Need a steering wheel refurb..any ideas? '52 Firedome

I feel your pain. However, I waited patiently, for 15 years, and , an NOS steering wheel came up on EBay, for my '52 Firedome. Needless to say...........I got it.

$375 later, it was on my car. The last thing I needed. I bought it from some guy in Louisiana.

Companies do recast steering wheels, but the cost is very high. I hate to say it, but, keep your fingers crossed. It happened to me.

Another story:

I found an NOS trunk mat for the same car, at a small town car show/swap meet, 12 miles from my house. I looked for that, for about 20 years. I hate to say this, but, I paid only $7.00 for it.

I took it back to my car, and wept like a baby............

Mark

Quality Restorations is very good, and also D and D Automobilia. They've done 3 wheels for me now.

http://www.danddautomobilia.com/Welcome.html

Thanks to all for the info I have received so far!
My Firedome is a recent purchase (2 years ago) and I am excited to get involved in the community but I travel a lot for work, so it is very hard to do.
I think the one guy I had talked to in 2010 wanted something like 1200.00 to recast it, I had read reviews that he was good.
As far as ebay, it drives me crazy typing in '52 Desoto and seeing all those car covers and doodads listed....I am looking for real parts, not a car cover or steering knob! ha ha

I do my ebay searches like this:

(DeSoto, DeSota)(1952, 52, '52) and limit my search to "Parts and Accessories" You can also refine your search by putting qualifiers as negatives. -cover -doodads or whatever else you want to avoid seeing.

if your wheel is not completely shot but just cracked and missing chunks you can do a pretty decent job by cleaning it up and applying rust dr. to the steel, then use PC7 or marine tex to mold in the cracks and missing chunks. before it sets you can dip your fingers in laquer thinner and smooth the filler to the rough shape. when it is hard, use various files and sandpaper to sculpt the wheel. keep working this way till it is finished then prime it and paint it with hardened enamel or take it to a shop for painting. I don't know how anyone can duplicate the translucent plastic look with paint but it'll sure look better than what you now have

Found on eBay. Not a '52, but close and an example of what appears occasionally.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-Desoto-ste ... 50&vxp=mtr

That looks like the steering wheel on my 52 except for the center piece. I don't have a parts book to check the number. Are they the same?

Les...according to my '46 - '54 MoPar parts book, the '50 steering wheels are different part numbers from the '51-'53 wheels.

Mark

l rebuilt my steering wheel that was split, crakced and missing material where only the wire was left. I did this at my friends body shop. I under cut the exiting cracks and built up the material using the adhesive they used to bond modern car panels on cars. a lot of filing and sanding. After I had the shape correct, I used quality bonding to fill the micro- bubble holes.. A lot of sanding, filing, sandking and filling.
After it was done, the shop painted it to match dash colors as was original.
There was a steering wheel on ebay with horn ring for about $500. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten it and just painted to match colors I needed.
I conservatively spent a week at the shop, filling, sanding, etc.
BTW. I also lost the ripples on the underside of the wheel but still have the "nubs"
It has been a while and since there was so much material, I have developed some shrinkage cracks. My wheel was realling shot. Shop around for one and then paint it.

well, long story short....I have looked at hours and hours of old posts all over the internet and it seems that the wheels have all lost the battle with Father Time....
I appreciate all the advice but it looks like I will postpone the resto on the wheel and focus on other parts of the car until I can get over the pain I have been thru...ha ha.
You know, I have met some really cool people over the last 2 months (via internet and phone) who are willing to answer questions. I am limited with what I can do as I am in Kabul with NATO so when I hit the USA, I will try and try again.

The wheel below went for $622. Why would anyone spend that much on plastic that is 50+ years old. For the extra $300-$400 you could get your old one or a cheep bad one redone with new UV protected plastic.

Makes me wonder...

Found on eBay. Not a '52, but close and an example of what appears occasionally.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-Desoto-ste ... 50&vxp=mtr

I have still not had any luck finding anything decent, but...........in all my internet searching..plus drinking beer while doing it as I am currently not in Afghanistan..I found/buying a '52 Firedome just like mine with a perfect interior that has been parked since 1971...So I am dropping my current search and hopping on the "new car" and now I start anew!
I have never been so excited to throw away money since I found out about girls back in the day!