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

[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

[Hydroglen]

Thanks for all your inputs....
I have come up with a plan for my wheel, that is really not that bad. After
talking to my plater, he suggests stripping the chrome and polishing the
spokes. He will do this, and then paper taping the spokes and have a paint
shop Powder coat the rim in black. The plater will then take the powder
coated rim and chrome the spokes. Any repairs to the rim can be done with
various magic epoxies and fine finished by the painter before Powder
coating. I will be using a shop that does motorcycles and are therefore used
to fixing and painting small bits.
So this is the proces I will follow this coming winter. I need the wheel on
the car for now, as steering gripping only the hub is particularly arduous
when parking! Even with white knuckles showing......
I realize Geoff and others might be concerned about the durability of
epoxies and the flexing of the spokes, but I think it worth a try. This
after all is pretty much what some of the restoration houses do so. The cost
will be substantially less and no VAT to deal with.
Fortunately vintage parts coming in from the USA and other countries arrive
with little or no GST ( duty equivalent) as the senders have learnt to be
creative with their paperwork....not so from Merry Olde England!

Dorien

[Kevin H]

For those who want to continue the debate about import duty, VAT, GST etc, I have moved the off topic posts to a new thread here http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/showthread.php?t=220

[Hydroglen]

Ash,
There is a problem with the posting.....My answer was not directed at you,
but rather in response to another one. By the way, I agree that it doesn't
cost them anything to declare that the part is for a vintage vehicle.
Unfortunately we have much evidence to show that they won't do this on a
regular basis. This is a costly mistake and particularly annoyng when we
were given to understand that the item will be correctly classified and then
it is not. When complaining, we get the feeble excuse that they do not know
for sure how or were the part will be used, and will therefore not declare
it for a vintage car or ??
Fair enough.....but then don't take my money and sell me something under
false pretences. Talk about a fiddle.....
Cheers
Dorien

[Ashley James]

Dorien

It goes without saying that if you are compelled to buy anything from
the most expensive country on the planet, then you should email me for
assistance as we are exporting stuff all over the world all the time
and will be happy to make sure you get it without the benefit of our
VAT as well as your own taxes.

With apologies to Kevin for not leaping to a new category specifically
designed to discuss taxes. I'd rather slash my wrists!

Ash

[Hydroglen]

Ash....Thanks will call you for sure if the occasion arises.
Dorien