Topic: 64-1/2 Steering Wheel

[must69]

I am restoring a 64-1/2.  The original red plastic steering wheel has a crack in it. Can these be repaired or is best to replace.  Is there a really good replacement?

[NEFaurora]

Repro Steering Wheels have definitely improved over the past 30 years.  The best Repro 64 1/2 you will find is sold by NPD....but they have two levels of repro steering wheels.  The are both good, but make sure to ask for the "Best One" available. There is a slight premium when buying a Repro '64 1/2 steering wheel  versus a '65-'66 steering wheel because they just don't sell a lot of '64 1/2 steering wheels.

You could try and restore the original, but it will just crack again if not in the same place...another place.... and most steering wheel restorations don't look right anyway...

If the crack is not bad, I'd suggest just living with it...

How about a few pics of the crack???

)

Tony K.

[jwc66k]

Do an internet search on "steering wheel repair" and/or "steering wheel restoration" first.
Jim
(I prefer https://duckduckgo.com/ or Yahoo over Google.)

[michaelvonlanthen]

Repro Steering Wheels have definitely improved over the past 30 years.  The best Repro 64 1/2 you will find is sold by NPD....but they have two levels of repro steering wheels.  The are both good, but make sure to ask for the "Best One" available. There is a slight premium when buying a Repro '64 1/2 steering wheel  versus a '65-'66 steering wheel because they just don't sell a lot of '64 1/2 steering wheels.

You could try and restore the original, but it will just crack again if not in the same place...another place.... and most steering wheel restorations don't look right anyway...

If the crack is not bad, I'd suggest just living with it...

How about a few pics of the crack???

)


Tony K.

As far as I know, there is only one quality available for the 64 1/2 repro steering wheel. https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/steering_wheel_white_colors_are_not-148888-1.html

"Quality is good, but not high"

[CharlesTurner]

If you hold the repro in one hand and an original in the other, there's still a big difference in weight and the grip area.

On the original with the crack, so long as there isn't a big crack in the center where the horn contacts are, I would highly recommend to restore the original.  Use a catalyzed urethane paint as a final finish.  Remember that the wheels were a little more glossy than the rest of the interior.

[Hipo giddyup]

 I restored my original 64 1/2 wheel because of the poor quality of repros back in 2014. I used the steering wheel repair kit, from POR15 I believe, and it worked quite well. Now 4 years later there are only a hairline crack in the two spots on the rim but I can easily deal with that. Before I repaired it, it was missing about 1/4" of material in those two areas. I also repaired a large crack at the collar and so far that has held up nicely.

+1 on using a catalyzed urethane as a finish. Very nice and durable.

As a side note, I recently purchased a 66' wheel for another coupe of mine and the quality is quite good. I did however, get it replaced as the contact point for the horn was grounding out on me. The company was very easy to deal with. That wheel was purchased through VM.

[must69]

Thanks for the info on restoring a wheel.  I will look into the repair kit.  Thanks. 

Others have asked for photos of my steering wheel.  There is a very small crack on the inside of the outer ring that I am sure could be easily filled.  The main cracks are at the center hub. 

[Hipo giddyup]

I had only one crack at the hub, but it was large. If it were mine, I would attempt to repair the wheel you have. Worse case scenario is that these cracks might come back as hairline cracks over the next few years. I have heard that the repro wheels can end up having cracks over a few years as well, and they didn't start their life as a Ford unit. 

[must69]

I was going to try and repair it, but when I took the plate off (3 screws) I found there are actually three large cracks and one goes right through one f the screw holes.  I have to wonder about the integrity of the whole hub at this point. 
Phil

[rrenz]

I had only one crack at the hub, but it was large. If it were mine, I would attempt to repair the wheel you have. Worse case scenario is that these cracks might come back as hairline cracks over the next few years. I have heard that the repro wheels can end up having cracks over a few years as well, and they didn't start their life as a Ford unit. 

Put a Repro on my 66 a few years ago due to the fact that it just stunk. I may repaint it at some point... anyways a very nice wheel however as mentioned it did develop a very small hairline crack at the top from baking in the sun at shows I'm assuming. however a higher quality reproduction that does have a nice appearance. Got mine from Cj's I believe.