One rare & unique "momo" (pre-momo Monza)

Getting some input from all the momo experts out there. I'm not on here often but I recognize the wealth of knowledge that exists on the forum. I'm an active member admin over at e9coupe.com and longtime forum user. There is just no better place to be when it comes to sourcing info. Have you ever seen anything like this before? I was debating what to do with it but I fear it is completely irreplaceable.

Some early posts by Mark Morrissey were instrumental in helping me identify and date my pre-momo wheel. Mark described his as "the rarest momo on the planet" if I recall correctly. That wheel was silver and I think he may have later picked up a black one. I also saw that Patipatina described his 1964 pre-momo as "the holy grail of all momos". Not sure where this one fits in. :D

Pictures are of my 380mm pre-Momo Monza wheel. It has the earliest known "Hand Made In Italy" engraving, and and 12707 patent code. It was most likely produced in 1964, prior to Momo's 1966 incorporation. Very few black wheels like this are around, and I have never in my life seen a pre-momo, or even stacked momo with original cardinal red leather. I can only assume that it was a one-off custom Moretti creation for a Porsche or Ferrari owner. Whoever owned it certainly pampered their car. Save for some patina/dirt at 10 & 2, the Monza is damn near NOS!



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Stunning! I’d say it was a custom as well.

No idea... but that is one gorgeous wheel.

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That's pretty neat. The stitching, thread weight and color... the leather configuration and skiving are all consistent with an early MoMo wheel.
Of course the leather color isn't but who cares? You can tell by the freshness of everything it was well cared for.
A rarity indeed.

Well, including Mark's, yours is only the second I've ever seen and likely such early production that finding another would be a miracle. It's a unicorn... install that wheel and drive!

I love how crisp the engraving is, like you would see on scientific instruments, cameras or guns. The stampings on Nardi wheels look cheap in comparison.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark Morrissey

That's pretty neat. The stitching, thread weight and color... the leather configuration and skiving are all consistent with an early MoMo wheel.
Of course the leather color isn't but who cares? You can tell by the freshness of everything it was well cared for.
A rarity indeed.

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Thanks! I think the red leather makes it pretty special. Of all the colors to chose, this seems like a good one. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark Morrissey

That's pretty neat. The stitching, thread weight and color... the leather configuration and skiving are all consistent with an early MoMo wheel.

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Mark I forgot to thank you for the expert commentary on originality.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bullethead

Well, including Mark's, yours is only the second I've ever seen and likely such early production that finding another would be a miracle. It's a unicorn... install that wheel and drive!

I love how crisp the engraving is, like you would see on scientific instruments, cameras or guns. The stampings on Nardi wheels look cheap in comparison.

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Thanks Russ! Agreed on the engraving. The back is amazingly
crisp. It seems to me that momo ramped up production more and more stuff moved to stamping. Even the later Pat 12707 wheels were stamped as far as I could tell. I had a Patent Pending 380 Le Mans (with an awful recover). The back appeared to be stamped. Even some Alpina wheels like the A38 (common Alpina four spoke) had stamped Alpina logos.

With so much variation it is hard to understand the sequencing and timeline of these wheels. That is why I’m thankful to be able to read commentary from experts on this forum and elsewhere. We are all familiar with folks that keep information a little too secret, and it can be a point of frustration. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the steering wheel collectors from what I have seen. I’m not much of a collector myself, but I do geek out on the finer details about of this stuff.

A thing of rare beauty indeed ... would love to see it for real!

This forum is great. Had a real nice chat with user “Robi” about this wheel and others from the era. Everyone seems to agree that the wheel is period, and that the red is “interesting” for better or worse. I may be out of steering wheel experts by now. :D

Thank you for the assistance everyone!