trying to find a smaller steering wheel for 79' 300D.
anyone know a good place to find one?
I've seen lots of really sweet looking wood and trick carbon fiber ones online, but they're all the standard size.

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'79 300D "Jaeger"
'61 VW Baja "Frosch"
'92 Honda Shadow 600
'80 Honda 185 (cafe project)

why would you want to do that

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Supposedly, NARDI makes a smaller wheel that you can get a MBZ adapter to fit....haven't see one but am still looking.

Also, there is a thread in the diesel forum where someone adapted a Ford F-150 steering wheel to a Mercedes. Not exactly my cup-o-tea but a solution, nonethless.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I think a smaller wheel would take a lot away from the great feel of a Mercedes. Many car companies have copied the MB wheel............

william Rogers.......

If your bride is 6'2" and most of that is legs and, she has a problem getting them under the wheel and, she asks for a smaller steering wheel well, you do what you have to do Mercedes-Benz engineers be damned.

That's why.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

im the one with the ford wheel....and it was done for comfort of entrance, exit and to be more in proportion with the human according to dreyfuss...and it is connected to a ford rack and pinion steering unit with 2.5 turns lock to lock and the smaller wheel feels better in my opinion....not the best soution but for a 17 year old college kid i think i did okay to find an answer...i think i was that old when i did that project....warning-the smaller wheel will block the following part of these gauges...

upper left fuel

upper middle speedo

upper right tach

blinkers

thats all...you can (and i may still) take a w140 chassis (i like those) wheel, mill the back flat-adapt it to a grant hub (cheap at local part supplier) and then carve out a "airbag" section out of RENBOARD 450....its a industrial design modeling foam-mill out a section to accept a modern/your choice center star (slk is nice, mine is a hubcap and it looks pretty good) hook up horn to buttons or set up to work when "Airbag" is depressed.

thats what we did.
good luck
Jake


a bad pict...but an idea of my creation
http://www.mbnz.org/gallery/pics/W123_50529.jpg

ps...nevermind the mess....lol

The key is not so much the wheel as the adaptor...as these cars age the adaptor is the harder part to find. Momo, Sparco and Nardi all make a wide range of wheels built to the same high standard as the car. It's a matter of personal taste and style which you like best. All are expensive to buy, but at least all FEEL expensive in your hands as you drive. An inch smaller in diameter makes a world of difference in comfort when you're 6'4" as I am, and it doesn't compromise the 'feel' of the car at all. I'm in the hunt for the right new wheel for myself, actually. Nardi probably offers the most classic looking wheels of the bunch.

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Richard Detoy
'84 300SD
'76 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans

You really have my attention now.

Quote:

....not the best soution but for a 17 year old college kid i think i did okay to find an answer...

I didn't intend for my comment to sound critical...your effort was a daring and creative solution to the problem. Keep up the good work.

I'd also like to know more about that conversion to rack and pinion. Can you enlighten us?

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Jake, Great pic! Are those white faced gauges, and if so, how did you do it?

Nate

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Nate Stanley
(Currently Benzless)
1985 F-250 6.9l 170K
2009 SCION XB 36.5K
2003 LS430 78K
2012 Kubota B 2320

but I am 6'2" so the entry and exit can get a bit cramped. As much as I like the feel of the MB wheel while driving, I think a slightly smaller diameter would make life a little easier.
Did any of the other MB models perhaps have smaller wheels that would bolt up easily? That would be nice to keep it all in the family, so to speak.
I'll look into the Nardi and Sparco stuff, thanks for the tips.
nice looking wheels from:
www.rau-autowood.com
not a big fan of the carbon fiber look, but the copper carbon wheel is quite an eye catcher.

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'79 300D "Jaeger"
'61 VW Baja "Frosch"
'92 Honda Shadow 600
'80 Honda 185 (cafe project)

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=79286&perpage=15&pagenumber=1


theres some info on the start of the rack...

R Leo
i was not offended by your comment, in fact i smiled that some one remembered and brought it up....i spent five years art art school and crits were a daily part of it....itll take more than what you said to offend me....


Nate Stanley
i made the gaudes my self after finding yet agin nothing i liked for the car...i wanted all european metering and the fuel to be in liters, no F and E or 1/1 and R

the started with a scan of old gauges, built the way i wanted in illustrator, created cut paths, and had it printed and cut on UV protected self sticking paper - a banner printer its called....apllied to the old faced, repainted needles red....fixed the odometer - then i sprayed them in a dull anti UV spray to give it a more factory dull/satin look....theres stuff here on that project too.

thanks all and good luck with your projects
Jake

I have a smaller steering wheel on my W126 and believe the hub is the same for W123's as well. the hub adapter is made by "sportline" don't know if it is the same sportline that does everything else but it is made in germany.

The distance and driving factors are good. its a lot nicer to use a smaller steering wheel IMO. however like said u will loose a lot of guage view. sometimes i will drive around with my blinkers on because i don't see that they are one (sometimes they dn't want to return). i also can't see the top half of the speedo, not the top left of the tachometer. but i live with it.

i have 2 momo's that i swap in and out. one of them is a vintage wooden one (made in the 80's) and it looks really nice. but most of the time i will use a modern racing type steering wheel. doesn't really go with the interior, but it feels nice.

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198? 300D ???K - Future DD
1989 300TE 285K - traded in '12
1984 300SD 186K - Sold in 08
1978 300SD 330K - Died in 05