Thin 380mm wood steering wheels

[IanM]

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I quite like this but not sure on the swirl marks.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395745614231 ... 05.m162920

The Les Leston company has been started up again by Les's grandson. Although their website don't advertise wheels for Porsches but they do make bespoke wheels (with a VDM hub if you wanted)
https://www.lesleston.uk/pages/steering ... ufacturing

I have no experience with wood steering wheels. Do they feel good? Are they legal for early 70s? My very first car had an ebonite wheel and I liked the feel of it. Don't get me wrong - I also like leather but not the stitching.

Has anyone ever stripped a 4-spoke 380mm VDM wheel to bare metal (ebonite/plastic/rubber taken off)? Is the base rim flat bar or round bar?

[Lightweight_911]

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I have no experience with wood steering wheels. Do they feel good? Are they legal for early 70s? My very first car had an ebonite wheel and I liked the feel of it. Don't get me wrong - I also like leather but not the stitching.

Has anyone ever stripped a 4-spoke 380mm VDM wheel to bare metal (ebonite/plastic/rubber taken off)? Is the base rim flat bar or round bar?

Yes, wood steering wheels are legal !

I've had probably 600+ wood wheels - mainly original Les Leston, Derrington & early Nardi plus a variety of others from the '60's & '70's.

Obviously it's a personal choice but - apart from the Factory VDM wood wheels fitted to early cars - I don 't think wooden steering wheels look right in 911's ... much more suited to 356 models.

As for the 'core' of a 380mm Porsche wheel, its rim is round bar - here's one I stripped :

[210bhp]

Early 911’s did have the option of a wood wheel but as Andy says they probably give a 50/60’s vibe rather than 70’s. Here are a couple of examples in 356’s.
The second one looks like the one for sale. This is my car and I love the feel of the wheel in hand and I believe it compliments the brown interior nicely (along with a wooden gear knob).





Regards
Mike

[IanM]

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Thanks for the replies.

As for the 'core' of a 380mm Porsche wheel, its rim is round bar - here's one I stripped :

That picture is really helpful. I was hoping its rim would be flat bar, so it could be sent to LL for wood fitting. Never mind.

I don 't think wooden steering wheels look right in 911's

as Andy says they probably give a 50/60’s vibe rather than 70’s

I know what you mean but I was thinking about a version without swirl marks and spokes painted black.

[Lightweight_911]

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It's not too difficult to adapt a std LL wood wheel to fit a 911 steering column - here's the original LL wheel I fitted to my 904 replica:



- it utilised an alloy spacer/adapter to mate the wheel to the splined hub from an original 911 s/wheel:




I currently have a LL wood wheel that I've fitted to a modified Moto-Lita 911 boss ... I'll take some photos later.

For reference, here's a 'small centre' LL wood wheel with black spokes taken from a 906:





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[sladey]

I’ve always hated wooden steering wheels in 911s but that one with the black spokes looks great - surprising how that changes the whole vibe

[IanM]

- it utilised an alloy spacer/adapter to mate the wheel to the splined hub from an original 911 s/wheel:

but that one with the black spokes looks great - surprising how that changes the whole vibe

Indeed it does.

[Lightweight_911]

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Here's the original LL wood wheel that I currently have (one of several 'period' wood wheels I've accumulated for a potential future 356 project) :





- at the moment I've re-drilled a Moto-Lita Porsche boss which would allow it to bolt straight on to a 356B/C (or 911/912)