[Healeys] Steering wheel repair

[Richard Collins]

 Not sure what the original was made from but
I use MARINETEX for fixing, gluing etc. it is a 2 part epoxy ? Or similar it hardens well and sands easily.
Regards,
Richard C


On Apr 8, 2026, at 17:26, Michael Salter <michaelsalter at gmail.com> wrote:


Many years ago, I repaired the large cracks in the original steering wheel of my Phase 1 BJ8 by grinding them out with a Dremel and filling the cracks with JB weld. After sanding and repainting with epoxy gloss black it looked great however, after a few years, more cracks appeared at the interface of the JB Weld and the original plastic from which the rim was molded. Back then I replaced the original wheel with a shiny new Motolita wood-rim wheel, with which I was never completely happy, and all was good, sort of.
I am now faced with having to do the same type of repair on the original wheel from the BN2 which I am currently restoring.
Before starting with the JB Weld process again I thought I should do a little research to see if I could find a filler material which would form a stronger bond with the plastic rim material.
Gemini told me that the rim was made of Bakelite but I was not convinced. Bakelite is a “thermoset” plastic which, when heated, does not melt. A simple experiment quickly proved that the rim plastic was a thermo-plastic material because it easily melted and could be deformed when heated and again unlike Bakelite it dissolved in acetone.
I have done some Googling and it seems that it’s very likely that the plastic used for molding the rims was Tenite™ cellulose acetate.
Does anyone know for sure what the original steering wheel rims were made from?

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