Is this a 49 Mercury accessory steering wheel ? I'm looking to find out the difference between a 49,50,51 accessory steering wheel , and anything eles I should know about these wheels. I see the chassis catalogue has a different part number for the 50/51 and stated white for the color . What colors were available through the years ? Is there a re-pop accessory horn cap available ? I have my eyes out for a wheel and just want to be sure I know what Im looking at if I find one . Thanks ITWB
that looks like a normal accessery wheel to me, the colors just might change between the years. all i know for sure is they never sale for cheap.
Most if not all the others I have seen have been white . I found a place that recasts them ,, Ill call and get some more info from them . Thanks
They came standard in white, black, and I have been told that some dark green ones have popped up. If it looks like its green paint, it is, they were cast originaly in colored plastic. Emblemagic.com remakes the horn button, it costs $200, and the wait time is around 6-8 months. I ordered one for my accessory wheel around november, and just finally got it a few days ago. The fit isnt perfect (I had to modify the stainless trim ring a bit, and there are a few small bubbles in the casting. For $200, it really should be perfect, but where else can you get one? Quality Restorations makes a repro of this while wheel (he claims on the site they are restored, but he told me on the phone that he is setup to make everything in repro, has no cores left, and they are all new wheels). He no longer sells individual parts, and is not very friendly. His website stated the price for the wheel is $1500, but on the phone, he said its now $1800. These wheels, IMO, are the coolest wheels out there for a custom. They were very big at the Barris shop in the early years, it seemed that a lot of cars they built were outfitted with merc accessory wheels. They must have bought them by the dosen from the dealer back then. Today, you almost never see them on cars, but when you do, its a real treat. It took a lot of effort, time and money to get mine, but there isnt another steering wheel out there I wanted in my car after I saw the 49-51 Merc accessory wheel. I bought a basket case wheel, and restored it myself. Here are some before, and in progress pics of my wheel: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148149&highlight=steering Here is a pic of my restored accessory wheel (well, the chrome hasnt been re-done yet), and the Emblemagic repro horn cap.
Basket case wheel? Lol...thats probably one of the nicest original Monterey wheels Ive ever seen. I thought mine was nice but I had way more cracks. Nice job. I bought mine at a yard sale (random eh?) for $30. I was shocked. I needed money awhile back and put it on ebay (all fixed up) went up to $700 and figured it would easily break $1k...but I just dont have the heart to part with it. I figure I found it at a yard sale in the hood, it was meant to be.
So yours didnt meet reserve, and you still have it right? Keep it, or you will kick yourself REAL hard later on. Thanks, I put a lot of work into it to get it to that stage. This is what it looked like when I started. I guess its not a basket case, but the cracks looked worse in person, and it had a terrible smell to it, that Im hoping the paint will seal in.
This is the one that I had.It was cast in a dark grey metallic and came from a 50 Coupe.They are cool wheels and are VERY expensive to buy.Then you have to restore it,also can be very expensive if you have to pay someone to do it.
Little bit sticky and awful smell? Yep, same here. Loved it but MAN it stunk. Honestly, I restored this one the same I have done any other wheel. PC-11 from Lowes, filled the SMALL pits and cracks with bodyfiller. I never use the filler on big cracks but its worked out well on small cracks. Besides, honestly, anything this wheel ends up on will not be parked on the street with the windows up, it will be in the garage, nice and cool haha.
Real 49-51 accessory wheel up on eBay now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1562393740...jJksnxyTHC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
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