Archeress
|
STEERING WHEEL REPAIRMany moons ago when i was in the throes of roadworrthy i needed my steering wheel repaired and tried all manner of places to get repaired. i also rang several wreckerews and couldnt get another wheel because my bus was a change over year of 1974...so the steering column spline diamtre was different by 3 lousy ml....20 ml spline on the column but only 17 ml hole in my steering wheel...having become frustrated and fed up i repaired my own.
this is what my wheel looked like.
Pretty crappy ay?..well the wheel is coated in a plastic rubber and this can be cut off i found with a stanley knife.
I cut it all neat and glued it with kwik grip like so
|
Archeress
|
I had a spare steering wheel (one that i bought but didnt fit) and agonised over butchering it for parts...obviously i did as i needed a piece or plastic/rubber to fit what was missing on my wheel..i also cut off the top edge of the diameter. I found that using a whole rectangular piece almost cut perfect to size didnt work as my two wheels...one butchered and one being repaired...were different circumference sizes so the plastic i glued on wouldnt stay stuck no matter how long i clamped it....so i had an epiphany (brainwave) i tesselated it and glued on small pieces (thus reducing the circumference pressure)...like so
then i bought some plastic putty from a hardware store and after the pieces were stuck fast i filled it all in so it looked like this.....
|
Archeress
|
Then when the putty had set i sanded it back using progressively finer wet dry sand paper. until it was looking like these pics
|
Archeress
|
Now i know in the pics they dont look very smooth but trust me...smoother than a babys bottom.
then i used a grey undercoat cheap rattle can and then after that....a couple coats of a gloss enamel..i could have used a rubber based paint but i was going the cheap way out...still worked though.
Finished pics..
TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
|
Westair
|
I think you have made everybodys day- Talk about Better Home and Gardens.
Kelly's Kombi Koncepts
-----------------------------------------------
|
OberonViking
|
Brilliant! Beautiful! I love DIY, I'm not letting any professional near my bus, and this is great inspiration. Thank you.
|
Diddlie
|
You are one talented lady Kel.
|
Scotia
|
see guys, us girls can do it if we really want to! Way to go Kelly, an inspiration to us all.
|
Archeress
|
AWWW SHUCKS FOLKS..Twas nuthin....seriously sometimes you just have to muck in and have a go..doesnt always work out but its good to personalise in a world where we rapidly are losing our individuality...
This has been a paid announcement by the labour par....lol you know what i mean...when i have organised my sliding windows i will be tackling paint and rust repair so i will photograph as i go..........
|
BJ
|
Well done I am very impressed.... looks like new 
|
66split
|
saw these pics some where ages ago, must have been when you first done it, top work. i'm sure your work here will inspire many out there with cracked and damaged wheels to have a go at sorting them out. i know i have a few to to.....or shall i just send them over 
dave.
|
Mustard Man
|
Damm, thats good. Wasn't sure when you started but great result!!
|
Roadcow
|
That's great work. Koches charges $300.00 for that work you saved yourself some money there. 
|
Archeress
|
An update on state of steering wheel repair...
It has been 18 months now since i did this and i have to say that the wheel is still intact....the only thing i would prob change is use a better paint..i used crapple rattle black...and this has peeled a little and doesnt look great...A quality paint or even a 2 pac would be the go.....
|
|
|
