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MG TD TF 1500 - Steering wheel material

I have a couple of TD steering wheels that are intact with the spokes but only have the iron ring remaining for the outer wheel. I'm thinking of making a mold from a good steering wheel and casting new material around the iron ring. What would be a good material to use for the new outer ring material? Not looking to save money just interested in trying the process.

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

Most of the refurbishers use polyester resin based moulding compound. Not original, but can look acceptable.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I too am interested in options.

I’ve been to Tap Pastoc and they have several mold and casting products that could be used, But not within my budget.
G D

I did the very same thing last year and used polyester casting resin for the new rim. I tried to replicate the marbelling but didn't have any luck so just coloured the resin with pigment I bought from the suppliers.

I attach a photograph showing the reverse of the wheel and you will note I have reduced the diameter slightly. Since you only have the steel hoop you will have to make up a rim to take a mould from. I made one from wood using mainly my router.This had to be in two halves with a groove in the centre to accommodate the steel hoop. I cast the mould using glass fibre mat and resin. This has to be in two halves with flanges so they can be bolted together and the really difficult bit is ensuring the flanges are at the centre line. If they are not you will have difficulty removing one of the moulds from the pattern, especially where the spokes join the rim. In fact I cast small moulds for these areas using a single layer of fibre glass which was flexible enough to remove, even with bits of resin being over the centre line, and then tidied them up with a piece of emery cloth on a flat board. These were later bonded in when the main mould was cast.


The first half of the mould was cast from one half of the wooden pattern away from the wheel. I laid this on an old piece of work top so I could cast a flange. For the other half I assembled the wooden pattern on the wheel together with the allready cast half, with plenty of release wax, and cast the the second half and matching flange.


The job isn't too hard but is extremely messy and needs careful planning. The most skilled part is making the wooden pattern. My wheel looks and feels great and other T Type owners see something different but do not know what it is. It is the original looking rim but with a smaller diameter.

I will post a photo of the face of the wheel.


Cheers


Jan T



J Targosz

The front face


J Targosz

Jan, beautiful job. Thanks everyone for the info. Perfect winter project.

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

As fitted to the car


J Targosz

Gorgeous, Jan. Fantastic job. Bud
Bud Krueger

Jan,
Absolutely fabulous!
Have you got a photo of the mould for reference?
Regards
Declan
Declan Burns

Hi Declan,

Thanks for the complement. I attach a photo of one half of the mould. I am not proud of its appearance but it worked well. The mess you see is either releasant wax or silicone which I used to seal around the spokes. As I mentioned previously I had to make up small castings around the spokes and then bond these into the main mould. The holes are for bolts to clamp both sides of the mould but you will also see cast in locating pins. I will post a further picture of the other mould.

Cheers

Jan



J Targosz

Hi Declan once again,

Because I was reducing the diameter I had to make up a new rim to take the mould cast. This was in two halves with a groove on both inner faces to fit the steel wheel armature hoop. I used my router, trammelled around a centre point. I tried to produce the dimples on the rear of the rim but eventually made a smmoth mould casting and made the dimples in this with a rounded off twist drill. I laid one half of the rim on a piece of waxed kitchen work top made a mould from this with resin and matting ensuring a decent flange. I then assembled both sides of the wood rim to the wheel and glued them together. After placing the half mould over this, and fitting tapered location dowels, I was able to cast the other half of the mould. Unfortunately because I had glued the two halves of the wooden rim together I had to destroy it when I removed it from the wheel.

Cheers

Jan



J Targosz

Jan, you are a craftsman. Here's a video of a process I might try. Pretty involved but I have the time (just need the money) :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ZLEpHnh3M

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

Jan,
Very interesting-you could make a cottage industry from that!
Regards
Declan
Declan Burns

Alumalite is the way to go (Tim's Youtube). They have all the products needed, and they have the colors to get the base and the swirls.

I made a mold very similar for a friend back in Wisconsin. He had a near new steering wheel to make the mold from and then put in the rim that had all the plastic removed. I saw a picture of it. Looked very good.

I will be trying this for mine later next year.
Bruce Cunha

Hi Declan,

My original wheel was in very bad condition so I fitted a Les Leston one which came from my Lotus. It didn't suit the TF at all so I recast the original one, mainly so I had something to do in my retirement. I sold the Leston wheel on eBay for a surprising ammount. After all the mess with resin dripping on the floor and itchy arms I will now watch Judge Judy on daytime TV rather than recast another wheel!

Have a good weekend

Jan
J Targosz

Tim, if you decide to go ahead you might like to look at ‘vinamold’ instead of the flexible resin they use for the mould in the video. It’s a reusable moulding agent that you simply melt/remelt in a saucepan. I bought a block of it as i planned to use it to copy a good section from my original steering wheel then duplicate it to make a full circle. In the end I made a wooden one instead.
It’s got a slight advantage over Jan’s GRP mould in that its flexible enough to cope with a small amount of undercut.
Chris
C I Twidle

This thread was discussed between 04/12/2018 and 08/12/2018

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