-----Original Message-----
From: Robert B. Houston <transerv@sprynet.com>
To: Rick Kaplan <rkaplan@us.net>; Bob <Bob@itgonline.com>; Peter Samaroo
<mrbugeye@hotmail.com>; spridgets@autox.team.net <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 1998 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: Re[2]: Towing...WHEEL?
>Great looking wheel! Where'd you get it? WE calorie challanged types
would
>love the extra room.
>
>Robert Houston
>74 Midget, Katy
>
Robert:
I made the wheel. I tried several times to post the details but for some
reason it must have never made it onto the list. Here is the original post:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
Some of you purists out there are going to hate this, but I wanted to relate
to the list a about a small project I recently completed on my bug eye.
After rebuilding the front end on my 1960 Sprite - poly bushings, disk
brakes, new "A" arms, sway bar etc. - I noticed that the car handled so much
better and the steering was so much lighter that the large, school bus sized
steering wheel was way to big to get me into the curves as fast as the car
wanted to go. Now I have seen lots of after-market steering wheels on
sprites. Wheels on cars that retain the stock dash and interior don't look
right to me. I though, wouldn't it be nice to be able to just take the stock
wheel and shrink it down a little?
Here is what I came up with:
The stock steering wheel that was on my car was pretty beat up (cracks along
the spokes and a chunk of bakealite missing from the horn button recess), so
I found a wheel that was in much better shape (in the used parts department
at Motorhead Ltd). I decided to keep the new one as my backup wheel and
proceeded to use the old one for the conversion.
I bought an 11-1/2" wheel from Pep Boys for $19.95 and cut the spokes and
hub out of it. I then measured (carefully) the width that I would have to
cut the original wheel down, leaving 1/4" (on ether side) of the steel bar t
hat is imbedded in the Bakealite skin of the wheel. I notched the Pep Boys
wheel to accept the exposed steel rods and welded them to the wheel. I
modified one of those cheap steering wheel covers to fit the new wheel (the
original foam rubber cover got fairly destroyed during the grinding and
welding operations).
Anyway, I think I will replace the wheel cover with something better at some
point but I think the results aren't bad.
Take a look:
<www.us.net/kaplan/whee0002.JPG>
<www.us.net/kaplan/whee0003.JPG>
I am now getting used to this little wheel. The car goes into the turns now
like you wouldn't believe and aside from some increased transmission of road
shock, it feels Great.
Rick
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