Has anyone used Quality Restorations Inc. for there wheel restoration? I've posted some pictures of mine in my gallary under; As The Wheel Turns. As you will see 58 years of wear and tear.

 

Welcome and no I restore my own wheel. Good luck---use some jb weld and have some fun....Bill

 

I don't think I have that much JB weld or patients, but it was the first thing I considered.

On another note I sent the wheel out for restoration. Should have it back by the end of Jan.

A Big thanks goes out to needhelp49 who sent out a wheel so I can contiue to enjoy the old girl.

Once I get my wheel back this wheel will be available, so if you need one in the near future, make a note.

 

I added up the amount of JB or epoxy it would take to fill all the cracks in mine, and it came to nearly $90 worth. (They get real hot here in the SW) They sell brand new wheels for $150.

 

Thats true! The bakelite on my wheel has shrunk over the years plus the cracks. The other side to this story is the wheel is a Crestliner from 1950 and is worth a considable amount of doe even unrestored. Just the horn ring I've seen sell for 1200 bucks, but more important is the wheel will be really the only bling in the cab. Just wait till you see the custom horn button that will really set off the whole wheel.

 

When I restored a banjo wheel a number of years ago I used the epoxy putty in a tube, PC7? sold in many hardware stores. As I remember it was cheap and worked well. It molds rather than flows which is what you want. For paint I added a flexible additive to the paint. None of this was difficult to do.

 

That Crestliner wheel is a great addition to a beautiful truck!

You know the drill....post some pics when you get it back from the resto shop and installed.

Great truck
Bobby

 

Thanks Bobby, just found out a pretty kool thing. In 1950 they made less than 18,000 Crestliners. Don't know how many steering wheels they made, but I dought they made many more wheels than that. Even if they made another 10,000 how many would have survived the last 58 years?

 

Some before and after pictures.

 

Do you have a website for Quality Wheel Restoration?

 

Here ya go. http://www.qualityrestorations.com/

 

That is really beautiful.

 

They are a local company here in San Diego and are pretty much the "standard of the industry" when it comes to steering wheels. What many don't realize is that they also manufacture repops of many of the more popular steering wheels...the 49/50 Mercury "Accesory Wheel" being one. As with many other "special" items, if you have to ask the price then you can't afford it.

 

How do they fix the cracks? I'm leery of JB Weld or similar in the intense sun here. That looks really nice!

 

There's no JB weld here. The wheel is completely stripped and remolded using their proprietary formula. The wheel has a great tactile feel, like it was brand new.