Rebuilding Steering Wheel

[HughMiller]

I am trying to get my 403 back on the road after many years in the garage. The rim of the steering wheel has decayed badly and I talked to Paul Banham of Myrtle Products about a repair. He said they could replace the rim, but that a better solution would be to obtain a sound wheel and make a mould from which the wheel could be rebuilt as a whole. Once a mould had been made, they would be able to restore other Bristol wheels in the same way in the future.
I don’t have access to a good wheel (Paul said it doesn’t need to be perfect, but ‘not too many cracks’) but I wondered if anyone else would be prepared to make a wheel available - for what would seem to be a long-term benefit for all the models with the distinctive Bristol steering wheel (they already have a mould for the traditional Bluemels wheels of the 400).
Myrtle Products will pay for the mould. The cost to me would be about £200, either for a repaired rim, or for a new moulding. Paul spoke about ‘light refurbishing’ on the borrowed wheel. I don’t know if that’s part of the deal, or if he would want paying for that, but I would be prepared to contribute something towards any extra charge (and cover carriage, etc, of course).
Is there anyone out there who could help with this? I’m posting this message on the BOC website and on Bristolcars.info.
Or are there other possibilities, or does anyone know of other steering wheel restorers who might already have a mould?
Thanks in advance for any help.

New poster introduction: I’m based in Nottingham, in the UK and I’ve had this 403 for many years, and been a (very passive) Bristol Owners’ Club member for almost as long. I ran the car in the late 70s and early 80s, but lack of time, money, and enjoying time with my family got in the way, and I put the car in the garage for 20 years. Now I have a little more time and money, and most of the family have grown up and moved out, I’m hoping to get it back together again.
Hugh Miller

[Ashley James]

Hugh
Have you spoken to Brian May to see if he can help. No one can own
more Bristols or bits of Bristol than him. Have a look at the piece I
did on him on www.jel450.com

Myrtle Productions did my 400 wheel and it hasn't been 100%
successful. The problem is that it's very bendy as are the spokes and
it cracks the Polyester Lacquer. It looks much better than before
restoration but there are cracks all round where the spokes meet the
rim, which may eventually result in chunks of lacquer falling off.

Ashley

[Hydroglen]

Well Ash, that is interesting as I was thinking about getting my 400 wheel
redone. Myrtle offer new ones for around 350. Do you think that may be
better than restoring an old one? Much difference in price between new and
restored?
Dorien

[Ashley James]

Dorien
I'd have a word with them about it. He's a very nice, helpful chap and
I'm sure will give an honest opinion.
Ash

[Kevin H]

Welcome Hugh,

There's a mob out here in Australia called Pearlcraft, whom I understand are very good - perhaps others with direct experience can verify?

Their web site is here www.pearlcraft.com.au/welcome.htm

They used to have pictures of a Bristol steering wheel on their site but they were poor quality photos which is probably why they have taken them down. However they have many other "before and after" pics at www.pearlcraft.com.au/before_and_after.htm

Kevin

PS. It looks like they should stick to restoring steering wheels and leave the web site development to someone else

[Hydroglen]

Interesting options on Bristol 400 wheels costs and restoration. I
dropped the hint to my wife, that a restored wheel would be a suitable
birthday present. Still dropping and no takers! It was suggested that
other presents might be more suitable, and of course fast driving will
put more attention on the road ahead and less on the wheel with some
broken plastic bits and dull brightwork!
Dorien

[Hugh]

Yes I used Pearlcraft to restore a 404 wheel the first effort not perfect
but they immediately took the wheel and refinished it to a perfect job in
black they also removed and replaced the leather grips as well
So worth a try I don't remember the cost but it seemed reasonable at the
time
Hugh

[412usa]

Dorien,

When you find a suitable restorer for the 400 steering wheel please let me
know. I need the Arnolt wheel restored and it is the same as the 400. I have
a later (401 etc) Blumels wheel that I can leverage the restoration with, if
this helps.

Peter

[Bellerophon]

Hi Hugh, Have you considered rebuilding the wheel yourself and having the
black coating applied for under 100gbp's.
I rebuilt a friends wheel by first killing the rust on the metal
reinforcing rim then building up the outer with polyester, this I filed and sanded
to shape until it was smooth and to size.
I then sent it to Lancaster Vintage & Classic Spares 01524 423453 who do a
black coating for steering wheels, the result being that you could not
tell the difference.
This was done some fifteen years ago and the wheel still looks ok.
My regards,
Bellerophon

[Ashley James]

Someone in Australia told me not to use Pearlcraft and they are twice
the price of Myrtle who does mostly R-R, Bentley and Jaguar woodwork
and steering wheels. Lots of owners of these cars have jewellery that
scratches the lacquer. I don't but my steering wheel is flexible in
all directions unlike the later ones. I understand this was because
Brooklands was extremely bumpy as were the cars of that era (so is the
400 for that matter!) and it made it easier to hold on to the steering
wheel at speed. I had a racing AJS motorcycle that was fitted with
handlebars like a small car leaf spring for the same reason.

I'd definitely use Myrtle for the job and I think he is as good as any
you'll find, Bluemells Brooklands wheels aside and I don't know a
solution for those.

