Faux-Leather-Rimmed Steering Wheels on 1974 tii’s?

[Conserv]

What I’m about to describe may be well known to everyone but me. If so, fine. If it’s not general knowledge, however, is it true?

 

Until recently, I viewed all square taillight OEM steering wheels as the same: four spokes and a padded plastic rim. Then, recently, Tom (@‘76mintgrun’02) mentioned that the 1974 model steering wheels, although four-spoked and of similar design, had hard plastic rims. Steering wheel lesson number one for me. But it was easily verified as true.

 

Then, last week, I read and saw in a 1974 model brochure for U.S. 2002’s that the tii’s for that year received a leather-rimmed steering wheel. Huh?

 

So are there three factory steering wheels for the square taillight cars? Or four factory steering wheels if we include the turbo?

 

Here’s what I’m looking at:

 

I. Hard Plastic Rim - The first three photos show 1974 steering wheels with hard-plastic rims. The first two photos are borrowed from a current for sale ad. The third photo is from the 1974 model brochure I mentioned above. The interior illustrated is obviously from a 2002A and, therefore, not a tii.

 

2. Padded Leather Rim - The fourth and fifth photos, both from the aforementioned brochure, show the language used in the brochure — “The 2002 tii has padded leather steering wheel...” — and a photo of a leather-rimmed steering wheel. Whether or not this is genuine leather with bona fide stitching, the rim has lots of leather-like texture and very “authentic-looking” stitching in all the right places.

 

3. Padded Plastic Rim - The sixth and seventh photos show the original steering wheel on my ‘76, in an August 1983 photo and in a July 2019 photo. I’ve always liked the feel of the padded rim on my ‘76 — a style shared between 1975 and 1976 models — but there is no pretense that the rim is leather, or stitched.

 

4. Three-Spoke Sport Wheel - The eighth photo is a gratuitous photo of the standard turbo steering wheel, from a period turbo brochure.

 

So...if you have a 1974 tii, does it have a leather-rimmed steering wheel?

 

Thanks and regards,

 

Steve 

 

 

 

[NYNick]

Steve,

 

Not being with my car at the moment, these pictures are the best I can do. I switched out the old steering wheel for a wooden Nardi, but still have the old one in a box in my garage.

 

I see stitching on the wheel, but can't determine which it is. Knowing the originality of my car, I would bet it is the one that came from the factory.

 

Hope this helps. I can get you a better picture when I get back home.

 

Nick

[esty]

i have never seen one but would like to have one

[Conserv]

28 minutes ago, NYNick said:

 

 

Thank you, Nick!

 

It sure looks like the padded leather rim advertised for 1974 tii's! That's excellent! The 1975-76 padded plastic rim has no stitching, faux or real. And, because it's not trying to be leather -- well not trying very hard -- the 1975-76 padded plastic rim doesn't need a seam at the bottom of the wheel, where the leather meets itself. Compare that detail to the bottom of the rim on your wheel.

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

[NYNick]

Live and learn. Glad I keep/kept all my original parts of the car. That wheel is in a box on the shelf with a bunch of other interior bits and pieces taking up space in my garage.

 

I like my wooden Nardi though. Looks cool.

[Mike Self]

Interesting post, Steve.  Can't say I've ever seen one of those 4 spoke, (real) leather-rimmed steering wheels, only the 3 spoke ones that ended up on some (if not all) 1970s (the famous fire/strike at the steering wheel factory story).  

 

I figured this would be one of those fittings/accessories that were offered on paper but not in reality.  When I ordered my '69 in Jan 1969, one of the options was a heated rear window (with defroster grid lines)--something I wanted for our sojourn in upstate NY.  But when I tried to order it, I was told they wouldn't be available for at least six months.  And since then  I've only seen one US 2002 fitted with clear glass and a heated rear window.  Took me 20 years to find one, and it came from a derelict Euro spec 1600...

 

mike

[Conserv]

VIN 2781633 (a Granatrot metallic 1974 tii, manufactured April 1974) was a one-owner car when the following photo was taken. It’s certainly wearing a steering wheel with a padded leather rim. Note the stitching and the seam at the bottom of the rim. But is it real leather? I don’t know.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Conserv]

23 minutes ago, mike said:

 

... I figured this would be one of those fittings/accessories that were offered on paper but not in reality...

 

+1

 

And that, Mike, is precisely what I thought! Until my suspicion was proved wrong with Nick’s post!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Conserv

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, NYNick said:

 

... I like my wooden Nardi though. Looks cool.

Agreed, Nick, that splinter-prone thing looks pretty good... But now that you have a rare 1974 tii leather-rimmed wheel, I’m guessing you’ll re-install it and send me that Nardi as a thank-you present.... ??

 

No rush, you’ll want to pack that Nardi well... ?

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Conserv

[Glen Karr]

Vin 2781681, April 22, 1974.  Close up picture of the wheel where the two halves join and stitching.  The covering is padded leatherette and the stitching and seam between the two halves is embossed. 

