replaced the billet wheel with a 65 impala wheel yesterday, The HAMB has really changed me on what I use to like and what I really like now. I think I changed for the better. took an extra 1 1/2 inch out of the column, fabbed a spider cap bullet for the center, bought an adapter at my local autozone and in a short time this was our end result. what dya think? I need advice on a steering wheel repair kit, My freind who helped me said eastwood has a kit that works really well. Anyone with any experience with the eastwood kit or others? How bout color schemes for this wheel, show me some photoshop steering wheels that might be similar. I would like to get ideas. blue, white and silver would be the 3 colors in my car. white being the color I want for my upholstery. Just wanted to share.. Peace~Al,chevnut
this place infects people... but in a good, non-itchy way. nice switch! - I like the gearshifter difference too, where'd ya get that?
spider with about 1 1/4 inch cut out of it, wished I could have kept the lip but it looked goofy long.
White with the blue dash looks good to me. It's a nice contrast. Unless you painted it silver or something.
no, silver paint on that wheel is stock, got it that way with a hundred or so cracks with it. Looking forward on doing a section at a time restoring it back to its heydays. white with blue..thats actually my#1choice. thx.
Sing it with me - "What a difference a day makes..." Upgrade indeed. Looks like it belongs there and 40 years forn now it'll still look and be right.
Good decision Hombre - it's hard to believe what a huge difference just 1 simple component makes, eh? I bet you could still turn a decent profit on that billet wheel with ebay - sell to the misinformed/stubbornly stupid.
I can see why you upgraded. The old one (billet) would work good on a bead roller to replace the crank.
Very nice. Looks much better. Is that a 15" wheel? Ive been prowling e-bay for ideas to replace the Vega GT wheel on my 50. The mid 60s Impala is one of them on my list, the little chrome rings make perfect breakpoints for a two-tone paint. I really like the 57 Bel-Air wheel, but I'm not sure about the 18" size. Also saw a 59 Buick wheel that had a cool look to it but I think the Buick steering shaft is different than the Nova column Im running. Seems I read on here that you do not need to buy the kit from Eastwood, just get the epoxy from a number of suppliers and save a few bucks. Somebody did a nice tech on this a while ago. I need to search and save that to my computer before I start the resto on my 53 Hudson's wheel.
18" , the old one was 17". If it matters, they make smaller reproduction on the 57 wheel. Foose has had it in 2 cars that won the autorama. go with the 18" my .02
I think it is a ****** cap like is on that Cadillac that was so gangsta last week. The new wheel looks much better than the billet.
I'm pretty sure the stuff Eastwood sells is the same as PC-7 (or similar name?) that your local hardware store uses. My brother used that stuff on a wheel he recently restored. About 20 years ago we fixed the cracks in a '62 Impala wheel for use in a '55 with regular old Duragl***. It's the stuff that's like a heavy Bondo, but not quite a fibergl*** like Tigerhair. It may have some small cracks again now, but I bet any other epoxy or filler would too after 20 years. Just painted it the same as the body.
I can get the PC-7 stuff at any hardware store? What would be a recommended grit to start smoothing the wheel with after the PC-7 application? Do I bondo after the PC-7 or could I go straight to primer? Sorry for all the dumb questions, spare the noob. Thanks to all that has given me excellent advice. I really appreciate it. I just hate doing things twice but I am sure with all your help maybe I would not have to.
I think the PC-7 acted just like a hard Bondo, so start sanding with 80 and sneek up on it. No need for a filler over the top, just primer and paint. By "hardware store", I don't mean Home Depot.
something I always think about when I see a bullet on the steering wheel is which part of your body will it crush if you get in a wreck? got shoulder harnesses?
Looks good! A friend told me to use JB weld on the cracks,sand,and paint with Marine paint,available at any Boat shop. It flexes,and doesn't crack.
just something to think about that's all. got a flat steering wheel in my 49. put a fancy chrome bullet style nut on it, I took it off when I realized in a wreck it would penetrate my forehead
The Jalopy Journal
