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This all wood steering wheel has been genius however. I like the hard wheels of my youth, and especially this hard smooth one, slightly thicker than the original, that looks good with the rest of the car. So, I bought two more a few weeks ago. Delivery took two weeks this time (perhaps the crazytimes are abating) and they were very responsive, unlike every other time I've dealt with them.
Used the instructions from the workshop manual (Steering Wheel 57.60.01) with the addition of
1, 'Loosen center nut a bit, but not completely, before yanking the wheel off the spline" so you don't end up with wheel contact injuries in the center of your chest when it goes flying. No steering wheel puller needed to date.
2. Carefully mark where the wheel back cover was relative to the steering column (blue tape across the gap, draw three parallel lines, cut the tape in the gap leaving alignment lines for later when you need them).
One issue I had before was my fingers would not sufficiently push down the airbag connector release tabs to release the connector. Last time I found a small child for this (actually my daughter who is an adult woman with small fingers). Since she wasn't around, I fashioned 'Jag Airbag Connector Pliers' by bending a perfectly good set of needle nose pliers that I have more than a dozen of.
Airbag connector side pushy things vs my clearly enormous fingers (yep, just regular size).
Jag 2001 XK8 Airbag Connector Pliers. Sure, I'll probably never need them again, but I now have them.
Took about 45 minutes each including transferring the innards and rigging a 'bridge' to replace the bit that holds the back cover on the wheel in the US (see below).
Missing something on the new wheels, but no matter, we can bridge this with nylon.
Stack of nylon washers.
Results: genius (a photo of the originals sullied up the place). Wheel of beauty 1 Wheel of beauty 2
Myrtle were very good when I dealt with them around 10 or so years ago. Last year, not so. No returned calls and wanted £100 to ship a roll of headliner material across the English channel (= 'go away').
The back cover was simply clipped in place on the early cars:- see O&DR's video on steering wheel removal - which may explain the missing lugs on the casting? Perhaps there were issues with the little plastic t*tties breaking off (as is their wont) so Jaguar went for a more secure method of attachment.
I miss the gold growler my X300 had on the horn push instead of the XK's embossed one, but I guess 'elf an' safety won the day.
Definitely adds to the 'Blenheim Palace' look, though
Last edited by michaelh; Jul 14, 2021 at 08:27 PM.
Well done. Moe Howard would purchase those custom pliers from you in a heartbeat. They would be perfect for grabbing and yanking Curly Howard's / Shemp Howard's / Larry Fine's noses....
i have the same wheel from the same source, absolutely beautiful. Placed screws through the eyes of cotter pins to secure the back panel. Just swing the pin to the frame to lock it in place.
Keep that wheel out of the sun; obtain a cover for it. It will split from the heat. Mine did but still looks great, and it has not become worse.
New All Wood Steering Wheels
