Phil,
I started reading this thread a little late so I don't know what year
your car is, but both the wheels from my '75 TR6's are rubber or vinyl
or some combination, not leather. They are molded to give the appearance
of leather with stitching and seams like leather but mine are definitely
not. Wish they were. On one I was attempting to remove some pitting and
surface rust from the spokes and got the wire wheel on the covering and
from viewing the slight damage, it is obviously not leather, but a
rubbery compound.
I've got a factory leather wrapped wheel on my '94 740 BMW and it shows
more leather - like wear than the steering wheels of my TR6's and I'd be
willing to bet the leather quality would be superior on this car than a
TR6. If nothing else the stitches would have deteriorated on an open car
with no tinted windshield if they were organic.
Maybe your wheel is covered with leather but mine aren't. Could it be
the early cars had leather covered wheels and the factory went to
rubber, say in '73?
Jim Davis
Fortson, GA
CF38690UO
CF37325U
Philip Haldeman wrote:
>
> Update and (tentative) conclusion:
>
> I've received many confident opinions from the List as to the rim material
> of the original TR6 steering wheel. They are, in order of adherents: (1)
> leather (2) molded vinyl (3) rubber. I think it's a genuine leather
> rim---though you can't tell just by "feel". For example, it may feel like
> rubber because it's smooth and thick and has "rebound". But this behavior
> can be explained by a wrapped rim having a rubber or hard foam core. It
> may look like vinyl because over time the stitching and the seams tend to
> "merge" (as Randall says) with the surrounding material. But I have my
> wife to thank for my high level of confidence. We wouldn't want to convict
> for murder on this evidence, but it works here.
>
> My wife uses a stereoscopic microscope (a "dissecting scope") to identify
> plant diseases. She put the steering wheel under the microscope last night
> and was able to show me three things, the latter two using a sharp pin:
> (1) a textured surface of sharp-edged micro cracks that look like the
> surface of a dry planet. (2) a surface that is actually a 1/16" (or
> thereabouts) skin, and (3) stitching that can be wiggled around with the
> tip of a pin separately from the surrounding material.
>
> Lastly, one of the List members did a. . .er. . ."lick test", wherein the
> moisture soaked into the rim material as would be expected of something
> organic rather than plastic. (Thanks again, Joe!) And to cap it off, the
> local Brit car restorer says flat out that it's leather---and points out
> that Moss sells a replacement leather wrap kit that goes on after you cut
> away the original skin.
>
> Conclusion: genuine leather-wrapped steering wheel. Anything more
> conclusive I can't offer, and as I say, I wouldn't stake anyone's life on
> it! It's also interesting that a debate can break out about what ought to
> be (?) common knowledge. This is just an observation by a relative
> newcomer. In fact, I e-mailed a well-known member of the local Triumph
> club this morning, and he said, "I always assumed it was leather. It feels
> like leather, but I'm not really sure now that you bring it up." It's
> interesting, because leather must be treated in certain ways, and it's the
> one thing we always have our hands on (!)
>
> --Phil Haldeman
> haldeman@accessone.com
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