Steering Wheel Advice

[Exit98]

So I've got a couple bucks burning a hole in my pocket and I've been thinking about a new steering wheel. I definitely want wood and what I'd really like is a Nardi, but that would shoot an awfully big hole in the old Fiat budget. Our friends at AR don't seem to have any wood ones. IAP just sent me an email with their's featured:



So anybody have any experience with this one? Its $180 bucks and another $55 or so for the adapter and freight and all.

I'm open to ideas and opinions and experences.

Should I hold out for a Nardi? Has anyone ever bought a used one?

[81SPIDERMATT]

just saw a post about a steering wheel for sale ...... found it

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Fiat-124-AC-coup ... 1081073584?

don't know a what nardi is but it looked pretty cool

[speedracer]

If I'm not mistaken, a Momo wheel will fit a late model Spider without a different adapter. The stock set-up will work.

Can anyone conform that?

[Exit98]

Matt, that's our stock wheel with the spokes polished. IMHO $350 for a stock steering wheel is about three times what its worth, even in its apparent nice shape. Decent stock wheels aren't hard to come by considering how many folks change them out.

Here's the Nardi I lust for. $380 without the hub.

[81SPIDERMATT]

WOW ... THAT IS A LUSTFUL ITEM FOR SURE ....the iap one is cool too and seems like a good price .... I like the way the "wood" on the iap wheel comes over the spokes a bit .. seems like that would be comfy for finger resting on the spokes ... I will keep my fingers crossed for some unexpected cash to come your way

hold out for the nardi is my vote ... that thing is wicked nice

[bonsaiwino]

Just got a Momo wheel for our '79. Beauuuutiful! & matches the 6 holes exactly! Don

[MrJD]

Im totally happy having spent like 30 dollars on mine. http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=26796

[vandor]

If I'm not mistaken, a Momo wheel will fit a late model Spider without a different adapter. The stock set-up will work. Can anyone conform that?

Yes, the Spider 2000s hub has the Momo bolt pattern. The Nardi/Personal bolt pattern is different.

[vandor]

> that's our stock wheel with the spokes polished

That one came like that from the factory, it was on very early Coupes and Spiders.

[btoran]

last year i purchased a used mahogony momo wheel (i think i paid $150 for it) but that nardi is much nicer and i've been lusting after it for the past few months. i think it would look great in our spiders and would love to see a picture of it in a spider if anyone has it.

that nardi comes in 3 sizes (330cm, 360cm, and 390cm) and two different types of wood (mahogony and a lighter wood). the 360cm is the same size as my existing momo wheel (14.3 inches) and is what i will get once i convince the wife. the cheapest i found it for is $311 (shipping included) from crowderscustomizing.com, which seems to have the best prices on them new. That's still a lot of cash, but a little easier to justify than $380.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used nardi wheel, but the ones i've seen on ebay are either of a slightly different kind (with exposed bolts around the horn rather than hidden behind the trim ring), or they are missing the horn and trim ring entirely and the cost of just the horn and trim ring is truly ridiculous ($85).

in retrospect, i wish i would have held out and gotten the nardi.

csaba - do you know if the nardi/personal and momo wheels share the same bolt pattern? if so, i already have the momo adapter. thanks.

[Exit98]

> that's our stock wheel with the spokes polished

That one came like that from the factory, it was on very early Coupes and Spiders.

Oops, sorry Csaba. Didn't know the early ones came with polished spokes. I understand better now, but still, its pretty rich.

I saw a utube of a European Spider, Italian I think, and he had a highly polished stock wheel and it really caught my eye. I have one or two old wheels around so I started to see if I could polish one up, for practice. I didn't get too far, the spokes are steel, they are hard, and they aren't smooth. You can't get a file in there past the rim, and the dremel is too small and gouges. I'm just a hacker, I'm sure there are others with experience and tools that could do it.

Found the utube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo9DsBfKGoQ.

Like you said, it's a 68 and the wheel is polished. Nice shot of it 1.30 in.

[vandor]

>I saw a utube of a European Spider, Italian I think, and he had a highly polished stock wheel and it really caught my eye

If you look you can see that the spokes are not flat, like the painted ones, but kind of convex. They look very nice, but I'm sure they are a pain when the sun reflects in them.

[weekend warrior]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61432614@ ... 988987522/

Have a leather covered Nardi, love it!

[btoran]

i just ran across the one below on ebay. the design is the same as the nardi, but it comes with a FIAT horn, which is nice. what's not so nice is the price looks to be the same as the nardi's. not sure if it comes in sizes other than 390mm, but i have a call in to the store/seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fiat-500-600-85 ... 507wt_1124

i called crowder's customizing to get some additional info on the nardi's. be careful of buying a used one without a horn or trim ring. the horns cost $140 new, although i've seen them on ebay for about $80. the trim ring around the horn button cost $65 new but i have not seen any on ebay. also, the bolt pattern of the wheel will not fit a momo style hub and a new nardi-to-momo adapter costs $35. if you prefer a nardi hub, it will set you back $103.

so unless you can score a used wheel for dirt cheap, you're going to shell out for individual parts and soon it will cost almost as much as a new wheel (which comes with all the parts - except the hub / hub adapter).

[btoran]

just got off the phone with the company selling the Luisi wheel i linked in the previous post. the wheels come with a hub adapter, horn, and trim ring. however, they only come in the 390 size, which is 15.35"