stainless steve
Senior Member
I was wondering if anyone recasts/remolds a steering wheel .I got mine off tonite its splined and just about bare of any off the original covering .Or maybe looking for something used cant afford a new one yet.
Steering wheels Do they recast them??
- Thread starter stainless steve
- Start date
I was wondering if anyone recasts/remolds a steering wheel .I got mine off tonite its splined and just about bare of any off the original covering .Or maybe looking for something used cant afford a new one yet.
Joe K
Well-known member
Do they recast? Not exactly. Mostly made new with new cores.
Any of the Model A parts suppliers have a Model A steering wheel that will fit your car. They may even have the rust colored one with a keyed center - a design that was not original to the Ford car at all!
Bob Drake was one of the first to make the Model A wheel. I have one of those on my truck bought in the 1980s which replaced the original which was severely cracked. I know Bob is around but he may not do the Model A wheels anymore - mostly these are offshore sourced.
But I saved that old broken steering wheel. It looked good hung up in the garage. And then I started looking at it one day after someone on this or the other web board discussed how to fill and sand the wheel to restore it.
Gosh dern, now I had to try it. Using epoxy right out of the two part tube, I applied it directly to the wheel and filled the gaps. And those places that weren't fully filled on the first try I scratched up with an awl, and then added more epoxy.
When filled, I then got out the disk sander and sanded it down to shape. Funny, that black stuff of the original wheel seemed to be incorporated into the epoxy as I sanded and when I was done I couldn't tell the original wheel from the repaired wheel.
The grooves were part of this repair. Using a wooden swing arm centered in the center hole, I swung a short piece of hacksaw blade and "re-cut" the original grooves all around the circumfrence of the wheel. NOTE: the wheel is not necessarily round. Gauge your cutter accordingly.
After done, I took the advice of others and used black flat lacquer to paint the finished wheel and then polished it with black shoe polish.
It still hangs in my garage waiting for the next Model A of my restoring. But now it looks nice.
Based on my success with a 1928-29 wheel, I went and bought a 1930-31 wheel for $3 at the flea market and did the same trick again. Now I have two wheels hanging in my garage.
This could be habit forming? Is there a support group for this?
Check out your local automotive flea market. Or maybe the Swap Section. And then check out pricing on two part tube epoxy.
I bet you could get yourself a servicable wheel for less than $20. I did it for about $15.
This one a buy it now on Ebay for $39.95 but it looks about like my 28-29 wheel first done.
Joe K.
Any of the Model A parts suppliers have a Model A steering wheel that will fit your car. They may even have the rust colored one with a keyed center - a design that was not original to the Ford car at all!
Bob Drake was one of the first to make the Model A wheel. I have one of those on my truck bought in the 1980s which replaced the original which was severely cracked. I know Bob is around but he may not do the Model A wheels anymore - mostly these are offshore sourced.
But I saved that old broken steering wheel. It looked good hung up in the garage. And then I started looking at it one day after someone on this or the other web board discussed how to fill and sand the wheel to restore it.
Gosh dern, now I had to try it. Using epoxy right out of the two part tube, I applied it directly to the wheel and filled the gaps. And those places that weren't fully filled on the first try I scratched up with an awl, and then added more epoxy.
When filled, I then got out the disk sander and sanded it down to shape. Funny, that black stuff of the original wheel seemed to be incorporated into the epoxy as I sanded and when I was done I couldn't tell the original wheel from the repaired wheel.
The grooves were part of this repair. Using a wooden swing arm centered in the center hole, I swung a short piece of hacksaw blade and "re-cut" the original grooves all around the circumfrence of the wheel. NOTE: the wheel is not necessarily round. Gauge your cutter accordingly.
After done, I took the advice of others and used black flat lacquer to paint the finished wheel and then polished it with black shoe polish.
It still hangs in my garage waiting for the next Model A of my restoring. But now it looks nice.
Based on my success with a 1928-29 wheel, I went and bought a 1930-31 wheel for $3 at the flea market and did the same trick again. Now I have two wheels hanging in my garage.
This could be habit forming? Is there a support group for this?
Check out your local automotive flea market. Or maybe the Swap Section. And then check out pricing on two part tube epoxy.
I bet you could get yourself a servicable wheel for less than $20. I did it for about $15.
This one a buy it now on Ebay for $39.95 but it looks about like my 28-29 wheel first done.
Joe K.
Last edited:
stainless steve
Senior Member
Thanks Joe:
Ive repaired them in the past (other make/models ) with the epoxy kits ,but theres nothing left of the original coating at all just the frame .I will watch E-bay and this site for a used one or maybe just wrap it up with rubber hose and tape with a cover for now.Wheel can always be changed later.Its a budget build and money NEEDS to be spent elsewhere probley wont even be drivable for a year.Ive heard of a place in Australia that can cut wheels down reshape them and repore the plastic over the frames.not that I could afford that but:: Did not know of anyone in the 'States " thought I would throw it out and ask thats what is neat about this forum
Ive repaired them in the past (other make/models ) with the epoxy kits ,but theres nothing left of the original coating at all just the frame .I will watch E-bay and this site for a used one or maybe just wrap it up with rubber hose and tape with a cover for now.Wheel can always be changed later.Its a budget build and money NEEDS to be spent elsewhere probley wont even be drivable for a year.Ive heard of a place in Australia that can cut wheels down reshape them and repore the plastic over the frames.not that I could afford that but:: Did not know of anyone in the 'States " thought I would throw it out and ask thats what is neat about this forum
Jim Parker Toronto
Well-known member
"Any of the Model A parts suppliers have a Model A steering wheel that will fit your car. They may even have the rust colored one with a keyed center - a design that was not original to the Ford car at all!"
Joe, I do not understand this statement, I thought the early cars came with the red (rusted colored) steering wheel. Could you explain this please......
Joe, I do not understand this statement, I thought the early cars came with the red (rusted colored) steering wheel. Could you explain this please......
Joe K
Well-known member
The rust colored wheels were applied only to the 7 tooth steering boxes which have a spline at the top of the wheel shaft. Rust colored wheels are now made with a key to fit the Gemmer 2 tooth boxes that a lot of driver/restorers are tending to change to because of the difficulties in rebuilding the 7 tooth.
Hey, not to critique. Its a way to keep the original appearance and yet maintain drivability.
I considered briefly converting my March 1929 truck to a rust wheel (I have a gemmer box w/key shaft) to match the rust colored distributor cap. Neither are original to the truck, but I like them because they're "different."
I would like to see and perhaps own a glass distributor top for the same reason. Neato factor and watching it run at night.
Joe K.
Keith True
Well-known member
I did know somebody who used to recast wheels,he did some tractor wheels for me.He had molds for the A wheels,but he told me he hadn't done one of those in years.As he put it to me,why would you want to pay me $200.when you can buy a new A wheel for $100? He said putting three hours into remaking a wheel now is a lot different than putting three hours into it in the 50's.What really shut him down on the A wheels was the fact that his molds were made in the early 50's to make serviceable replacements.after a few complaints about the finger knobs not being correct,and the grooves not being correct,he hung it up.
stainless steve
Senior Member
Well at least someone has done it!!!