Anyone make their own steering wheel?

I could get an aftermarket wheel, but they're all 80s-tastic.  I would need a hula girl on the dash and Cragar wheels to match.

I could get a junkyard wheel, but what's the fun of that?  Plus, being a 1994 vehicle, I can't find any that aren't trashed.

What if I took a factory steering wheel, cut off the hub, and make my own?

Just spitballing.  Wondered if any of you have done it.

Didnt nocones make one for his Midget?

ChrisFix recovered his Mustang wheel.  Might be a handy youtube video further along in the build process. 

RossD said:

Didnt nocones make one for his Midget?

Yes he did

Curtis said:

I could get an aftermarket wheel, but they're all 80s-tastic.  I would need a hula girl on the dash and Cragar wheels to match.

And the problem with this is????  
 

You just described all my cars in the 80s. 

I have had multiple cars where the only options were a grant hub, which are garbage or aftermarket hubs haven't existed for a few decades.  On the Falcon I cut the hub from the stock wheel and turned it on the lathe until it could accept the bolt pattern from the moon eyes wheel.

The Fiat 850 steering wheel was very simple to cut down and drill the momo 6 bolt pattern pattern into. 

I have ideas for a complete custom wheel and have been stockpiling materials for the jig to press the dish. 

I reduced the diameter of the trashed wheel on my Vovlvo 445 Duett. The original plastic molded around the steel core had shrunken and split into sliding sharp edged segments, and it was un-neccessarily large. This was a flat banjo spoke affair. I cut a chunk out of the rim after removing it from the spokes and hammered it back to round. Then welded it back to the spokes. Steel core was about 5/16". I wrapped that with 1/8 section cotton cord and then stitched a piece of thin brown goat  hide to it. It was a long fight, but I drove that wheel (and car) from 1976 til 1991. Sorry I never took a photo of it. More recently I disected a 240 Volvo wheel with the idea of an adapter hub such as Trent did with the Fiat. No success, it is to spidery inside to clear the damn airbag.

What 1994 car is it?  That information may help.

94 Fordzda Branger.

Plenty of wheels, but 95 started air bags, so I have to go 94 or older.

I also don't really want a big Ford emblem embossed on my Mazda steering wheel, so it has to be a Mazda B-series wheel.  There was one Ranger wheel that was the same as the Mazdas, so I could use it and put my Mazda pad/horn button on it, but again... haven't found any that aren't completely wasted worse than mine.

It appears I have one on my project 63 Midget. The aluminum ring has saw marks and the wood is bad.

I suppose at one point time somebody decided to weld up some chain to make a steering wheel. 

Why do these guys install these little steering wheels?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/336731-so-what-do-womens-boots-steering-wheels-have-common.html

 I'll just drop this gem here. Won't help you, unless you really need a chuckle.

Boat steering wheel?  Apparently the google image says this one is on Amz somewheres.

But really if you're thinking about building from scratch it has to be this shape even if that's not what's under the hood.

In reply to Cactus :

awesome.  But does his car smell like feet?  I pick people up late at night after a long work day and it's not a pleasant smell. 

Curtis said:

94 Fordzda Branger.

Plenty of wheels, but 95 started air bags, so I have to go 94 or older.

For reference, I found a picture of the steering wheel in a 1994 Mazda B series truck.  There are a bunch of control buttons on it, do they correspond to the buttons on your wheels and/or are you willing to give up having steering wheel controls?

Mine currently doesn't have steering wheel controls, so I don't need them.

I suppose if I had them I could get the corresponding parts and upgrade to cruise control, though.

In reply to Curtis :

Or wire more creative things into the steering controls. 

Like radio controls, or nitrous switch, or bumper mounted laser guided missiles, or passenger seat whoopee cushions...

I wouldn’t want to make my own for a street driver. There is a balance needed between the strength to put some exertion on it, and the breakaway characteristics needed for safety in the event of a crash. 

There are a lot of people making smaller  steering wheels so they can get in their cars with a big beer belly :)

as said above you just get an outer ring thats smaller from another wheel and weld it to the cut down spokes , 

and if you want to go fancy there are shops that will bend wood and make your wheel look like a Vintage Nardi.

I had a customer that wanted something special for one of his Sprites. The photo is what we bought for several hundred dollars less than a local wood worker quoted me if I provided the aluminum core Still $500.

In reply to Curtis :

im biased and probably not helpful but I think a MOMO steering wheel looks good in any car and I have one in every car I own