

Graham,

I noticed your classified ad looking for an uncracked steering wheel. Very tough to find, except in climates that don't experience sub-zero weather. NOT in Canada, except maybe in Victoria, B.C. But how badly cracked is your wheel? I was able to repair mine VERY nicely by filling the cracks with two-component epoxy, and painted it black to hide the brown rim. Then I fashioned a nice padded lace-up leather cover that looks fabulous, and is MUCH nicer to hold than the stock plastic rim. The leather cover is available from AutoValue and Canadian Tire, and I used a simple vinyl wheel cover as an "under" padding, by gluing it to the wheel before I laced the leather cover on. A similar job was done by Otto Bartsch, and he posted the results at
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...Wheel%20Cover/
(you need to be a member of the ClassicopelsVault site to view this, but you should be a member anyway!). My version didn't come with all the wrinkles (apologies to Otto!) but it's not as "padded" as Otto's.

HTH, and good luck!

[kwilford]

Buy a new one. Or at least an aftermarket replacement. They show on ebay quite frequently, such as this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1876770236

[kwilford]

Or this one (one of my favorites):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1876771123