Rich has completely rebuilt a couple of 400 seats for Ivor Thomas's
car and it is a hell of a lot better than the standard ones but
higher. The springs were too weak in the original, there was nothing
underneath to support them, there wasn't enough horsehair padding and
the backrest gave no lumbar support at all. He partly rebuilt mine
using the original Bristol cover, but it's not the same as a complete
job, so if I can find some of the original Moquette (we have a source
of original type leather) I'll get the whole thing done because it
will transform the car. It goes like stink and cruises at well over
eighty, but needs to be more comfortable IMO.

Ash

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Ashley James

Someone in Australia told me not to use Pearlcraft and they are twice the price of Myrtle who does mostly R-R, Bentley and Jaguar woodwork and steering wheels.

This sounds like a quote from a Fox network newsreader!

Ashley, if you are going to put a company down, at least tell us which one of the 20 million people in Australia made this claim, and why you should not use Pearlcraft.

Originally Posted by Ashley James

Rich has completely rebuilt a couple of 400 seats for Ivor Thomas's
car and it is a hell of a lot better than the standard ones but
higher. The springs were too weak ....

I must must be missing something here. Does this have any relevance to restoring steering wheels?

[Hydroglen]

Peter,
Yes of course. I am hesitant to send it out of the country as I would miss
it terribly of lost so I will be looking closer to home. To some extent a
new wheel has it's attractions as it is an instant cure and I keep the old
wheel. Just the cost looks high.

Alan /Pegasus Hunter... I have redone repaired wheels in the past and happy
enough with the results. They were on Mercedes and BMW were the whole wheel
is coated / plastic and there were cracks and bits missing. On the 400 I
haven't figured out how to get the 3 spokes plated without destroyng the
covering. I would then have to start with a bare skinny metal rim. My
skills are not that good and I would be staring at my mistakes as I motor
along! Horror!

Dorien

[Ashley James]

Myrtle got all my bits
Chroned in cluding the spring and clamp and it's a very good job.
Ash

[Ashley James]

I'm sorry wish I hadn't said
it now especially as they seem really friendly when I spoke to them.
They were twice the price of Myrtle and I can't remember who put me
off.
Ash

[Geoff Dowdle]

Ash,
I probably warned you about at least two BOCA members who had problems with
Pearlcraft in Australia.
Patching a cracked wheel rim can only be a temporary fix .
To do the job properly all the original plastic material needs removing and
the rim replaced with stainless steel or bead blasted &plated .
The cracking of the plastic is sometimes caused by the original steel rim
rusting & expanding .

For a 400 type rim I suggest one buys a new wheel , if available ,which can
be attached to a original hub ,the three spokes are usually pitted under the
chrome.
The new wheel should outlast all the individual members of this Forum.

About 20 years ago a member of the BOCA here in Sydney rebuilt his own 401
steering wheel . Completely removed all the plastic rim , made a rough mould
out of three pieces of plywood or
cheap compressed board , suspended the rim in the centre of the mould then
poured the mould full or Araldite two pack glue .
Once hard smashed the mould and hand filed the rim , finishing with various
grades of sand paper , then painted with a good quality two pack paint.
The 401 went to UK some years later so I cannot comment on how well it has
lasted , but it was a very inexpensive option just taking some time, it
certainly looked perfect.

Geoff

[Ashley James]

Myrtle peel the cracked plastic off the spokes but leave the rim and
mask it, then they have the spokes polished and chromed. Finally they
mould resin back over the spokes and up to the rim and then Polyester
lacquer and polish it. The problem is that the original material was
celluloid, which is more flexible and less crack prone. However,
although there was/is a Brit company that re-celluloids I couldn't
find them and wouldn't have used them because they'd done the wheel on
one of my MKVIs and I'd seen others that were peeling and had faded to
grey and gone splotchy.

Alpine Eagle and many of the serious restorers simply fill the cracks,
two pack paint and polish wheels with great success, or if they are
bad enough they send them off to a company in Liverpool who re-cast
the rim in aluminium and paint it. Therefore any later Bristol wheels
are probably best done with two-pack after filling, but I don't think
Myrtle make the original Bluemels type, instead I think they offer, as
many do, the type of wheel used on racing Jaguars and Aston Martins of
the time.

There are Bluemels restorers but not for our type of wheel, only MG
ones.

I hope this helps.

Ashley

[Claude]

When I found him a perfect LHD 403 on offer for half its market value, in thanks Mark Wallach gave me a custom Rolls Royce steering wheel he had made as a proposed prototype for them (they rejected it as too expensive). Wallach was a renown classic car woodworker in New York. What was notable was the fact that the Rolls Royce spline fit the Bristol perfectly. All that needs changing is the leather boss below the wheel as the RR has a wider diameter due to how the horn button is made. You can see this in the photo.

Not knowing what the market is for used RR steering wheels, finding a RR wheel may be a no-go, or it may be a viable alternative.

Here is the Mark Wallach wheel. The deerskin leather needs replacing, but the wood is good.

http://quick.village-town.com/411.jpg

Claude

[Claude]

And surprisingly, a quick google search finds that as of one year ago, he is still alive and working (he was not young when he gave me the steering wheel in 1995). Here's the advert, plus a few other US steering wheel restorers

http://quick.village-town.com/wallach.jpg

http://www.hemmingsdigital.com/hemmings/200804/?pg=195

Claude

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Geoff Dowdle

Ash,
I probably warned you about at least two BOCA members who had problems with Pearlcraft in Australia.

Geoff, can you recall the nature of the problems they had?

Kevin

[seanmcs]

The only Bristol 6 cyl I've seen with an original timber rim wheel
is the Zagato. That Roller one looks quite nice, but possibly a bit
fat.

Sean