How Many Might Be Interested In This?

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GMachineDartGT

GMachineDartGT

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After doing many driving events and lots of driving, I've always felt the steering wheels on the market could use some improvement. I've found that 13.5" is the diameter that just feels right to me. This is a little smaller than the factory tuff wheel. I've tried all the repro tuff wheels and although they look nice, they don't fit the bill for me. I found a grant wheel to work with and adapted it to bolt on just like a factory wheel. I painted the spokes in urethane base/clear then padded the grip slightly and wrapped in genuine leather for a true beefy grip similar to a modern M3. Is this something that anyone would like to have? It's not going to be cheap unfortunately....
 

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just me but i think it would be very out of place in 99% of our cars... personally i always thought the tuff wheel looked terrible. Not saying you didn't do a nice job as you can see the leather is tight and straight, paint in smooth, but the style is off IMO.
 
I always thought there would be a market for someone padding and leather wrapping the three spoke 1969 barracuda style wheels, the standard ones, not the woodgrain. I was looking into having a spare one I had done, but instead I ended up having my woodgrain one refinished.
 

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Nice looking wheel but the market probably won't respond well to it I feel. People building these cars to drive them the way you drive yours is pretty small. Good luck............
 
I'm guessing your Dart has power steering. With manual, you need the big diameter rim for leverage. I wrapped my stock wheel with thin foam and put on a sew-on leather skin (not the wrap-with-chessy-plastic-lacing-style), something like qkcude suggested.
 
The grip is round. I'm not expecting this wheel to be a huge seller, if I can offer it at the right price, some will buy. I wasn't sure about the Borgeson box when I made the coupler and fittings, and sold about 70 this year.
 
Stop dancing around it. How much?
 
If it,s a good price that people can afford,hundreds will buy them,if it,s way out there,your going to starve to death.It,s best to sell lower and sell allot of them,then make a big profit off of a few,and the word goes around that your a great guy to deal with!mrmopartech
 
You can devote six years of college and get two degrees in business an still not get the right formula for what you should charge. With that in mind, I would start with the minimum you would take and see what happens.
 
GMachineDartGT said:
The grip is round. I'm not expecting this wheel to be a huge seller, if I can offer it at the right price, some will buy. I wasn't sure about the Borgeson box when I made the coupler and fittings, and sold about 70 this year.
Click to expand...

have you tried mfg.com to try and source a manufacturer? i have used them in the past for short runs of custom parts, its great you can upload your files and specify materials.

then wait for the bids to come in for the job.
 
805moparkid said:
just me but i think it would be very out of place in 99% of our cars... personally i always thought the tuff wheel looked terrible. Not saying you didn't do a nice job as you can see the leather is tight and straight, paint in smooth, but the style is off IMO.
Click to expand...

they look like crap in 69-back cars but look great in 70-up cars in my opinion.. not to mention how much better it felt driving going from that ugly skinny plastic to a fatter foamish grip... even the stock rimblow although neat sucked to drive with.


pete. all depends on the price man. i liked my $99 grant wheel.. bolted on like stock and was the stock size i believe. the leather grip would be a nice addition though.. you wheel looks good.. the grip look a little too fat but it may just be the picture. is it comfortable?

tuffwheel004.jpg


tuffwheel010.jpg
 
I had a Grant 13" wheel in my 81 Dodge 4x4 and loved it. How much for this wheel? With horn kit etc.
 
Not meaning to hijack the post.
For all those who may be looking for a great-quality leather wrap for your existing steering wheel, check these out: http://www.wheelskinscover.com/?Click=24&gclid=CO-Nra3DvLsCFciFfgod0n0ABA

I put one on my stock 1995 Ram 2500 steering wheel and it made a huge difference in appearance, feel and comfort.
Night and day difference over the cheap overs with vinyl over-the-cover wrapped lacing.
 
The cost for this wheel is high because Grant will not do short runs, which would have been a game changer. For now the price has to be 499.00. There is simply too much hand work involved to make it less expensive. However, it can be made with any color spoke or any color leather for the same price. It accepts the tuff wheel horn switch so you can use your tuff wheel horn cap. If anybody is interested please PM me or call my shop.
 
Here are some engineering tips:

NSFW

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqGd3ajKjl0"]UGK - "Wood Wheel" - YouTube[/ame]
 
I agree. Sometimes things work out, sometimes not. For someone who is going to do a full tilt build and wants a specific combination of spoke color and leather color/texture, I can understand.
 
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