Hello Henry,
Re Bob Merritt's email shoutout this morning about restoring the steering wheel of your 300-C, I looked back at our 300 Club's archived emails, along with today's responses, and offer up the following sources and comments. Is this for your sweet 300-C that you brought to our Rohnert Park Meet about 3 years ago?
1. Several members have mentioned Dennis Crooks at his -
Quality Restorations, Inc.
13983 Humo Drive
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 271-7374
Comments have been universally very positive about Dennis' work, though several members have expressed reservations about his cost for restoring a steering wheel - currently I believe to be in the $1,600-$1,800 range. Dennis restored the wheel of my 300-F in 2001, before I purchased the car, and it still looks great, surviving the 100-degree summer temps and the occasional subzero cold here in Chicago, as well as the 64,000+ miles I've driven this car over the past 12 years. Dennis invoiced $1,000 for this restoration back in '01.
2. Some Club members have also used, and say they've been satisfied with -
D&D Automobilia
Current address, per website -
1400 Carolyn Drive
Charlotte, NC 28205
(704) 650-4632
Old address, per older Club email -
211 Rawley Avenue
Mount Airy, NC 27030
(336) 429-2188
3. Another source that's very reasonably priced and does great work - from what I hear - is in Sweden -
Many of our Swedish friends, along with a Club member domestically, have had their steering wheels restored by this company and speak very highly of its work. You'll need to email this address for more information.
4. A Club member also warned to not use Backwards Unlimited in Washington State. His comment -
They do some beautiful work, but if it doesn't come out well, they won't stand behind it. I used them a few years ago ... they used their chrome plater to do the hub, and he did a terrible job. They went ahead and molded a nice new rim on it anyway and sent it to me. .... I had another restorer do it properly.
5. Also, commentary by Club member Ray Melton re prior emails that suggested using J-B Weld -
Here's a warning about using that product -The urethane resin was recommended by Don Eads and Dennis Crook, who both said that if I were going to do this myself, definitely DO NOT use something widely available like metal-filled J-B weld epoxy because the coefficient of expansion of the J-B stuff is significantly different than the original plastic, so I would likely end up with hundreds of new cracks where the old ones were in only a few years. The urethane resin is also pretty flexible, whereas most epoxies are typically quite rigid and brittle, and even the flexing of the steering wheel as brace your arms against it during a sudden stop could break the repair loose. Both materials are somewhat related in their chemical makeup and cross-linking polymerization processes -- “urethane” and “epoxy” are merely generic labels for an entire class of materials with a very wide range of chemical and physical characteristics, much like there are thousands of different “plastics” – another extremely broad category. Note that virtually ALL the steering wheel restorers mention their use of “urethane resin” when describing their full restoration process, wherein they strip the wheel down to its steel rim frame, then re-cast the entire urethane plastic part onto the rim in their own special mold that yields the final ribbed and finger-grooved shape that needs only minor final sanding and polishing before delivery to the customer. Since their new plastic goes all the way to the rim, everything is the same color so they don’t have to go through the labor-intensive fill/sand/polish/paint routine ....
Hope this helps!
Noel Hastalis
Burr Ridge, IL
Balmy 21 and overcast
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