Segmented wood steering wheel

For those who obsess about exactly how their 356 left the factory!
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John Wurner
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Segmented wood steering wheel

#1 Post by John Wurner »

I have a segmented original VDM steering wheel imported from Germany about 30 years ago.
Is there a way to tell if the wood is original to the wheel or applied later?
Look at all three pics.
Thanks
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Doug McDonnell
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#2 Post by Doug McDonnell »

See Roy Lock's article in 35-3 sept/oct 2011 and you should be able to figure it out. Pray for C2 wheel. Bruce Crawford might be able to help you with good pictures.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

Richard Emerson
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#3 Post by Richard Emerson »

Here’s pictures of an original.

They weren’t black on back and had cheaper chrome plating. it seems yours has black painting and the joints don’t seem right? Hard to tell from your photos.


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Mike Wilson
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#4 Post by Mike Wilson »

The C2 wheel wasn't painted black on the backside but rather the inside of the spokes on the front. Paul Hatfield just went through an identification process on his wheel. Info on enginesinback. Roy Lock's (r.i.p.) article has good info as well.

Mike
Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

Richard Emerson
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#5 Post by Richard Emerson »

Here’s a picture of another C2 wheel that is original kardex to my car. Car itself is all original too.

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Paul Hatfield
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#6 Post by Paul Hatfield »

Here is a link to the Blog page of my website: https://www.enginesinback.com/blog
If you scan down a little, you'll see the information that Mike was talking about. I was able to later get confirmation that in fact the steering wheel I restored is an original C2 wheel. Mike Lampert was helpful in determining this as was the article from Roy Lock. Unfortunately, yours does not match the characteristics of an original.
-Paul
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John Wurner
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#7 Post by John Wurner »

Thank you, Paul.
Good information, I did not expect the wheel to be a c2 wheel, just trying to figure out what it is.
John

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Jim Breazeale
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#8 Post by Jim Breazeale »

John Wurner wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:52 pm I have a segmented original VDM steering wheel imported from Germany about 30 years ago.
Is there a way to tell if the wood is original to the wheel or applied later?
Look at all three pics.
Thanks
It's nicely done but not a factory made wheel. The wood is a bit too thick and the joints are not as done by the factory, as Richard pointed out earlier. The paint on the back of the wheel is an obvious reason to believe that this is a plastic wheel that has been modified. The plating is consistent with a plastic wheel, not a factory wood wheel. It does appear to have the correct number of scallops on the back, though.
Jim Breazeale
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Bil Brown
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Re: Segmented wood steering wheel

#9 Post by Bil Brown »

ZIMBER did the wood on the factory Carrera2 wheels.
Bill Brown

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