Greg (greg_meythaler@ccm.hf.intel.com) writes:
> At the Portland Triumph club meeting the other night a letter was
> being circulated from a dissatisfied customer of a Texas business.
> I've typed in a copy of the Hemmings ad, and this gentleman's letter.
>
> AD:
> STEERING wheel restoration, plastic/bakelite only,
> for most British/foreign sport cars, etc, can recondition
> most cracks, splits, etc, if we have something to
> work with, $100 & up, 100% satisfaction guaranteed;
> UPS, COD. The Parts House, 214-414-6704; FAX:
> 214-414-6205, TX
[tale of woe deleted...]
In one issue not long ago of "Cars and Parts" magazine, to which I seem to
be the only subscriber :-) there was a fascinating article of how a real
steering wheel outfit does it. (Note that this is a complete recreation of
the wheel, as opposed to just patching the old one.)
They use assorted fillers and such as necessary to recreate the original
shape of the wheel for use as a pattern. They then make castings of the
wheel to function as molds. Finally they strip the old plastic, etc. from
the original wheel, center the old wire core within the molds they just
made and pour in the new plastic. Presto! An exact, fresh molding from the
original pattern using the original core.
Obviously the molds are saved for reuse when another owner of the same
wheel design comes along; the whole process above only has to occur once.
If anyone is in dire need of the identity of this outfit, I can rummage
around the basement and see if I can find the issue.
Andrew C. Green
Datalogics, Inc. Internet: acg@hermes.dlogics.com
441 W. Huron UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!acg
Chicago, IL 60610 FAX: (312) 266-4473
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