Steering Wheel Upgrade-380SL (126 Wheel)

[Strife]

I had a leather wrapped, air bag equipped wheel around that I had purchased with the intention of using it as a "core" for refinishing or having it wood-wrapped for my 560SL. It turned out that it was actually a wheel for a 126. I thought about installing it on my 380SL; I think that the wheel that came with 380SL's (and earlier 107's) looks pretty cheezy on what was a very expensive car. I put a wheelskin on it, and it still looked cheezy. So, after reading another post, I put numerous coats of "Kiwi" heel restorer on the leather-wrapped 126 wheel, and it looked like new! I installed it on the 380SL; it has a very slighty smaller diameter, making the gas gauge, the top of the speedometer and odometer unreadable; If you are very tall, this may be a big problem, but I liked it anyway and I'm of average height. So, the wheel was installed but the airbag didn't work, having no connectors or electronics behind it. I bought a wooden burl pad from a private party on eBay. It came with no brackets or anything, just the pad with a rubber mounting ring around the back that didn't fit either the original wheel or the 126 wheel (in fact, the pad didn't fit the original wheel in terms of the size of the pad, either). After considerable fooling around, I figured out a way to mount it while keeping the horn functional. Originally, I had intended to have the pad stationary, and I had mounted a horn switch in the middle, topped with an MB embelem. With considerable fooling around, it is possible to have the pad at a height where the horn still works, and the pad doesn't stick out so far as to leave an ugly gap between the steering wheel and the pad.

So, in conclusion, I think that the wood pad looks nice, but I hope that my nose and/or face never get an up-close view of it. But it can't be any worse than a Nardi, Momo, etc wheel...