85 Momo How to Close Up Split Area

I have a 1985 328 Momo steering wheel that’s in good shape except for one area where the seam has spread.

The leather is still glued to the foam but it looks like the foam itself split and opened up at the seam.

Is there a method for maybe gluing the seam shut?

I’m currently conditioning the leather to soften it.

After that I’m unsure about the best intervention.

Thanks
Jacob

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Thanks so much Ray,
I like the stitching advice.
Since the foam seems to have hardened further after splitting, I think I’d need to use some dremel tools or an Xacto knife to carve a V channel into the foam along the split until I can easily close the gap tight.
Otherwise the stitching will have too much work to do and might even tear the leather.

For now I’m adding rounds of leather conditioner to the wheel and keeping it in a bag in a metal box on top of my space heater.
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I carved out some foam from the crack.
I used fresh razor blades to slice along the split, then an Xacto knife, then a needle to scrape out the foam bits.
The leather top coat chipped off a bit where the blades ran against it. I guess it’s pretty brittle because I didn’t dig into it at all.

I applied Preservation Solutions restoration leather preserver to the wheel and let it soak over night.

Today I applied leather stretching juice to the wheel and wrapped the split area tight with paracord. Applied more leather preserver and heat with a heat gun.


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The cord mostly closed the gap but embossed the leather down to the texture in the cord.
Uh oh.
I was afraid I permanently ruined the leather surface.
So I took quick action and dipped that section in boiling water.
Like magic, the leather returned to its previous shape - and the gap fully opened up again.
So I’m back where I started but at least the leather is more pliable now.
Next I’ll try overstitching.
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I’d like to conserve the original leather if I can.

I was considering using the existing Momo stitching to baste stitch the wheel.
But I don’t like the look of baste stitching.

And then I noticed a few of the original stitches had already broken anyways.

So I took the next leap.

I used a heat gun and to carefully lift the leather edges all the way around.
Then I ripped out all the original stitching.
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