Retrimming steering wheel

Ok, here it is. I bought a puma as you can see it



The steering wheel was in pretty sorry state, though the interior is OK



Here you can see the leather has melted away (I hope my English is understandable, it is not native to me, so apologies in advance!)





It was very unpleasant to hold, sticky and feeling dirty

So, the choice was obvious: retrim it!

First step was to take down the airbag (very good description of procedure in How to!)





And the steering wheel is out!



Old bits of leather trim....



The steering wheel without them



Note the recess in thickness; puma steering wheel is NOT all covered with leather! This will be dealt with later...

Making cutting drawing/plan (btw, this is a gent who is magician when it comes to car interiors; as I type it he is retrimming a complete mini clubman interior including the roof; his effort would embarass a Bentley owner....)



Making a trimming lines for the upper and lower parts of steering wheel that were not originally covered in leather using some spare leather that is easier to work with







And here it is: done and transferred to paper!



All the bits lined up together; they will be used for the wheel!



Stiched together. He suggested using blue thread (is that the right word?) but I thought it might be a overkill so kept low profile with black...



First trial fit...



Checking everything is ok, especially with the stich lines..



Time to deal with that recess in the wheel. Using some rubbery spounge to fill it in



And glueing it in place



Getting there....



Stiching it all together to get the nice tension and follow of a curves in wheel...



Hot air for drying the glue and allowing the leather to sit in properly..



Trimming it to perfection



And the wheel is done! Ready for fittment in puma!



And that is how it looks now. Million times better!





Driving my puma now makes me smile every second as I hold the steering wheel which is now completely covered in leather.

EDIT: all images are now hosted on imgur.

The Left Hand Drive is making my brain hurt.. :shock:

Cracking job though mate!

bennymc said:

The Left Hand Drive is making my brain hurt.. :shock:

Cracking job though mate!

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I know what you mean. When I was driving in UK and Ireland cars with steering wheel on THE wrong side of a car , it was so strange. Especially Ireland; the roads are so narrow, and car around me was all in wrong places...... :roll:

Wow, awesome job there, I can't believe how much the interior changes with something as small as a steering wheel. That guy seems very talented! And I can tell he does the job properly, I've seen retrimed where they just cover existing fabric/leather to save time, but it looks a proper job. Are you planning on retro mint any other bits. I know it's a long job, but if I were you, I'd remove the dash and get him to do it in the same leather black and grey. It would look a million dollars!

Wow - that really looks great! :thumbs:

PumaNoob said:

Wow, awesome job there, I can't believe how much the interior changes with something as small as a steering wheel. That guy seems very talented! And I can tell he does the job properly, I've seen retrimed where they just cover existing fabric/leather to save time, but it looks a proper job. Are you planning on retro mint any other bits. I know it's a long job, but if I were you, I'd remove the dash and get him to do it in the same leather black and grey. It would look a million dollars!

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I am toying with that idea. First I'll get rid of the rust to protect the car in the long run. Then I'll think about the interior; was thinking about retrimming the seats in alcantara (though it is not needed; they are very good as they are).
He suggested retrimming the roof in alcantara which raises a question: is the roof lining glued in place? It is PIAS to take it off?

very nice

Out of interest how much does he charge to do a wheel? Over here it is about £150

Amazing job he did


Simon

On todays exchange rate it would be £57 exactly...
And you wait while it is being done (and get to watch). He did this in 3 hours

I want one.

Want one wanna wanna wanna wonder how much it would be to send him one to do? where are you by the way, green and black leather for me with black stitching in the green leather and green stitching in the black leather.

Maybe we can do a group hug buy? he already has the templates done if he hasnt thrown them away

YES! ^ this.

Let's ship him a box of steering wheels. Woo! Yay!

(might take a while to get to Croatia though )

Would it even have to be Puma steering wheels? couldnt it just be standard fiesta ones? and he would have one less job to do padding out the puma indented bits and the steering wheels should be cheaper as well

evilrob said:

YES! ^ this.

Let's ship him a box of steering wheels. Woo! Yay!

(might take a while to get to Croatia though )

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Now, now, we are not on the end of the world. Next to Italy (acros Adriatic sea), down from Austria....
And he is in Zagreb, our capital

If you are DEAD serious about it, collect everything, calculate the shipping costs to here and back and I could talk to him.
I think it would be greater logistical challenge for you to collect all the wheels in UK and then dispatch them back from the box :wink:

There might be a possibility of piggybackin on some of the trucks that commute from Croatia to UK and back....

quest63 said:

Would it even have to be Puma steering wheels? couldnt it just be standard fiesta ones? and he would have one less job to do padding out the puma indented bits and the steering wheels should be cheaper as well

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he is operating a bit like mobile operators: flat rate only. His fee is the same, padding or not. Padding has almost no effect on price formation. 500 hrk (£57 as of today, you can round it to 60 pounds for easier memorising) will he charge you per wheel. After all, diferences among wheels are very small and material usage is minor; you pay for his time, skill and precision

I'll ask Ian G (the UK's premier Puma breaker) how many steering wheels he's got knocking about!

No problems! As of 1st of July, we will become a member of EU and that WILL drastically simplify everything (no customs etc...) regarding postage, logistics etc....

Wild E. Coyote said:

Now, now, we are not on the end of the world

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I know where you are - I have a friend from Knin.

Phew, that is 300 kms from here :grin: :grin: !
One tank of fuel in a puma wouldn't get me there and back unless I really try hard :wink:

But, I am glad you have a friend in Croatia. Ever been to our coast? That is something to see and enjoy.... :lol:

Wow, I can see a bunch of racing puma owners doing a group send of steering wheels

Simon