To be or not to be repaired?

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babu2001

To be or not to be repaired?

Post by babu2001 »

Here's a picture of my steering wheel. It began to make noise and I found rapidly the problem :

Image

Is it possible to repair it with a VERY small needle to inject some epoxy? I would like to repair it but if the chances are near zero, I won't waste my time. Personnaly, I don't think it will work. Yeah, you can call me pessimistic... :wink:
So Cal Mark

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by So Cal Mark »

I had a customer use dental implant putty to repair one. He sanded and painted it afterwards and it looked perfect
124cso

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by 124cso »

There should be a ring of about 1/4" rod/wire forming the wheel as a base for the synthetic woodlike rim, so a cosmetic repair should not reduce wheel strength.


Is that a leather seat ??
babu2001

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by babu2001 »

Since I've checked for replacement and the cost is ... costly. :cry: I'll give it a try. The odds are not to good but it's not a big job either. I have to choose between liquid epoxy or Gorilla glue. Gorilla is more liquid and likely to go everywhere. Other suggestion? (I don't have a dentist among my friends... :D ) And yes, the seats are made from leather. Aren't all Azzura made from leather? :? These one were blue at first but very well black tainted.
vandor
Posts: 3996
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
Location: Texas, USA

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by vandor »

>Aren't all Azzura made from leather?

Yes, but they did not have a wood wheel :-) So likely it was assumed you have an earlier Spider.
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
124cso

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by 124cso »

Thankyou Vandor for that quip.
Not sure how it should be spelt but "Too-shay" ? Mr bandarras AKA Puss-in-boots would know !


Just realised this is the guy saying he could not turn the wheels while the car stationary (unless he put lots of effort into the wheel) Twang. Ooops !
onemorespyder

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by onemorespyder »

Gorrilla Glue, while pretty strong, is porous when cured so would make a much more noticable repair. Epoxy to bond the bits back together then a good epoxy based filler would be less noticable I recently bought a 'wood' wheel on EBay for 39.99 that looks great so maybe just a change. You surely should check your steering box and reduce the steering effort before any change or repair so it doesn't happen again!

Regards, Darrell
baltobernie
Patron 2020
Patron 2020
Posts: 3466
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:00 pm
Your car is a: 1973 Spider [sold]
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: To be or not to be repaired?

Post by baltobernie »

The two-part marine-style epoxy will work in this application. If you mask right up to both sides of the crack, excess epoxy can be removed before it hardens. Testors makes a plastic model jar paint that matches your woodgrain very well. Look in a local hobby shop.

Having said this, the aftermarket wheels are smaller than the "hula hoop" OEM ones. Makes a huge difference in leg comfort. ingress and egress, and the ability to remove the cluster :idea:
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