Just Send It
Well-Known Member
Wanted to share my experience with restoring a 63' 330 steering wheel.
My car had a Polara steering wheel when I got it; and while it was in great shape, it kind of bugged me because it wasn't model correct. So I went on a hunt to find a 330 wheel. I quickly realized the prices on a restored wheel were very expensive, so my only option was to restore one myself.
Another member on this forum was extremely generous and sent me his 63' steering wheel, but it had been sitting in a field in Montana and it had 1/4" to 1/2" cracks pretty much everywhere. In-fact, there was a lateral crack that ran almost 360° around the entire circumference. It was in rough shape, but it gave me something to work with.
So I got my V-notch bit for my Dremel and went to work. I carved all of the old cracks down to the metal frame to give the new epoxy something to grab onto. I ended up using a combination of PC-7, laminate epoxy, and body filler. I used several layers of the PC-7 to build-up the inside of the large cracks, and then I used laminate epoxy and then finished it with body filler. The idea behind using the different materials is that I wanted the most rigid epoxy at the core and then have more malleable epoxy for the outer layers. My theory is that the more malleable materials will be able to expand/contract without cracking.
This was kind of a challenge. One of the larger cracks was right in the middle of a finger trough, so I had to recreate it. I basically took the epoxy and allowed for a controlled drip to accumulate. From there I shaped it into a new finger bump.
Then I had to recreate the inside trim pieces. I'd say this was the most challenging part of the project because the material is so thin. I used some very thin gauged steel I had laying around and started cutting them out by hand. This took FOREVER to do. I probably have 8 hours into these guys.
If you notice, they're 2 tone with light argent silver in the middle and polished sides. Those little sides are 1/32" wide and beveled so I used pinstripe tape to separate the paint lines. Getting these straight and perfectly fit inside of the wheel was time consuming.
If anyone ever has to restore one of these steering wheels, here are the paints I used. They matched perfectly to the stock colors.
After everything was shaped, then it was just a matter of priming and sanding. I put some time into this, so I have 6 coats of primer, 4 coats of base, and 4 coats of satin clear. The 1963 Crimson Red paint from Herb's was a dead ringer. It matched exactly.
And there you have it...Hopefully she'll last another 60 years. Thanks to @bolson633 for the steering wheel and for you guys to give me the confidence to try this project. You guys were a great help.
My car had a Polara steering wheel when I got it; and while it was in great shape, it kind of bugged me because it wasn't model correct. So I went on a hunt to find a 330 wheel. I quickly realized the prices on a restored wheel were very expensive, so my only option was to restore one myself.
Another member on this forum was extremely generous and sent me his 63' steering wheel, but it had been sitting in a field in Montana and it had 1/4" to 1/2" cracks pretty much everywhere. In-fact, there was a lateral crack that ran almost 360° around the entire circumference. It was in rough shape, but it gave me something to work with.
So I got my V-notch bit for my Dremel and went to work. I carved all of the old cracks down to the metal frame to give the new epoxy something to grab onto. I ended up using a combination of PC-7, laminate epoxy, and body filler. I used several layers of the PC-7 to build-up the inside of the large cracks, and then I used laminate epoxy and then finished it with body filler. The idea behind using the different materials is that I wanted the most rigid epoxy at the core and then have more malleable epoxy for the outer layers. My theory is that the more malleable materials will be able to expand/contract without cracking.
This was kind of a challenge. One of the larger cracks was right in the middle of a finger trough, so I had to recreate it. I basically took the epoxy and allowed for a controlled drip to accumulate. From there I shaped it into a new finger bump.
Then I had to recreate the inside trim pieces. I'd say this was the most challenging part of the project because the material is so thin. I used some very thin gauged steel I had laying around and started cutting them out by hand. This took FOREVER to do. I probably have 8 hours into these guys.
If you notice, they're 2 tone with light argent silver in the middle and polished sides. Those little sides are 1/32" wide and beveled so I used pinstripe tape to separate the paint lines. Getting these straight and perfectly fit inside of the wheel was time consuming.
If anyone ever has to restore one of these steering wheels, here are the paints I used. They matched perfectly to the stock colors.
After everything was shaped, then it was just a matter of priming and sanding. I put some time into this, so I have 6 coats of primer, 4 coats of base, and 4 coats of satin clear. The 1963 Crimson Red paint from Herb's was a dead ringer. It matched exactly.
And there you have it...Hopefully she'll last another 60 years. Thanks to @bolson633 for the steering wheel and for you guys to give me the confidence to try this project. You guys were a great help.
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