Wood steering wheel availability

[22velocity]

I am curious, what is the current availability of a wood steering wheel for a Gt? Are they hard to find? Price? I personally think they look great especially against a black interior. Lately I have noticed some with wrapped steering wheels,they are not my taste.Frank

[wrangler]

are you referring to the homemade wood steering wheels, or the original artificial wood grain wheels?

[GTJIM]

Wood steering wheels - real wood - are basically DIY unless 'Greensmurf20' (Jared) is still doing them. I know he did one for himself and maybe another coule a year or two ago.

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/showthr...steering+wheel

The wrapping is just to hide the cracks!

Oh! .... and 'nobody' (Dave) did a good thread on repairing the originals too - a whie ago.

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/showthr...g+wheel+repair

[22velocity]

Wrangler, I was referring to the original wood grain steering wheels ,thanks for any info. Frank

[Killer Texas GT]

They are about; the most common problem is that they are cracked at the spokes. One in perfect shape (not cracked) is like a needle in a hay stack. I have 3 or 4 but like most they have their cracks. Some folks have filled the cracks and have had some luck with their processes, I have not tried to repair one to date. PM me and I can send you some pics of the ones I have if you are interested.

[CDN OpelNut]

There will be another mahogany steering wheel on E-bay in a day or two, similar to item 4591966052

[jordan]

I have 2 cherry steering wheels that will be done soon, they will look similar to this one I made last spring and sold on ebay.

[greensmurf20]

i have a real wood steering wheel, console accent and dash accent for a GT. they looked great in the car against the black interior. they were an oak stained with a medium walnut. materials for all cost me around 15 bucks, but quite a few hours of time in the shop.

[yiger]

I'm planning on builing a new wheel- I have an old one sitting around to use as a starting point, but as we all know- life tends to get in the way of many of our planned projects. Anyway- I'm planning on making the grain run the correct way (around, not across). The plan is to use mahogany (any straight grained wood should work pretty well). I'll make an improvised steam box by using pvc tubing. I'll cap one end permanently, the other will be capped with a screw fitting. I plan on running steam to it with a normal garden hose- I'll add a hose fitting the the steam box. To create the steam, I'm going simple- either a small fire in the back yard, or on the grill... No need to get complicated. Anyway- I'll just use the biggest old pot I can find, and put a metal cap ontop, again with a hose fitting. I'm not sure if I'm describing this very clearly, so I appologize for any vagueness. Anyway, the rest is just woodworking skills. I'll make a circular template with the old wheel first by tracing it onto a piece of 5/8 plywood then cutting out the circle with a jig saw. That should help hold it all together when you are fitting the spokes and letting the wheel harden. I might take it to a friends cabinet shop to have it shellacked (sp?) rather than using varnish... I haven't decided on that yet. I'll keep you posted!

[CDN OpelNut]

Jeff - Two items of caution.

I once tried to make a steamer box from pvc. Regular PVC will melt from the heat of the steam. Learned this one the hard way!

Also, it will be unsafe to build a wheel that does not incorporate the steel core from the original wheel. Without it, a front collision will impale you with pieces of broken wood.

Good luck with it. Sounds like a good project.

[jordan]

I dont think the the steaming idea would allow for an accurate enough radius for the circle. Another idea would be to take a cross section for a log in the species of wood that you choose to use and then you will have 2 disks to work with and no glue joints if you don't like that look and the grain will be continious.

[yiger]

Good points- I think the radius issue could be figured out... It would take some thought, but I think it can be done. The steel core is a good idea. I think that might be able to be figured out as well... Perhaps two sections of wood sandwiched over the core. I'm sure they can be channalled prior to being steamed to allow room for the core. I'm glad you mentioned the PVC would melt! I hadn't considered that. Maybe I'll just stick with the traditional wood steam box.
I can't guarantee success with the project, but I'm sure it will be an interesting process.

[maglinjosvinn]

Originally Posted by CDN OpelNut Jeff - Two items of caution. I once tried to make a steamer box from pvc. Regular PVC will melt from the heat of the steam. Learned this one the hard way! Also, it will be unsafe to build a wheel that does not incorporate the steel core from the original wheel. Without it, a front collision will impale you with pieces of broken wood. Good luck with it. Sounds like a good project.

heh. if i ever cracked my car up, i'd just want to die anyways.

yes. i'm a opelnut.

*hides the wrapping currnetly on his wheel*