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Steering wheel size-opinions

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kch

kch

Senior Member
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I am going to change my original steering wheel to a Mota lita steering wheel. But is unsure about the size. I will go for a leather one, since I think that it would fit best in a 3000 MK 1 (no wood in the dash to match wood rim steering wheel). Is 13" steering wheel to small ?, would it be heavy to turn at low speed ? What about 14" steering wheels ?
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14" is as small as I would go Kch.but there will be other opinions soon.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
hi KCH I have a 15 1/2 Lempert wheel and it is just right. my car is a mk 1 with a new black dash with a dark wood wheel and everyone that has seen it loves it just my opinion
 
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hi KCH I have a 15 1/2 Lempert wheel and it is just right. my car is a mk 1 with a new black dash with a dark wood wheel and everyone that has seen it loves it just my opinion

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Is the rim on your steering wheel "fatter" than on the Mota
lita wood rim 15" steering wheel ? Because I think the rim on Mota lita 15 wood rim is a little bit to thin. Can you fit the original horn/blinker assembly on the boss ?

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Careful, guys. Changing a wheel can make your $97,000.00 Healey just another $60,000.00 driver. Keep the old wheel in the attic.
 
KCH the wood on my wheel really feels great in my hands as well as my wifes it is slightly fatter than the original wheel and Mike Lempert is a great guy to work with. He has several different woods to choose from and a lot of different styles and his work is top notch. I used a moto lita adapter hub LBC and it was a straight bolt up affair with the horn and everything. I can send photos if you like. Skip
 
Thanks Skip, it would be nice with some pictures.(either here as attchment or at: khanne@online.no) I have browsed the Lampert site, the wheels looks great, but it is difficult to se how it looks in a Healey. I have never seen Lampert wheel on a Healey before.
And yes, I will hang the old steering wheel on the wall in my living room, not because 97k-60k=37k, but because I want the option to swap it back.
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I went with a Momo on my LBC and lost two inches in diameter. Even with the wide tires it turns easy enough. To me the two inches hardly made that much difference, in fact, I would say that the smaller wheel actually gives me more leverage by way of where the wheel rim is positioned to my body which offsets the decrease in diameter.
I went with Momo because everybody seems to think if it doesn't come from VickyB or Moss, it won't fit the car and it's really disappointing to me to see a thousand cars over that all have the same slight modifications that came from one of the big distributors. One would think Moto Lita was the only company that made a quality wheel for LBCs. It's a shame because the whole idea of these cars to me is that they are different. Call me crazy, just my opinion.
 
Hi Karl,
My original BN2 steering wheel rim measured .750" x .750" X 16.75" diameter outside to outside.

My replacement Moto-Lita wheel rim measures .750" x .850" x 15" diameter outside to outside. See pic--

The rim still feels strangely skinny to me, harder to get a firm grip on, but not a big problem. The smaller outer diameter actually gives better road feel & more room to maneuver. There is no noticeable increase in steering effort, but the BN2 is a couple of hundred pounds lighter in front than the later cars. I can easily turn the wheel lock to lock with one hand & the car stationary. The 15" wheel gives about 12% increase in steering effort. A 14" wheel would give about 20% increase in steering effort. If yours turns easily now the smaller diameter may be ok.

I used a Moto-Lita hub which fit perfectly with the original turn signal/horn button assembly.

Aside; the Big Healey steering wheels always had the spokes located at 120 degrees with one at 12 o'clock. This gives a fairly unobstructed view of the gages. Many replacement wheels have one spoke up & two spaced at about 100 degrees. I don't know if it matters to you, makes it harder to see the gages.
D
 

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Thanks Skip, I have just sendt you my email adress at work, which should work better.
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Karl,

Changing my dash required that my steering column be lowered about 2 inches. Changing to MGB-GT
seats only made that situation worse. I couldn’t get my thighs under the steering wheel.

I removed the stock 17 inch rim from the wheel hub and brazed a 14 inch steel hoop to the original
wheel spokes. I then firm foam padded the rim and stitched on a glove leather cover.

All of this allowed me to keep the original wheel hub, spokes, and trafficator.

If you are interested in doing this and are “handy”, I’ll be glad to share the details with you.

This wheel has a great "feel", but I wouldn't go smaller than 14 inches as the smaller wheel diameter
can make the car a little "skittish" at highway speeds.


Tim




Interior1_2.JPG


Dash1.JPG
 
Nice job Cottontop, wheel and all else, just what a retro 2005 Healy would look like. Now the wife wants one, thanks for that!!! Wayne
 
Thanks Skip for nice pictures. The steering wheel looks fine. I will either go for a Lempert steering wheel, or a Moto Lita wheel with leather rim.
And thanks Cottontop for the offer, my original steering wheel is restored, and to good to rebuild. But I like your solution with rebuilding the old steering wheel.
 
I read somewhere that the optimal size wheel should match the shoulder width of the driver. This would be for cruising, I suppose and not for parking lot manuevers. I have a red leather LeCarra wheel and if not for the welcome thigh clearance, would probably add another inch. I used to do a lot of slaloming and put in a 100 steering box in addition to the small wheel for a quicker ratio than the BJ8.
 
Question. My BN6 has the original steering wheel that I repaired by filling in gaps with expoxy and covering with a leather cover. What am I missing about not staying original with this? Is a smaller diameter, fatter wheel that much better or don't you trust the old wheels?
Thanks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Hi Chuck,
I don't think you are missing anything. Some folks just want to stay a little more original. The MotoLita type wood rim, alum spoke wheel was offered as an option on original cars so is considered fairly original. Leather covering was not offered & is considered to be less original. As far as diameter change, I think that has already been covered. Nothing wrong with leather wrapping your original wheel if you like it.
D
 
My original steering wheel is repaired just like yours and works fine and I trust it. I just want something else, and I have always the option to swap back to the original wheel.
Ps
The norwegian internet newspaper Nettavisen have this picture in an article about garages today.
 

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