Hope this helps.

Best,

Glen

[NYNick]

1 hour ago, mike said:

Interesting post, Steve.  Can't say I've ever seen one of those 4 spoke, (real) leather-rimmed steering wheels, only the 3 spoke ones that ended up on some (if not all) 1970s (the famous fire/strike at the steering wheel factory story).  

 

I figured this would be one of those fittings/accessories that were offered on paper but not in reality.  When I ordered my '69 in Jan 1969, one of the options was a heated rear window (with defroster grid lines)--something I wanted for our sojourn in upstate NY.  But when I tried to order it, I was told they wouldn't be available for at least six months.  And since then  I've only seen one US 2002 fitted with clear glass and a heated rear window.  Took me 20 years to find one, and it came from a derelict Euro spec 1600...

 

mike

Mike, my 74 has heated rear glass also. I'm not sure if you are referring to early cars are just 02's in general?

Regards,

Nick

[JohnS]

My 74tii came with the standard 4-spoke fake leather/foam grip wheel.  It doesn't have a hard plastic grip.  I believe it to be original, but can't be entirely sure since I'm not the original owner.

  

['76mintgrün'02]

John, the wheels have a date code (yr./mo.).  I forget where it is now, but I was tickled to learn that the wheel Teelinger sold me has a date that matches my car.  You might be able to see it if  you pull the pad off.  I dug up this picture and don't see it on the back side.

 

I'd like to add another question to this thread, having to do with the rectangular pad in the four spoke wheels.  I recently noticed this ad in the classifieds, which shows a pad that is different from the one on my wheel and I am guessing it is from a '74.  Is that true?

 

 

The pad in that ad appears to be injection molded rubberized foam (or whatever you call it), as opposed to a rubber cover over a plastic backer; like in my wheel (shown in the photos below).

 

(I borrowed these photos of coloincaalpine's pad from the ad.  I am surprised it has not been sold).

 

 

The first photo below shows the two piece pad from my wheel. 

 

-- with an e21 wheel off to the side.  That wheel is entirely rubber/foam, with a non removable pad in the middle.  It is also a little bit smaller, fwiw (and does not have the horn contact button... and requires an 1/8" spacer).

 

 

(I added some foil backed sound dampener between the layers on mine and it eliminated the hollow sound when you touch it)

 

 

 

The last photo shows the inner/outer and an assembled pad.

 

 

I'll also ad that my pad had opened up a bit, with the top flap not sitting as flat as it should, so I warmed the plastic backer with a heat gun and gently bent it back down.  I am content with the original plastic/rubber pad... but that foamy one is tempting!

 

Tom

[Mike Self]

1 hour ago, NYNick said:

Mike, my 74 has heated rear glass also. I'm not sure if you are referring to early cars are just 02's in general?

Nick, I was referring to the (mostly) pre-modell 71 cars that (at least the US cars) came with clear glass, not the lightly tinted glass that became standard with the 2570001-on roundies and all the squarelights.  AFAIK all the US-bound cars from then on had tinted glass and a heated backlight.  It's even getting difficult to find a clear windshield now (and I need one as mine has a bullseye that may not be repairable), much less a clear

defroster backlight.

 

mike

[Conserv]

2 hours ago, Glen Karr said:

Vin 2781681, April 22, 1974.  Close up picture of the wheel where the two halves join and stitching.  The covering is padded leatherette and the stitching and seam between the two halves is embossed. 

Hope this helps.

Best,

Glen

Aha!

 

Thank you, Glen. I was hoping to hear from you!

 

So... BMW embellished the truth, substituting “pleather” with faux stitching for the advertised leather. This comes as no surprise. Why?

 

1. The round taillight “sport wheel” — three metal spokes (perforated in its the Euro version, indented in its U.S. version) — was also pleather with faux stitching. The U.S. version of this wheel is also known as the “fire-in-the-steering-wheel-factory” wheel and was factory-installed on many 1970 models.
 

2. BMW, and probably every other automotive manufacturer, tended to “embellish”. In most 1975-76 2002 brochures (first photo), the text says “you will find no simulated wood trim” next to a photo of an instrument cluster with.... simulated wood trim... ? 

 

Assuming that pleather with simulated stitching and a simulated bottom seam applies to all the square taillight tii steering wheels, it’s largely a precursor to the padded rims of the 1975-76 cars, which were installed on all 2002 sub-models. These 1975-76 rims originally had some simulated leather texture — my ‘76’s is pretty smooth by now, however, in the frequently-gripped areas — but lacked the faux stitching and seams.

 

As Tom noted, it’s easy to “spot-check” the dates of these steering wheels: all are stamped on the face of the hub, visible after you remove the hub pad. The second photo shows the date on my ‘76’s original wheel: March 1976 (“03 76”). My ‘76 was manufactured April 23, 1976. The stamped dates sometimes lack a month, but at least they all appear to have a year.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Conserv