Steering wheel replacement

[DavidF]

Dear forum members,

My father recently bought a restored 240Z from 1973.

The steering wheel in the car is definitely not original, that on itself is not an issue, but it uses some kind of adaptor that extends the steering shaft with 11cm (4,3inch), which is very inconvinient to drive the car.

We have been looking for an original steering wheel but it looks like these are rare to find and expensive. There are also new non-original steering wheels, but they often use adaptors and we are afraid that we will end up in the same situation.

Has anyone expirience with steering wheels that don't use adaptors, or only small ones? Or are there sources of buying an original steering wheel at a reasonable price (preferably in Europe)?

Thank you for the help!

[zKars]

Sounds like a real mess. A stock wheel does sit in the "best" position for sure. Most aftermarket wheel adapters tend to move it toward the driver, although many such wheels have less dish to compensate.

I wouldn't call stock 240 steering wheels in North America rare by any stretch, I just got one from a 73 yesterday from a friend and I have others. I'm in the middle of refinishing this one, but I can stop here and let you complete it your way. The rim is sanded and the spokes are sandblasted and primed. I can put the red stain I always use on it or not, your choice. Let me know what you're willing to spend on one (don't aim high) and I'll happily ship it out to you. I have the horn pad and everything, its in great shape.

At least you have another option if you can't find one locally.

[Z fan]

They look good with a Nardi or a Momo, that was a popular mod back in the day and today.FWIW

[DavidF]

Sounds like a real mess. A stock wheel does sit in the "best" position for sure. Most aftermarket wheel adapters tend to move it toward the driver, although many such wheels have less dish to compensate.

I wouldn't call stock 240 steering wheels in North America rare by any stretch, I just got one from a 73 yesterday from a friend and I have others. I'm in the middle of refinishing this one, but I can stop here and let you complete it your way. The rim is sanded and the spokes are sandblasted and primed. I can put the red stain I always use on it or not, your choice. Let me know what you're willing to spend on one (don't aim high) and I'll happily ship it out to you. I have the horn pad and everything, its in great shape.

At least you have another option if you can't find one locally.

 

Thank you, I will look around for a few more days and let you know!

[DavidF]

They look good with a Nardi or a Momo, that was a popular mod back in the day and today.FWIW

 

Thank you for these tips. That could be a very good chooice as these are sold locally in Europe. When I would go for a Nardi for example, does that mean I have no adapter at all? Do I need to select a specific model?

[mjr45]

I used a Grant steering wheel with their adaptor and had no issues with it being moved forward. The adaptor moves the wheel maybe 1/2 to 3/4" forward, the only issue I had was the tapered bushing from the old wheel was in 2 pieces, but using a small amount of lithium grease to hold it in place made it all work well.