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

[bluehills2002]

Steve, I cannot shed any light on the Tii steering wheel question, but it does raise the question in my mind about how the wheels were manufactured. Your first photo seems to show a very clean gap at the north and south poles, were the wheels made in two parts?  The hard plastic wheel on my ‘74 base (below) has plenty of cracks but nothing at those two points.  I have assumed (and hoped) the wheels were constructed somehow around a metal frame so that mine does not someday come off in my hand while I am cruising down the road.  Maybe it’s time to start shopping for a new wheel.

[Conserv]

4 hours ago, bluehills2002 said:

Steve, I cannot shed any light on the Tii steering wheel question, but it does raise the question in my mind about how the wheels were manufactured. Your first photo seems to show a very clean gap at the north and south poles, were the wheels made in two parts?  The hard plastic wheel on my ‘74 base (below) has plenty of cracks but nothing at those two points.  I have assumed (and hoped) the wheels were constructed somehow around a metal frame so that mine does not someday come off in my hand while I am cruising down the road.  Maybe it’s time to start shopping for a new wheel.

The 1974 (non-tii) steering wheels were, like decades of steering wheels preceding them (on U.S. domestic and foreign cars), plastic molded around a metal armature. They crack randomly with time, and the first 1974 wheel I showed just happened to crack at top and bottom.

 

Plastic-rimmed wheels can be restored, but the cost of restoration generally exceeds the current price of an un-cracked ‘02 steering wheel. That will not be the case forever. I had to have the steering wheel of my ‘61 F-350 restored because un-cracked examples are pretty-much non-existent (photos below, there were plenty of cracks pre-restoration; they just don’t show clearly in photos).

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by Conserv

[Flunder]

Well I took this "padded leather rim" wheel off of 2781214 in the mid 80s. Here are some pics.

Date looks like 6 01 74.

It does have a nice soft padded feel and has a noticeable grain pattern, stitching pattern in high relief and even the seam of the "skin" at the 6 o'clock position.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Flunder

[JMMcR75]

Following up on the February 13 post by '76mintgrün'02 about the rectangular center pad for four-spoke wheels, my 1974 tii did not come to me with the original wheel, and I have been thinking about an OEM replacement for a while.  Some time ago I bought a foam center pad in anticipation, understanding that many have developed broken posts.  I recently bought a (pretty nice) four-spoke wheel on eBay that was (probably innocently) advertised as a 1974.  My new wheel has the plastic center pad Tom describes for his 1976 wheel. The date stamps on the wheel are illegible, but the plastic center pad has a 4-76 radio dial mold mark.  Since the ’76 center pad fits the wheel, I have to think that the wheel is also a ’76, and I’m OK with that.  I then found that my replacement foam center pad does not fit the ’76 wheel, having a different profile.  The pictures below compare the two center pads.  So the center pads also seem to be unique to a specific steering wheel series, and not interchangeable. As predicted in Conserv’s original post, my rim is “padded plastic” without embossing.

[JohnP_02]

[JohnP_02]

Not sure what happened to the text in that last post, but I found this one for sale recently on another forum. It is the first one I have ever seen for sale in the wild. It does clearly have some differences from the standard oem 4-spoke wheel. The center horn pad appears to be thinner, so its not just the same wheel with the leatherette rim cover it would appear. I think @tdskip purchased this one for his 74 tii so maybe he could chime in once he receives it? John 

[Conserv]

4 hours ago, JohnP_02 said:

Not sure what happened to the text in that last post, but I found this one for sale recently on another forum. It is the first one I have ever seen for sale in the wild. It does clearly have some differences from the standard oem 4-spoke wheel. The center horn pad appears to be thinner, so its not just the same wheel with the leatherette rim cover it would appear. I think @tdskip purchased this one for his 74 tii so maybe he could chime in once he receives it? John 

Very nice, John!

 

Does it have a manufacturing date? With the “tii-only” faux seam at 6:00, I’m guessing it’s a 1974 wheel — although I suppose a Euro-spec 1975 tii might have the same wheel, or not!

