MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Steering Wheels

I'm restoring my '62 that I've owned since '68. It has the original spoked, black enamel steering wheel and it's in pretty bad shape - cracked all over the rim. Since I'm planning to replace it I'm looking for suggestions of whether to go again with the original type wheel of go to one of the wood-rimmed wheels. I read somewhere that a wood wheel was an option on the MGA. What's the vote out there for my replacement?

One last thing, if I go with the original I see Cecelia at Scarborough Faire has them for $185 while Moss lists wooden wheels for $320 & $766. Seems like cost could be a real issue.

- Ken
Ken Doris

Hi Ken. I made a new steering wheel for my MGA. It was pretty inexpensive, but time consuming to fabricate. I used the center hub from the old steering wheel. I used the old steering wheel (with wire spokes still attached) as a pattern, and cut the new steering wheel and the 4 "spokes" out of a solid sheet of 3/16 inch thick aluminum sheet. The wheel and spokes were all cut as one piece. The 4 steering wheel spokes were then drilled and bolted onto the backside of the original steering wheel hub. (hub was de spoked, and then drilled to accept the 4 aluminum spokes) I bandsawed curved pieces of walnut to fit the aluminum steering wheel circumference, and epoxied them to the front and back of the steering wheel. I used a router to round over the square corners of the glued on wood blanks. After hand sanding the walnut, several coats of marine varnish was applied. The end result is a custom made steering wheel that looks really nice. As a final touch, I chucked a pencil into the drill press, and using a bit of valve grinding compound on the eraser, I "engine turned" all 4 aluminum spokes. Shades of Bugatti! My home made steering wheel often gets attention and positive comments at local car shows. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

The most obvious choice (besides price) is the diameter size of the steering wheel. The original black wheel was 16.5" and substantially larger than ANY of the motolita, Momo, or other aftermarket wheels which typically are 14" or 15".

Moss sells a repro of the original wood wheel but at a whopping high price, higher than you would pay for a 16.5" Nardi with a hub adapter (check eBay). Nardis are also very high quality (as on Ferrari, Maserati, etc.) and may be a better value than the Moss repro...not sure.
Jim Paul

Ken,

Another consideration may be the color of your car. I thought about getting a Brooklands style wheel (original option)$$$$ but I was concerned the wood tone on a black car would look out of sorts. Maybe great on other colors--dark blue, white, brg, etc--jmho, but decided the stock, black wheel looked better on black. (and lots cheaper)
Paul Hanley

Ken
Nobody has mentioned the fact that wood-rimmed wheels make nasty splinters should you happen to have an accident. As part of the decision process you need to know this.
Peter
Pete Tipping

Just for a bit of fun I've fitted a 13" Motolita wooden wheel. Very heavy to turn the wheel stationary and slow moving but great fun once the speed is up. You can really feel the car dancing and skipping on the corners and bumps. You feel as one. Also builds up the arm muscles! I will never go back to the original wheel diameter until I come to sell (if ever).

Re the splintering in an accident, I think the centre boss in the chest will have done all the damage by the time the rim splinters. Also the 2 wooden rim hoops are rivetted to a full alloy frame running between them.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Ken, If you are looking for opinions, I can say that I like the original black wheel. Mine is so badly deformed that I am replacing it and decided on a new "original type" wheel. It is still in the box, but looks and feels good in the hands. I have a similar large diameter wheel on my Volvo PV544, and it feels good to drive. I once had a wooden wheel on a 1965 Saab Monte Carlo and it was very nice too, but I don't think today's replacements are as good as that one was.
HJ
Harley

Re:
Splinters from the wood wheel, and the center hub causing damage in an accident.
The wood steering wheels have the grain running lengthwise in the wood, which is bent around the rim, and as such it doesn't seem that the splinters will really give a great deal of problem, especially when cone considers, as Steve said, that the wood is fairly well attached to the aluminum rim. Any splinters will be going around the circumfrence of the wheel, not into your chest.
The center hub may hit you in the chest, but the steering column and shaft are jointed at approximately a 120 degree angle, I think. Should you be involved in an accident, the wheel will press against your chest, but it looks like the column will absorb the impact, and the wheel will not come through your chest.
One of the Michigan Rowdies was recently involved in an accident, written up in the archives, where he T-Boned a Jeep at fairly high speed, and stated that he had fairly minor injuries, although his next MGA will definitely have 3 point seat belts.
mike parker

Regarding the original style (MGA factory optional) slotted aluminum three-spoke wooden wheel:

pros: an absolutely beautiful item that pales all other wheels by comparison. Its cost has skyrocketed in the last two years since I purchased mine.

