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Thread: Classic 9 self-install leather for 40cm wheel

  1. #11
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    Nice progress Arne! Keep up the good work along with the photo documentation.

    David

  2. #12
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    Arne, is there any padding between the leather and the wheel? Nice work so far-thanks for posting.

    dho
    dho
    Central Florida
    Member # 1968

  3. #13
    Serial old car rescuer Arne's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dho View Post
    Arne, is there any padding between the leather and the wheel? Nice work so far-thanks for posting.
    No padding, which is the same as original. There was no padding under my factory leather either.

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    Stay tuned for an update in the next day or so. Should be done maybe late tomorrow, definitely before the weekend.
    Last edited by Arne; 05-12-2020 at 07:47 PM.
    - Arne
    Current - 2018 718 Cayman, Rhodium Silver, PDK

    Sold - 1972 911T coupe, Silver Metallic; 1984 911 Carrera coupe, Chiffon white; 1973 914 2.0, Saturn Yellow; 1984 944, Silver Metallic

  4. #14
    Senior Member 911kiwi's Avatar
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    Looking good. I did the "from scratch" method - have completed 4 wheels to date. Satisfying but lots of work. So why did I do FOUR steering wheels? Because to get the correct length of the correct leather you need to buy 1/2 a hide! This kit from Classic 9 looks like a god-send! Don't forget the proper baseball stitch on the spokes.
    BTW - how much did the kit cost? (guess I could email them!) Looking forward to seeing your completed wheel.
    Kiwi
    1972 911S
    1967 912
    1959 356A Conv D
    Early S Registry # 306

  5. #15
    Serial old car rescuer Arne's Avatar
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    Definitely doing the baseball stitch on the spokes. Going to hold up on this for a bit, pending a reply to a question sent to Classic 9. Not a huge deal, but I'm wondering if I can do better with more info.

    Kit was the same price as their other kits for later cars, $97.50 shipped.
    - Arne
    Current - 2018 718 Cayman, Rhodium Silver, PDK

    Sold - 1972 911T coupe, Silver Metallic; 1984 911 Carrera coupe, Chiffon white; 1973 914 2.0, Saturn Yellow; 1984 944, Silver Metallic

  6. #16
    Senior Member MoparBoy72's Avatar
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    Arne,

    Thanks for all of the updates. Very nice to see the progress.
    -Andrew
    '72 911E
    '82 931, '92 968, '93 968
    S Reg #1074

  7. #17
    Serial old car rescuer Arne's Avatar
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    Well, I worked on it for fair bit today, and I am once again 50% done.



    Here's the deal. The kit came with no instructions or papers other than the paid invoice copy. It turns out the leather is not symmetrical front to back. The flaps that cover the bases of the spokes are different. On one side the flaps are a touch longer and have a slight taper at the end.

    I did not notice the taper when I started, and figured the longer flaps were for the back side due to the curve of the spoke-to-rim interface. So without fail I got started on it wrong. When I started lacing up the first spoke base I thought it looked a bit 'off'. When I started doing the second spoke base it became obvious that something wasn't right. At that point I stopped and contacted Classic 9 about it, asking if there was a front and back side, or if it mattered.

    The guy I talked with wasn't sure, so he went into the shop and asked the woman who does all the steering wheels. She said there was a difference, described it and told us that the side with the longer, tapered flaps was the front. Even though she knew there is a difference, she wasn't certain it would really make that much difference if I did it wrong.

    I decided that since I wasn't totally happy with the fit as it was, I didn't want to continue if there was a chance that starting over would make it better. So I pulled out all the stitches done up to that point, turned it around and started over.

    After doing the lower half the second time, and lacing up the first two spoke bases, I can tell you for certain, it definitely does make a difference. The leather snugs up much better on the spoke when done as it was designed. Much happier now.

    Tomorrow afternoon I'll do some more. Should be done by the weekend, and will post some pictures of the completed job then. Will also post some simpler lacing instructions here for any who want to give it a try.
    Last edited by Arne; 05-14-2020 at 07:18 PM.
    - Arne
    Current - 2018 718 Cayman, Rhodium Silver, PDK

    Sold - 1972 911T coupe, Silver Metallic; 1984 911 Carrera coupe, Chiffon white; 1973 914 2.0, Saturn Yellow; 1984 944, Silver Metallic

  8. #18
    Junior Member TurboScott's Avatar
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    Thanks for the update Arne and I admire your patience and attention to detail. Looking forward to seeing photos and hearing your overall level of satisfaction with the kit. This is on my project list for my 71, but am considering paying to have it done..
    Scott


    Current Garage:
    1971 911T Conda Green
    1990 964 C4 Targa Baltic Blue
    1996 993 Coupe Black

  9. #19
    I did this with a kit years ago. It's just not that big a deal to do. Put on some music, get a nice work space and go for it. I do tie flies though so that helped.
    Steve Shea #1 joined a long time ago
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  10. #20
    Senior Member 911kiwi's Avatar
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    Arne, luckily you noticed the difference in back and front. As you will have discovered the leather needs to be longer on the back of the spokes to compensate for the extra curve. The stitching takes a lot of patience & time but it is very rewarding when finished to know that each time you grip the steering wheel, that you did this! Good job!
    Thanks for the info on price for the kit. A friend wants his steering wheel covered but it makes no sense for him to buy half a hide!!!! Looking forward to seeing your completed wheel!

    BTW Arne save yourself some time describing the technique. For those who want to learn the stitching tech go to the ESR article that Mike references on page one. An excellent how-to article by 911T1969. This is what I used to create my own cover template (the steering wheels I covered were 380mm), and learnt the stitching method.
    To be honest and not wanting to sound boastful, but the wheels I covered myself were better than one I had professionally done, as it was cross-stitched all the way around, even the spokes, which should be baseball stitch!
    And Arne, yours will be perfect!!!!
    Last edited by 911kiwi; 05-14-2020 at 11:57 AM. Reason: Added text
    Kiwi
    1972 911S
    1967 912
    1959 356A Conv D
    Early S Registry # 306

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