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I am happy to read Roger Irland's report of his
steering wheel experience with Don Eash of D&D Memorabilia. I too am
extremely pleased with Don's work and am glad he was out there to provide me
with the beautiful wheel for my '65 Crown convertible. Without him, I
don't know where I'd be as apparently the ONLY other person in the US who
does this recasting (he is on the west coast) wasn't
interested in doing an Imperial wheel. He doubted if he did one
for me he would ever hear from another Imperial owner about recasting
theirs. How WRONG he was as Don has now recast three wheels for IML
members. The guy on the west coast was too busy recasting wheels
for other 'more popular and high dollar hobby cars' and he simply wasn't
interested in my problem. My original wheel was so badly chipped and had
discolored to a sort of orange shellac. It wasn't going to fly with the
rest of the car and so after spending the better part of three years looking for
a good used wheel or an NOS one (yeh right), I realized I had no other choice
but to go the recasting route.
Don Eash is very talented and is easy to work with
as he tried repeatedly to get just the right color for my wheel. I have an
unusual shade of dark gold in the center and a light pearlescent gold rim.
>From a color standpoint, it was not an easy wheel to do. It is
beautiful and I have no regrets other than the fact it is still in the box and
not on my car!
I know twelve hundred dollars sounds like a
lot of money but he does rechrome the inner ring and as Roger said, he has to
(in most cases) make a mold from your old wheel before he can even begin to
start on your new one. A lot of work and time goes into the finished
product. I am surprised it doesn't cost more. I mean it is CUSTOM
work. Quality costs. It always has. Always
will. A Chevrolet doesn't cost as much as a Mercedes but then the
quality is a little different. Don's work is definitely Mercedes
quality. The steering wheel was worth every penny!
Greg McDonnell
Mobile, AL
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