[PJJP]

Hello, I have a wood center cap on my steering wheel that was broken during a shop visit. I've checked on the BB and as many websites as I can find to look for a replacement. I've asked a bunch of parts suppliers but with no luck so far.

Does anyone out there happen to know where I might be able to find one?
Also, I was wondering how these things were supposed to come off if for some reason you needed to pull the steering wheel?
Were they made to be broken and replaced?
Is it just glue or a press fit that's holding it in place?

Thanks for any help or advice you can give.

 

[gprocket]

Post a picture if you can - I saw a wood center cap on an eBay car and was really intrigued by it:

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/457858-post55.html

Does it look like this?

 

[101/105guy]

It snaps into the steering wheel, just like the stock plastic one. Has a metal ring on the cap and a rubber O-ring in the hub.
To remove it, I slide a very thin, wide putty knife under the cap and gently pry it off.
With the wooden one, you must look at the grain in the wood and not pry in the direction that will split it.
Now for a replacement, I have seen them on e-bay.it from time to time. Not expensive and shipping is not bad if you choose ' postaraccomandata' !
Randy

 

[PJJP]

Hi gprocket. That's a new one but no mine is different.

Randy, thanks for the info. Can you tell me if they might go by a different or specific name? I've been checking ebay and as many other places as I could think of. Center cap, horn button, those are the kinds of names I've been using to look for it.

 

[101/105guy]

Try searching under 'Hellebore' or 'alfa, wood' on the US sites. On e-bay.it , I search 'Ricambi Auto d'Epoca'
Randy

 

[PJJP]

Thanks again Randy.
I had also tried to Italian Ebay site and was using volante and pulsant. I think that's correct?

 

[180OUT]

Depending on how it was broken, you may be able to repair it pretty easily. Also, since this is a decorative piece, it wouldn't be too hard to make a new one. A local cabnet maker can probably do either of these fixes.

 

[PJJP]

Hi Jim, thanks for adding to the mix. I can tell you, I have no skill what so ever. I was going to try to glue it back together. At least as a temporary fix but overall I wanted to replace it now that it had been broken. Going to some sort of wood shop was going to be on the list of things to do.

 

[AlfaRomeo1750]

Since this item is made from wood, I have the following advice:

Find a good carpenter, take the cap in and see what can be done... if its totally shot, just have the carpenter match the wood and make a reproduction using the original as a template.

Cheers
Martin.

 

[180OUT]

Just about anybody with woodworking experience can fix it. Since it's just a cover, gule will probably work although the best fix is to have someone put dowel pins in to add strength. Once you get it together the break can be filled w/sawdust from the piece and then refinished in a match for the original color. Since it's wood, it's not hard for someone with a little experience to do this.

The shop that cracked your wheel ought to be ashamed.

 

[PJJP]

Hey Guys, thank you very much for the advise. As my brother in law calls them - I don't want to be a hammer mechanic. Its best that I try to get someone else to do it.

I was a nightmare watching the guy break the cap. I was standing on the passenger side of the car and he was under the dash. He reached up for support and put his hand on the cap and pushed, trying to move himself. Lesson learned on my part.