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Thread: Factory 380 mm "Thick-Grip" Steering Wheel Dissected

  1. #1

    Factory 380 mm "Thick-Grip" Steering Wheel Dissected

    Last week, my buddy Ron Thomas hooked me up with a well worn factory 914-6GT/St/RSR steering wheel - aka thick-grip wheel. It appears that the stitching gave up the ghost many years ago, but otherwise it seems very restorable with a nice treatable patina on the grip.

    I thought that this would be a good opportunity to document what goes into one of these wheels. As you can see, it started out as a 914.347.803.10 hard plastic steering wheel. Now typically, this part # would have been a 69-71 wheel, but in this case, the date stamp is 12/72 which would likely make it an RSR or parts dept wheel. (a '72 wheel for a 914 would have had the dished hub and non counter-sunk cancellation screw holes on the rear.)

    Wrapped around the standard rim is a layer of black felt material. Atop this is a partial layer of white cotton. Then the wheel was covered with a single layer of leather.

    I used to obsess about the baseball stitched spoke pads, but this wheel was "X" stitched all the way, once again proving that there is no definitive answer when it comes to these hand-made parts.

    Hope this is of interest to some of the other anoraks out there, Oh, and I made sure to photograph it on the red sofa just for Reza and Mark M.
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    1974 911"S" - Silver
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    Early "S" Registry #439

  2. #2

    Dissection

    Dave: Nice lab report! How about a tight shot of the felt and cotton material? Tom
    Early 911S Registry
    Looking for engine 960 168
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  3. #3
    I would like a wide-angle shot of the red sofa.



    -Mike

  4. #4
    Loud lederhosen saves lives hoffman912's Avatar
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    I'm with Mike.. that is an impressive piece of furniture.


    great work on the wheel Dave. The more i see these, the more i want to get mine covered.
    Harry Hoffman
    1968 912 #3656, burgundy red 'Fritz'. Some mods..
    912 Registry charter member #912R0195-C
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    http://hoffman912.blogspot.com/

  5. #5
    Righteous Indignation 70SATMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hoffman912 View Post
    I'm with Mike.. that is an impressive piece of furniture.
    Proper placement of such an accoutrement is below an equally sized painting of a nude reclining woman on a divan!

    Nice dissection doc! Is the cotton a loose type of batting fill patted down or does it have a definitive cross section like the felt?
    Michael
    “Electricity is really just organized lightning”

    -Dusty 70S Coupe
    -S Registry #586

  6. #6
    912->911 conversion
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    Quote Originally Posted by ibmiked View Post
    I would like a wide-angle shot of the red sofa.



    -Mike
    Me too. Looks like the "casting couch" from a porno movie!

    Kidding aside, thanks for your efforts Dave!
    Keith Adams
    Calgary, Alberta, Canada
    Early 911S Registry #906 | PCA member IG: @912R
    1969 Blutorange 912R - 912 to 911 conversion
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  7. #7
    Senior Member t6dpilot's Avatar
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    Oh man, I thought I was going to be the only one to comment on the "red Corinthian leather!" In my best Homer Simpson voice, "Hhmmm, red Corinthian leather...."

    In all seriousness, nice documentation of the wheel construction. So the second wrap of cotton seems to be a surprise as is the X stitch on the spokes. I'll bet it just depended on who was stitching the wheels on a particular day. Interesting.
    Scott H.
    1969 Coupe LtWt
    1973.5 911T

  8. #8
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    Good detail Dave.

    A few photos to add for reference:

    Photo 1 - (kindly posted by Brian "Fryardds" a couple of years ago) giving another look at a dissected thick grip wheel showing the hard wheel, the white cotton and the outer leather, so a second example that looks pretty much just like Dave's.

    Photos 2 & 3 - the 380mm thick grip 914.347.803.10 wheel, dated 12/72, already without cotton & leather that was on my '68 TR when I purchased it.
    Attached Images Attached Images    
    Tim

    Early 911S Registry #1167

  9. #9

    914.347.803.10

    Steering wheel geeks,

    I'd just like to point out, IMHO, 914.347.803.10 is a "real" RSR (914-6GT and ST) thick grip steering wheel and this part number 914.347.803.10, while "in the raw" is a plastic steering wheel (that as such, without thick grip added) would have a DIFFERENT part number AND that that 914.347.803.10 was stamped on this wheel because it was special and thick grip, leather wrapped. To be pedantic about it, that is why the date stamp for for these wheels is circa '72. Anyone care to add or disagree? Put another way, while it was stated that Now typically, this part # would have been a 69-71 wheel" this is a little misleading in that this part number was never JUST a plastic wheel and was ALWAYS, leather wrapped (thick grip, in fact). This part number is UNIQUE to "thick grip" 380mm flat hub wheels.

    I also don't, therefore, agree with the circled item from my friend John below...this part number is ALWAYS thick grip leather wrapped. Thanks.

    -Allen-
    PS A small sample of why I say this:
    Attached Images Attached Images   
    Last edited by Allen Henderson; 12-08-2011 at 08:22 PM.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
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    I have owned a number of hard plastic 803.10 wheels - here's a couple of pictures of the centre of one of them:

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    Last edited by andyjboy; 12-09-2011 at 01:01 AM.
    Andy

    Early 911S Reg #753
    R Gruppe #105

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