Paul Loatman

This thread will be a write up of how to make your very own custom made and custom fit steering wheel to YOUR specifications.

I don't have any pictures of what I've got going on right now and i think it would be confusing to explain it without the pictures, so I'm just going to ask; has anyone else attempted to make their own steering wheel and if you did, how did it go?

My process can be cheaper than pretty much any Sparco or Momo steering wheel and if you do it good and proper then it'll be exactly what you wanted.

Here's a list of prices of the various materials i needed for the project:

$23.96
$38.92
$26.70

Plus ~$20 for misc stuff and give or take a few bucks depending on what exactly you're doing. (This includes the adapter, which was a cheap Grant adapter that I'll fit my wheel to.)

So for a little over $100 I've bought the materials necessary for making my wheel and I'll conclude with that until i have photos of my progress.

magus2222

iTrader: (22)

hm. sounds interesting. when you can show me how to make a deep dish steering wheel, let me know.
1000 POSTS!!!!!!!

Lloyd

Paul Loatman

Actually the kind I'm making is a deep dish type wheel, with the way i make it you can make any kind of wheel though. Still can't get pics so i'll just say that it involves casting rubber and steel, not very complicated but it all depends on your own skills with whatever tools you choose to use.

Since I'm casting rubber (which will go around the rim of the wheel) i have to make a mold first, which isn't that difficult as long as you have the right tools and skill set, and the rest is cutting the steel cross member to the shape that i want. If you happen to have an old frying pan that you don't need and it just happens to be the same diameter that you want your wheel to be then that makes it even easier.

After the rim and cross member are together and cast into rubber then I'm going to use some upholstery grade faux suede to cover the rubber. It should turn out really nicely.

Viking War Hammer

iTrader: (8)

sounds like some hillbilly stuff here, I like it.

Alex Rodriguez

iTrader: (137)

subscribed...lol

Paul Loatman

Sorry for the wait, it's been awhile since i've done anything with the wheel but today i took the cross member to my grinder and almost finished it up, just a small piece left that i need to cut off.

Here are some pics;






The bolts are going to fit closer to the cross member when finished, and i'll clean up the rim and round off all the sharp edges, but other than that and the small piece that's left on one side, it's pretty much ready for the rubber and suede.

04600RR

I donno about this.....

7_rocket

iTrader: (6)

You better deliver with some good ****, otherwise fail

Paul Loatman

Why is that?

street_racer_271

this thread is the funniest **** ever. I give it two thumbs up for best comedy of the year

jmeyer93

iTrader: (1)

^ lol this is going to be good

Paul Loatman

Just received my rubber in the mail, that sounds weird.

Anyways, this is it; http://www.smoothonsecure.com/store/...2140b6f7084e6e

This is the same stuff they use on those small mallets with the transparent amber colored heads. It's extremely durable and will be more than strong enough for a steering wheel, it's relatively easy to work with as well, if you're planning on making a wheel just get the trial size, 2 pints = 4 cups, i'll only need a little less than 2 cups for the whole project. I'll get pics of the mold once i finish the first half of it.

I also got a yard of faux suede for the upholstery work. In the end i think this all will end up being the same price as a wheel from the major manufacturers, unless you buy at full msrp prices or something stupid like that. If you don't have decent tools for the work then it'll be even more, but i couldn't find a wheel like this anywhere and money wasn't a big issue to begin with and the work is fun.

2ndlife

is this really a superior product?
why not just buy a normal steering wheel like everyone else?

Paul Loatman

By "product" do you mean my wheel or the liquid rubber stuff?

The wheel is just a piece of steel with a cylindrical ring around it, the part that connects the wheel to the hub is the same as any Grant wheel, I'm not trying to best Sparco or Momo I'm just trying to make a wheel to my preference.

Superiority can have many meanings; aesthetics, structural, price, etc. From a personal standpoint I'd say it is superior simply because it's exactly what i want, i honestly can't find a rally style deep dish wheel like this under 350mm, this is about 290mm, 60mm is a pretty big difference, and it'll be very structurally sound once it's finished, plus how strong does a steering wheel need to be anyways? It's not like i'm making brake disks or something.

I've just mated the rim with the cross member to fit much closer, no more washers. I've also drilled some holes for the hub, just need the big one for the column.

I also bought a horn cap that pulls the entire wheel assembly together, it'll almost look oem, which is nice. http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/ite...asp?T1=5895+01

The hub kit came with a cover that goes right behind the wheel and covers the hub assembly which is painted the same way and aligns with this cap perfectly.

street_racer_271

i can't wait to see this thing

2ndlife

I was referring to a more superior product than a momo or even grant. whether in function and aesthetics. i guess we'll have to wait until the final product to judge.

Trout2

iTrader: (5)

Not trying to knock you here but I would be concerned how it deforms in a collision. You often see bent steering wheels in wrecked car. That deformation absorbs energy to help protect the driver.

Jack

Paul Loatman

Well I'm just picky and wanted a wheel exactly how i wanted, so I'm making one, it just happens that it's not very expensive to make.

The retail prices for a similar wheel from Momo is $240, and that's one of the ones that require a Momo adapter to fit to the 6 bolt pattern, which is another big chunk of change, and they have some with no holes drilled but those aren't deep dish or balanced like mine which retail for about the same as the former and a grant adapter could work with them, but mine was a little over $120 including the adapter.

The cheapest price I've found for a Momo wheel with no bolt holes was $170, still more and that's without the adapter.

As for aesthetics, it'll look like any other steering wheel. It's not going to be lumpy or lopsided.

Paul Loatman

I haven't considered that, but the steering column is collapsible for safety reasons because the original wheel they pulled off of big rigs has no air bag or probably no other safety features for that matter. I didn't buy a 23 year old car thinking of it's safety features to begin with, it's not a very practical or safe car no matter how you look at it.

Hitting your face against the steering wheel will probably kill you weather it bends or not, the fact that they were bent could simply mean that it was that big of an impact.

OneRotor

iTrader: (3)

umm, it kind of controls the direction of your vehicle...

Paul Loatman

It was a rhetorical question and that doesn't even answer it anyways.

It does control the direction of your vehicle, and what moves the wheel? You're hands (that was another rhetorical question btw), how much strength would you need to break or even bend the wheel under normal circumstances? It's made of steel and 3mm thick Al bolted together and then encased in a resin strong enough to be used as a mallet. It's strong enough, it doesn't require special tools or equipment to make a durable steering wheel.

BTW, quoting text out of context is pretty childish.

04600RR

I want to get across that I am not trying to be negative before you read my post..........Have you taken apart many wheels before building this one? You know cut the leather or what not off to see what's inside? Some grant steering wheels that I have seen use a round tube on the outside. Why not do that? Just an idea......By doing this you could coat the thing in rubber then sand it smooth and simply wrap it in leather or what not...

jmeyer93

iTrader: (1)

keep posting pics of your work

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

That would be my concern as well. They are now made of soft materials that deform when the body contacts the wheel in an accident. Having already hit the wheel and once in an accident, I'd be concerned.

Paul Loatman

Any advise and real information won't be taken negatively.

I was considering making the wheel rim out of a tube, but i couldn't come up with any way of doing this unless i took a pipe and bent it into the shape of the rim, but i don't have the tools to do that properly.

I haven't done much but here are some pics of the stuff that i did yesterday.










I understand people's concerns for safety and i appreciate the concern, but i will be using harnesses and i'll be kept closer to my seat than with the stock seat belt.