Tony Thompson Racing 26R Replica Steering Wheel Fitted :-)

[Stevie-Heathie]

Happy New Year to all and thank you to the various folks on here who helped and advised on my recent steering wheel switch on my 1967 S3 SE.

Some before and after pics below.

I bought the car last month and it had had its original steering wheel replaced in 1983 with the black motolita (is it off a Europa?). I liked the small size 13" but the aesthetic did nothing for me. Replaced with TTR 26R replica and I'm very happy. Same 13" size but no dish so you get a few extra inches in the cabin.

Peterexpart of this parish kindly supplied me with his last Hornpush (was a pleasure to deal with you Peter)

Before

and I think the wheel looks and feels great.

TT also supplies the requisite boss so installation was a breeze. I had to adjust (ok bend!) the indicator stalk a few degrees to avoid catching it with my fingers but no drama.

All the best folks
Steve

[Elanintheforest]

The TTR wheel looks superb, and a big improvement over that Motolita.

It's a shame that Motolita had to use such an ugly boss / horn push on their later models. I have one from the '60s which takes the original horn push, but the TTR setup still looks a lot better.

And just to complete the picture, here's my original S3 S/E wheel, which also looks very good, but is way too large and flimsy!

Mark

[jimj]

The TTR looks great. The very first thing I did with our S3 12 years ago, just like Mark, was change the flimsy, oversize steering wheel for a 13" Motolita, just as I did in 1969. Even the Sprint 14" feels too large and thin but, what with Colin Chapman`s personal (?) signature, that`s not going to be changed.
Jim

[Stevie-Heathie]

Apologies to the moderators for posting the original in the wrong forum. Every day is a school day
Steve

[martynbrown]

I recall following this post with interest back in January because we were trying to decide what to do about the steering wheel on our Elan S4. We bought the car in 1981 and it was fitted at the time with a Moto-Lita wheel. Its condition has inevitably been deteriorating for some time and in the last few months the stitching has been letting go. I've always been pleased with the "feel" of this wheel - the diameter of the wheel and thickness of the rim seem just right. Eventually we reached a decision and Moto-Lita have just refurbished it for us - they polished up the spokes and the centre ring, re-trimmed the rim, re-painted the boss and supplied new nuts, bolts and washers. I've just re-fitted it (see photo) and am very pleased with the result, so looking forward to another 35 years of use!
Regards
Martyn

[elj221c]

Owmuchwosit?

[martynbrown]

?175 inc Vat and return carriage by DHL

[elj221c]

Ouch! It does look good though.

Not cheaper to buy a new one?

I think I will recover my one myself. I do have my dad's old leather working tools....

[martynbrown]

We did consider a new Moto-Lita wheel but we much preferred the style of ours to the style of the new ones. The cost would have been about the same. When we bought the car it also came with the original Lotus wheel, so we could have had that refurbished but I reckoned I would always miss the thickness of the Moto-Lita rim.