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Steering wheel inlays for '69 -'70

Started by rms70, April 30, 2020, 02:33:55 PM

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rms70

Stumbled upon this on eBay. Seller had 5 for sale and 3 were gone.  It came yesterday and it looks real good: tamo wood grained,edged with silver and slightly domed plastic covering (hope this can be seen in the photos). Seller is a '70 Eldorado  owner who handmakes them and is working on other '70's model inlays. It'll take me a while to install since I need to clean out the groove of what remains of my cracked up and yellowed current inlay but I held it.up against the wheel and I'm quite satisfied. Could mean the end for those flawless interiors with the ugly leather wrapped steering wheel.     



                                                                                               Rob

MaR

Here is my '74 wheel that I did with that sellers insert. I had to modify it slightly to get it to sit flush but I'm satisfied with the results.


Alan Harris CLC#1513

I owned a couple of those cars many years ago. Those wheels were falling apart when those cars were just a few years old.

I am truly impressed! Was it very expensive?

MaR

Quote from: Alan Harris CLC#1513 on April 30, 2020, 11:07:11 PM
I owned a couple of those cars many years ago. Those wheels were falling apart when those cars were just a few years old.

I am truly impressed! Was it very expensive?
A bit pricey but an almost order of magnitude less than sending your wheel of to be restored. IMO a great option for a DIYer.

wrench

#4
I installed this on my ‘70 Eldorado. I am 100% satisfied with it and think the price is very reasonable especially when compared to a wheel overhaul or to an eBay seller who wants $2500 for a crappy wheel.

I was able to remove the old inlay and install this one in about an hour and a half.

The most difficult part of the process was removing the old inlay. While some pieces literally fell off, some of the pieces were tenacious.

Once they were all out, I used alcohol and q-tips to clean the recess prior to installation. Then I blew it out with one of those cans of keyboard duster.

I have driven the car several times since the install and no issues with adhesion.

The one caution is that the joint at 6 o’clock is a challenge as the inlay has a small amount of excess that needs to be trimmed square to form the butt joint. This is intentional by the seller as it’s one of those ‘you can always cut, but you can never add’ or ‘measure twice, cut once’ deals.

I tried a razor but the material is tough and while the razor gave a good score mark, I had to cut it with a snip. A very delicate operation to get the butt joint right.
1951 Series 62 Sedan
1969 Eldorado
1970 Eldorado (Triple Black w/power roof)
1958 Apache 3/4 ton 4x4
2005 F250
2014 FLHP
2014 SRX

MaR

Quote from: wrench on May 01, 2020, 09:51:03 AM
I installed this on my ‘70 Eldorado. I am 100% satisfied with it and think the price is very reasonable especially when compared to a wheel overhaul or to an eBay seller who wants $2500 for a crappy wheel.

I was able to remove the old inlay and install this one in about an hour and a half.

The most difficult part of the process was removing the old inlay. While some pieces literally fell off, some of the pieces were tenacious.

Once they were all out, I used alcohol and q-tips to clean the recess prior to installation. Then I blew it out with one of those cans of keyboard duster.

I have driven the car several times since the install and no issues with adhesion.

The one caution is that the joint at 6 o’clock is a challenge as the inlay has a small amount of excess that needs to be trimmed square to form the butt joint. This is intentional by the seller as it’s one of those ‘you can always cut, but you can never add’ or ‘measure twice, cut once’ deals.

I tried a razor but the material is tough and while the razor gave a good score mark, I had to cut it with a snip. A very delicate operation to get the butt joint right.
I had the wheel off of my car when I was installing it so I was able to use a belt sander to get the ends perfect.

klinebau

Does this inlay only work for Eldos?  I want to refurbish the steering wheel on my '70 Deville.
1970 Cadillac Deville Convertible
Detroit, MI

Dan LeBlanc

I'm 99% certain the Eldorado and deVille use the same steering wheel.
Dan LeBlanc
1977 Lincoln Continental Town Car

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

wrench

1951 Series 62 Sedan
1969 Eldorado
1970 Eldorado (Triple Black w/power roof)
1958 Apache 3/4 ton 4x4
2005 F250
2014 FLHP
2014 SRX

MaR


Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

So... what's the complete contact info for the "seller" ??? And what's the cost?
1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

Cadillac Fleetwood

Forty-Five Years of Continuous Cadillac Ownership
1970 Fleetwood Brougham
1969 DeVille Convertible
1989 Fleetwood

"The splendor of the most special occasion is rivaled only by the pleasure of journeying there in a Cadillac"

Anderson

If you come across more, please let us know...I've got a chunk out of mine (the car came that way) and it's cracked all throughout.

Cape Cod Fleetwood

The seller is on the Facebook pages "1965-1970 Cadillac Collective" and "Cadillac Cars and Parts For Sale".
I reached out to him for a sample, and it looks like it will work. Around $350 as I remember but
taking your time installing is required. Go to those pages and search for 'steering wheel inlay'.
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all

MaR

The seller is John Brankin and he can be reached at bdamc@comcast.net . I spoke with him today and he will probably pop in here shortly to answer questions.

Matti R

Quote from: Dan LeBlanc on May 01, 2020, 12:29:27 PM
I'm 99% certain the Eldorado and deVille use the same steering wheel.
Hi
Do you know if that applies to 71 as well? I bought one from DeVille to replace bad one in Eldorado, and the shapes in the back of the ring are kind of sharper in Eldorado. That is where you keep your fingers during driving.  Eldo wheel feels thinner, but the outer diameter is the same.
Best regards,
Matti
CLC #33333
67 DeVille convertible Sudan beige
79 Seville
64 Sedan DeVille
66 Calais Coupe

JBrankin

Hello everyone, I make the wheel inlays. Most on this page already know me but to those who don't.

I've got the 69-70 Tamo, and the 76-78 Walnut inlays. I'm working on the 71 Light Tamo right now (Matti, did you get that sample?!)

I have a few other things going too.
One is the chrome outline on the 69-70 instrument panels. Mine, as most was well worn and bad looking. I created a pre cut sheet which when carefully installed gives factory new results. Initially it's quite a difference looking at your dash, mine looks fantastic now. It takes some definite skill and patience to install though.

I can make any design from factory to custom. If you have any questions let me know.


JBrankin

I forgot to mention I've dramatically streamlined the installation process. And I'll shortly have a quick install video.

MaR

Quote from: JBrankin on May 29, 2020, 03:20:27 PM
Hello everyone, I make the wheel inlays. Most on this page already know me but to those who don't.

I've got the 69-70 Tamo, and the 76-78 Walnut inlays. I'm working on the 71 Light Tamo right now (Matti, did you get that sample?!)

I have a few other things going too.
One is the chrome outline on the 69-70 instrument panels. Mine, as most was well worn and bad looking. I created a pre cut sheet which when carefully installed gives factory new results. Initially it's quite a difference looking at your dash, mine looks fantastic now. It takes some definite skill and patience to install though.

I can make any design from factory to custom. If you have any questions let me know.

I have a chrome paint pen that is used for model making that I used on the chrome trim on my '74 with great results.