cons: even a slightly larger diameter than the original black bakelite banjo spoke. This makes the wheel difficult to use for heavy weight drivers to fit their legs under when adjusted (adjustable steering column) away from thier waist. This extra diameter size (the wheel's diameter) also makes for tight stretching of the tonneau cover over it.
-M.S.
Martin Straka

I got the Moss reproduction steering wheel and it's very well made. I was afraid it would be too big as I remembered having to wedge my right leg out from under it, but I don't have that problem with the new one. I guess the diet worked. :-)
David Breneman

Martin, you are right on concerning the quality and the price, the latter of which has soared. I believe that it is a Moto Lita, UK produced, the same company that made the original MGA wood rimmed wheels, specially designed for the MGA. As such, is it a reproduction? or just a very late production run......

Ted
Ted

I also went for the Moss repro wood wheel, bought it quite some time ago,when it was even on sale.At times we bash Moss for their parts , but this is one example of the things they do-
gary starr

Well I just went on the Moss site and found out that I paid almost half of what they are asking now! I don't think at this time I could convince my better half that this would be a better way to go. This is a personal decision that Ken will have to make, maybe if he would just keep his cars a little longer he could justify the price. Good luck on your resto Ken, after owning it this long you both deserve to splurge. Gary
gary starr

Well guys, I have a lot to chew on here. For now, I've found a reasonably priced wood wheel that needs some refurbishing that I'll go with and see how I like it once it's mounted on the car. I still like the look of the original wheel, but I'm anxious to see how a smaller diameter wheel feels, maybe not as small as the 13" one that Steve Gyles has, but one that is a bit smaller than the original.

You can keep up with my progress at http://home.mindspring.com/~kdoris/mga/index.html - I'll try to continue adding info and pics as I go.

- Ken
Ken Doris

And a special note to Glenn: Once again your talents and expertise far (very far!) exceed mine, as they have with poetry (who else has a whole page on Steve Simmons' site?).

I am awed by your breadth and depth of knowledge and experience with these cars and thank you for all your contributions to this forum.

- Ken
Ken Doris

Hi Ken. I thank you for your kind words. However, I still consider myself to be an amateur, and a still learning student when it comes to MGA's (and life in general). Quite honestly, I am in awe of many of the fine people who post to this forum, and who obviously know volumes more than I do about these vehicles. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

Whilst I have always liked a large wheel on non power steering cars, after fitting bucket seats in my MGA the wheel made it difficult to get in and out the car. I then went for a 13 inch and am more than happy with it.
Bob (robert)

Can't the original wheel be refurbished? I seem to recall someone using epoxy and then spray painting it.
Jonathan
jonathan

Jonathan - I will look into refurbishing the wheel, but at this point, after spending hundreds of hours of my own time on the restoration, I'm simply trying to get the car back on the road with an eye towards what work I still need to take on myself. I still have to solve leaks in the master cylinder, banjo bolts to the carbs, rebuild and re-install the wiper motor, solve problems with the fuel gauge (always reads full, but it seems that only happened after I "flashed" the generator to recognize negative ground), finish recovering the cockpit rails, etc. Even though it's only January (about to be Feb) there isn't much time left until April when I want to start driving the car on a regular basis.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant, but this is my first restoration and I just can't wait to get the car on the road as soon as possible and the drive it at every opportunity.

- Ken
Ken

I was able to find a nice 13" Moto Lita on ebay for a reasonable price. After driving with wood rim for a few years, I find that the plastic wheel has too much flex in it for my taste. I also have Miata seats which makes the diameter of the original wheel undesireable. I think I would like to trade my 13" wheel for a 14" wheel for a little more leverage and ease of driving at slower speeds.
Mark

I'm in the process of repairing and restoring an early Jag XKE wheel that I'm going to use in my "A". It's the same diameter as the original. The big problem that I've had was finding a hub that would work, no luck there but a friend of mine is turning an adaptor using the original hub inserted into an aluminum billet flange. I found the wheel discarded by a bodyshop about 30 years and always liked the feel of it, just needed to get around to fixing it. Looks and feels great now!
J E NELSON

How is the quality of the Moss reproduction of the original standard bakelite wheel?

Safety fast!

JMG
JM Greenlee

It's excellent. In appearance it's identical to the original and it's made with a superior type of plastic than the original (the original, btw, was not Bakelite) so it's more durable. I'm very happy with mine. It's not cheap, of course.

David Breneman

This thread was discussed between 27/01/2005 and 03/02/2005

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.