Below is the March 1976 (“03  76”) wheel in my April 1976 ‘76 (VIN 2742541).

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[Charles in PA]

My 74tii has a Nardi steering wheel that was installed by the previous owner but when I purchased the car it also came with what I thought was the original steering wheel.  My car was manufactured on 5/9/74 so the date code of 5/74 on the back of the wheel would seem to correspond with the manufacture date.  I will have to double check to make sure when I get home, but my wheel  does not appear to be the "padded leather rim" noted in the model brochure but rather the "padded plastic rim" seen in 75 and 76 models.  

 

The old wheel seems like it has seen better days.  Not sure the cost or the value in restoring but crazy as it may sound I have thought about removing the Nardi, going back to the stock wheel.  

 

 

  

[Conserv]

Fortunately, Charles, there is no shortage of great new theories here! When facts interfere with our tidy theories, we simply concoct a more… nuanced theory.

 

Step One: Dating of These Wheels

 

I believe they have a month and a year, but not a day. The first two stamped numbers may represent the inspector, or the person completing the wheel. I read the stampings on three wheels, shown below, as No. 61 in January 1974 (“61  01  74”), No. 64 in May 1974 (“64  05  74”), and No. 57 in March 1976 (“57  03  76”).

 

Further, Nick’s car was manufactured in January 1974 (no photo of date stamp). And Glen’s original-owner car was manufactured April 1974 (no photo of date stamp). Both have the faux leather wheels with faux seams.

 

Step Two: The End of the (Square Taillight) Faux Leather tii Wheel

 

The January 1974 wheel is faux leather with faux seam at 6 o’clock. Although lacking photos of their dating, Nick’s and Glen’s wheels round out the picture, with un-pictured examples from January and April 1974. The May 1974 wheel is simply a padded vinyl wheel like my March 1976 example.

 

Thus, the faux leather tii wheel may have ceased to be used on U.S.-bound tii’s in approximately May of 1974.

 

Et voila: a new theory! 
 

I suppose it would help if we had a few more data points, Original 1974 tii Owners!

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Steve

 

[SydneyTii]

21 hours ago, Conserv said:

I suppose it would help if we had a few more data points, Original 1974 tii Owners!

I have a 74tii euro spec March 20th, 1974 to be precise, I had one of those padded vinyl wheels, my car was quite original when I got it, I will have a look at the wheel,  which for some reason I don’t want to part with🙄 and get some date pics..

[JohnP_02]

I have a bit of a wrench to throw in this discussion. It appears that the '74 e9 coupes were fitted with a leather 4-spoke steering wheel, so I am wondering if maybe there was never really a version for the 2002? It looks awfully similar and a despite the one brochure, I haven't seen to many of them around. 

 

[Conserv]

22 minutes ago, JohnP_02 said:

I have a bit of a wrench to throw in this discussion. It appears that the '74 e9 coupes were fitted with a leather 4-spoke steering wheel, so I am wondering if maybe there was never really a version for the 2002? It looks awfully similar and a despite the one brochure, I haven't seen to many of them around. 

 

John,

As @Glen Karr’s post clarified, the 

wheels we’re seeing on ‘74 tii’s is faux leather, with a faux seam at 6 o’clock, not real leather. Thus, its rim is like the ‘02 sport wheel (a.k.a., ti wheel, a.k.a., Euro tii wheel, a.k.a., 1970 fire / strike / fill-in-the-blank wheel). Glen’s the original owner of his April 1974 tii, so he’d certainly know if someone stuck an E9 wheel on his car.

 

That E9 wheel sounds like a great factory-looking upgrade for those of us with chintzy padded-plastic wheels on our 76’s!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[JohnP_02]

Sorry, my previous post was poorly worded and an incorrect picture.

 

What seems much more likely is that IF the '74 2002 tii wheel was real leather then it was very likely the same wheel used on the '74 e9 with only the contact ring/pin appropriately adjusted depending on which model they were used for if that makes sense. But it appears the '74 tii was faux leather. 

 

Here is a leather e9 version:

 

Edited February 23, 2023 by JohnP_02