danglerb

Rob Budd mentioned in the Agla thread that he has kits to recover 928 steering wheels for $65 in leather or Alcantara, $90 for a combo, and I am thinking about doing it. What sounds kind of fun is maybe for several people to try it as well and take some pictures and show our results in this thread.

Rob any pictures you could post of the kit or finished steering wheels?

Is this covering just the outer rim and partial spokes or middle and pad? If not the pad too, any pad ideas?

In a combo which parts would be leather and which Alcantara?

Does the Alcantara hold up well on the rim?

I'd like to know about any other options people like, stuff from Paul, home grown DIY etc.

Is there a factory looking 4 spoke wheel with a smaller diameter, thinking some years of the 944 had one like that.

jeff spahn

Id be interested in a kit. Might be fun to try.

Bilal928S4

I have a steering wheel done by Rob Budd in my GT. This is the only picture I have at this time. I will try and get a better one over the weekend.

Kevin in Atlanta

+1

jeff spahn

Bilal. Your car is running warm. Perhaps it is possessed (note the mileage to get that statement).

davek9

I think the Alcantara is holding up well on the wheel, Bob did tell me that he has another type that had a thicker padding, when I get the Gold interior done I'm going to try it.

As far as a DIY, there is definitely a "nac" to installing and stitching a wheel.

Here a inside shot of my '85, I had the "Porsche" lettering stiched in black on the horn pad.

Dave

Bilal928S4

Jeff,
You are correct. The devil was in her. That is why I had taken the picture.
The car was running warm as one iof the fans was not comming on. After a lot of fiddling and changing the amplifier it turned out to be a flakey connection. All is well now.

Rendergod

I'd be interested in a DIY. My original steering wheel cover is in good shape but the stitching is completely missing! The leather stays on pretty securely though.

As an aside, is the temperature in Bilal's photo really considered too high? That's right where my needle stays most of the time.

danglerb

Since I have a "few" spare steering wheels I am thinking a good patience project over the bitter California winter, sit and stitch instead of TV.

Luis_M

I did this recently, it's kind of maddening. I strongly recommend that you get several blunt leather needles so you can run two threads at once. The X-pattern in the pic above works great; its across and over one on the top for both, then straight across underneath for both, on and on and on..

You can do it on the car, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I also recommend you get this $6 pick and hook (Sheffield 58780) set if you don't have on, especially the last two, it makes the job so much easier. Run about 6 X's, then starting from one or two X's back from the new ones, put the hook under the middle of the X (capturing both threads) and pull straight out, move to the next one done, until you get to the end, and repeat and repeat and repeat. You can manage the stretch on the leather a little by pulling a little bit forward or back when you pull up, to keep things even.

Start at the center of the top or bottom and run in both directions, so the the leather is nicely centered, running 4 threads, two in each direction.

Knots at the end are tricky, leave a little on one thread after you tie so you can push the needle back out the seam about 3-4 X's from the end; when you pull it through the thread stays hidden under the seam (surgeon's trick).

danglerb

I like picks, have couple variations on that set. Sears has a Craftsman branded set made by either Ullman or Mayhew that is pretty nice, and HF just had their set on sale for $1 or $2. My favorite style is the pair of double ended picks.

Luis_M

@danglerb, I tried something like the top double-ended one in your pic initially, but I switched to the one with the big handle since for the thousand-plus pulls it was nice to get my whole hand on it comfortably.

danglerb

Until you get started hard to guess what will work best, so anytime I see a different type of tool I tend to buy one to play with, ending up with a dozen or so different types and handle variations. The mini handle type does look like it would be easier on the hands.

Something to note, be careful with pointy stuff, it can be as dangerous as a sharp blade.