What a great job. My stitching has worn off where the steering wheel is close at the top. Previous owner must have had thick fingers! Can you tell me who did this great job as I will send mine to him? Thanks
That's what I'm thinking! I've talked to two different steering wheel guys and nobody wants to touch a Prototipo wheel spoke or replicate the complicated Momo stitch.
Looks good! I will give them a ring on Monday.The wheel I bought is recovered. My biggest gripe is that they folded the leather on the spoke transitions rather than gluing them down. It looks like the wheel in the Facebook image above does use a cross stitching, which is hard to tell. This is the target look for my wheel. It is an early 70's Alpina wheel found on the BMW 3.0CSL (before they switched to Petri wheels). It is based on a 380mm Petri with "Alpina" engraved on the front. The pic below is from an Alpina B2S car.
Hi Folks, I wanted to provide an update on this, since I was pestering a few folks on here for detailed info on the leather shop. I'm a BMW guy who stumbled upon this thread while trying to locate a top knotch momo restorer. There are a few areas that I really wanted to focus on. I wanted to replicate the parallel momo stitch. I wanted a nice thin spoke wrap on my Prototipo wheel. I wanted the well recognized "square stitch" that can be found on Momo wheels up until about 1980. I stumbled across some work by a craftsman in Eastern Europe. His prices are very reasonable and his work is the best I have seen so far. I recently sent him a test prototipo that I picked up for a trial run. My Alpina wheel is en route now. Below are some pics of the finished product. If you are interested in having your wheel refinished shoot me a PM for his contact info. It's probably not worth the hassle if you are doing a modern wheel with a eurostitch, but he is a great option if you have an old wheel that needs attention. Apologies in advance for the BMW roundels but I'm sure you folks can appreciate a nice Prototipo. The leather is all new, as is the stitching, and spoke foam. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow, thats as nice as new. Can you email me or message me the contact info. Thanks!!!! I am curious when it shows up how it feels thats the real test!!! However I am sure it will feel as good asit looks!
Hi Robert, Sorry for the confusion. The wheel did show up. I am having two wheels recovered. The one in the pictures was the first. The foam is great, but it was in good condition to begin with. The original leather was literally falling off though. I will send you pics of my Alpina whee when it is done.
PM Sent! Sorry this thread kind of dropped of my radar. My Alpina wheel is en route. I also picked up a 1967 Momo Le Mans. That will be a new experiment because the Le Mans uses diamond pattern “X Stitch”. I don’t know the formal name if that stitch.
I recently acquired a 1975 308 GT4 which had a later wheel on it - luckily the seller still had the original wheel though in need of full restoration. I just received it back from "Best Way Auto Upholstery" in Los Angeles which promotes itself as experienced in restoring Ferrari steering wheels among others. He gave me several choices on how to restore (fully original, to different leather choices, and options for non-original stitching for a variety of personal and functional reasons). Very pleased with the result and the process. Total price was $425. (FYI: No personal affiliation with the shop at all).
Here's a picture - I chose a cross over stitch for longevity as I don't plan on winning any Concours events! Image Unavailable, Please Login
The thicker does have a better feel. I had one on my GT4 when I first bought it in 2001 then I brought the car in to a indy where the motor was rebuilt prior to my purchase for a brake booster. The owner comes walking out with a steering wheel and says '' here put this on I want my wheel back''!... I was like Ok? so I put the original back on
The recovered wheels just dont look right to me. I refurbished my Nardi myself and decided to put it on the shelf and bought a new Nardi for $150. Always keep my original parts tucked away. The new Nardi wheel is great! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Markos That is the best recovered wheel I have seen. It looks factory, with clean stitching and flush leather joints. Great. May I have the man's contact please? Best regards Urs
Thanks Urs. I wish I still had it but I sold it shortly after receiving it to pay for my more desireable wheel recover. I sent my Alpina wheel along with a 1965 38cm Momo Le Mans to him to be recovered as well. I'm all for original wheels with Patina, but there are a lot of wheels out there that are worth saving. Both wheels that I sent him were already recovered, but done so poorly in my opinion. So few shops seem to get it right. PM on the way! Speaking of poor recovers (no offense if it is a member whee) and saving a steering wheel, someone should snatch this cheap Testarosa wheel. I spoke with the guy (via text) and he was willing to ship to the US for $300. FYI - The one interesting thing I learned about the Testarosa wheel that shattered my momo wheel assumptions. Based on my research I concluded that the square stitch on the back of the spokes ended in around 1980. This wheel had the square stitch through 1991 I'm guessing (perhaps someone can confirm). Here is an example from 1988 and you can clearly see the square stitch on the back of the spokes. https://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-auto-parts-and-accessories/mississauga-peel-region/momo-ferrari-mondial-testarossa-steering-wheel-refurbished/1317960574 Image Unavailable, Please Login