[Healeys] Steering wheel repair

[Bob Spidell]

I bought one of the German 'uprated' water pumps which has an outlet 
plug that is the wrong size and leaks. I tried all my usual go-tos: 
teflon tape, JB weld, threadlocker, even brazing--which ruined the 
seal--and none of them sealed and held. Eventually, at the suggestion of 
our own Steven K. I tried Permatex 'Seal and Lock' which both sealed the 
leaks and secured the plug. I haven't tried it on steering wheels, but I 
think it worth a try (NFI)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Permatex-THREADLOCKER-SandLK-1-18OZ-Industrial-Sealants/131196196?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

On 4/8/2026 5:35 PM, JSARCH wrote:
>
> The most likely reason the steering wheel cracks come back is because 
> the steel ring inside the plastic is continuing to rust and expand. 
> Eventually the steel will rust through and the steering wheel will 
> fall apart. I stored my BT7 steering wheel while restoring the rest of 
> the car. When I started to restore it, it fell apart as if it was 
> filled with dust. You may have observed this same process when you see 
> cracked concrete with rust marks around the cracks. For safety’s sake, 
> I don’t recommend restoring steering wheels.
>
> *From:*Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> *On Behalf Of *Michael 
> Salter
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 8, 2026 12:13 PM
> *To:* healeys at autox.team.net
> *Subject:* [Healeys] Steering wheel repair
>
> 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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