Wooden Steering wheel

[Ubernoober]

Any idea what make of steering wheel this is or where it can be obtained from?? Thx

Edited by Ubernoober on Tuesday 31st October 15:46

[M@H]

no idea I'm afraid..(looks similar to Personal) ..looks slippery though..

Edited by M@H on Tuesday 31st October 16:11

[theaxe]

That's the factory option one. Not many cars had them but mine did:


(sorry can't really see it there)

A couple of other people have them though.

Edited by theaxe on Tuesday 31st October 16:20

[M@H]

theaxe said:

That's the factory option one.

ooo.. doubtless it is "Personal" then

[that daddy]

yes my brothers chim as one of these,very nice constantly reminded every time i get behind the wheel of hes one,my ones stock.

[Ubernoober]

M@H said:

theaxe said:

That's the factory option one.

ooo.. doubtless it is "Personal" then

.. and so probably next to impossible to obtain

So has anybody fitted any other wheels - I've seen some pics of Momo Fighters, but has anyone got a Moto-Lita or other type??

[JonRB]

The wooden wheel looks all very nice and classic / retro, but I would always be worried about having a 'sweaty palm' moment and being unable to grip the wheel.

I'd also be worried about splinters in the event of an accident, although I would imagine that in any shunt bad enough to do that it would probably be the least of your worries.

(I don't speak from experience - have never had a wooden wheel)

[s27]

Nardi

www.nardiwheels.com/home.html

SP

[IM]

JonRB said:

The wooden wheel looks all very nice and classic / retro, but I would always be worried about having a 'sweaty palm' moment and being unable to grip the wheel.

I'd also be worried about splinters in the event of an accident, although I would imagine that in any shunt bad enough to do that it would probably be the least of your worries.

(I don't speak from experience - have never had a wooden wheel)

Splinters!!!



This subject has been covered on PH - look at this: www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=303669&r=3954279&hm=60150#3954279

Edited by IM on Tuesday 31st October 17:32

[Ubernoober]

IM said:

This subject has been covered on PH - look at this: www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=303669&r=3954279&hm=60150#3954279

that's where I got the photo from - this wheel seems to have larger 'shoulders' on the spokes and doesn't look like the 'original items' posted - just wondered what make it was as that wasn't answered in that thread.

Just wondering if it was a Moto-Lita?

Edited by Ubernoober on Tuesday 31st October 17:50

[trevor99]

IMHO the factory option full wooden looks fantastic
but the feel through the standard leather wheel can not be beaten

my Dad as a full wooden steering wheel in a Merc usually driven with
one hand (very clinical feel)
my Wife has a half wood, half leather steering wheel, best of both worlds (also in a merc)
in TVR were you NEED both hands on the wheel most of the time, I will be sticking with the leather wheel

[Griffter]

s27 said:

Nardi

www.nardiwheels.com/home.html

SP

I've got a Nardi on my Griff. Same boss pattern as the Personal so it goes straight on. It's slightly wider in diameter than the leather wheel which helps steering feel, plus I love the look. Have to say though, I have yet to meet another Griff owner that agrees with me!

[JonRB]

IM said:

Splinters!!!

Yes, in the event of a heavy shunt the wheel could presumably splinter. But as I also said, I guess that if there were enough force to do that then it would probably be non-survivable anyway.

[GreenV8S]

IM said:

Splinters!!!

It's a known hazard of wooden steering wheels, instead of just folding flat the rim shatters and sends splinters into your wrists. It's also bad from the 'sweaty palm' point of view. Metal/plastic/leather is better all round, maybe that's why so few production cars use wooden rims these days?

[M@H]

indeed

BBS thread said:

Wooden wheel can inject splinters to your face & body cavity in a crash. Big walnut splinters are painful and don't show on X-rays. That's why they're not allowed in some racing orginzations. M

Cheers,
Matt.

[JonRB]

I feel somewhat vindicated now. Thanks for that.

[M@H]

No worries

[e2djh]

I too fancied a wooden wheel (hence thread quoted above by IM).
Having looked all over, i placed a "wanted" ad on PH classified. I got contacted by a lovely PHer the same day, who had an "as new" original TVR optional wheel (made by Personal BTW). We did a deal, and within a couple of days it was with me.

I discovered that they have stopped making them several years ago, but you might get lucky like i did.

I was also concerned about slippy, sticky wheel syndrome, but can confirm it is just fine, and looks lovely against the wooden dashboard and full Leven switch gear.

Good luck with your search

[t4tiv]

Hi Richard,
I posted this a long while back (2004), whilst I was looking for a Personal wheel.....you may be interested. I have one on my Chimaera, but the other (Monza) is still in it's box. I am based in Southampton (Highfield) if you are interested in seeing the Personal wheels. The Monza wheel is as per the 'theaxe' photo i.e. with the bezel. Mail me through my profile if interested
Peter
--------------------------------------------------------
I tried to track down a wooden steering wheel for months, and it turned out to pretty near impossible. Most of the ones you see come with car attached (understandably)
After a bit of a google search however, I tracked down a source for 'Personal' wooden wheels on a US site: steering_wheels.html">www.sportscar-parts.com/steering_w

There are basically two types that look good IMHO

Personal Tornado 100W Mahogany wood/spokes and ring in polished aluminium 350mm ref: 5465.35.3000
Personal Monza W Mahogany wood/polished spokes and ring in polished aluminium 365mm ref: 5456.36.3000

The Monza wheel is exactly the same as the one originally supplied through the dealers (with the minor exception that there is a etching of the Monza racetrack on the vertical spoke). The Tornado wheel is also v.good and is the same size as the existing leather wheel at 350mm. It's also a little chunkier which makes it a little better to drive with. This is the one I have on my car.

[Ubernoober]

Thanks Peter, will email you shortly - for the others, the wheels Peter mentions can be found here.... [url] www.geocities.com/nardinardi/itmidx2.htm [/url]