Thank you, Bill. I was reasonably well-studied when we bought the car but missed that detail. The car, although exceptionally well-kept, has been through several owners and I'm sure the vinyl just wore through and was removed. And as said earlier, I like the look of the wood anyway.

As to "caring either way", I much prefer the car run well while looking smart and well-kept without regard to any departures from day-of-build. While I deeply respect those that maintain their cars to the 100% standard, it's just not for me.

Besides the wood rails, the car arrived with a couple exterior embellishments by previous owners that immediately raised questions among our club cognoscenti but have drawn compliments from others. I'm mostly content with the car as is although I continue to work on various details.

Thanks.

JT

Jim, one of the problems for owners today is finding correct information. I have judged concours and have been on the other end of arguments. I am a long time owner - bought my 1958 MGA in 1970 when it was 12 years old (heck, the 88 Fiero I am presently selling is now doubel that age!)

An example of where knowledge was 'lost' would be the finishing strips under the doors/fenders on the MGA. All had pretty much rotted off years ago, and very, very few cars had any remnant of them, so many people didn't know they existed nor how they attached etc. You still see some cars with Moss repors still in raw alloy because the owner doesn't know they should be body colour.

A similar thing was the Jensen Interceptor shift know - originally covered in thin glove leather that long ago wore off leaving the stock Chrysler beige plastic knob exposed, I have had a hard time convincing owners that the plastic was incorrect unless I showed them factory brochures.

The 'authorities' are often in error - I've seen many restoration books or just general MGA books with pictures of non-original bits on cars with no mention that they aren't correct. Bob Vitrikas' book is one of the few that is very good on originality.

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Bill Spohn www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html
1958 MGA Twincam (race car), 1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe
1969 MGC roadster, 1957 Jamaican MGA
1965 Jensen CV8, 1971 Jensen Interceptor
1969 Lamborghini Islero S, 1988 Fiero GT turbo
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe
West Vancouver BC

IIRC, the all wood door trim core pieces were only on the very early cars (changed somewhere in '56)? After that they had cast aluminum front and rear curved pieces with a center wood rail since it was all covered anyway. So it is not likely those are original rails anyway.

Maybe a photo of the finished wood rail and steering wheel together while we wait for Keith to sort through his choices? Mustn't completely hijack the thread!?

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'59 1500 - First car I ever bought in '68 and I still have it.
'60 1600
'67 MG 1100 Sports Sedan
'87 BMW 635

This might be a good time to ask in what direction do your defroster vents face . . . ?



In support of original thinking rather than originality, I too love the look of wooden door rails on top and am thinking of fitting them to my coupe against almond leather and vinyl with black accents and carpets.

Think modern era TVR rather than MGA here.

T

At least we got our defroster vents pointed the right direction......heh heh

There are quite a few things "incorrect" on the car and I don't mind anyone pointing them out. We built the car as a driver and it's being enjoyed as such.

Keith - Hope you find a wheel that that works. I remember someone on the forum mentioned cutting down the stainless spokes then downsizing the ring to a smaller size. It would be a big job but rewarding? Take a look at Barney's site on how the wheels are built.....http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/steering/sr204.htm. So that's another option to think about.

Eric

I've sent Keith two examples of 13" steering wheels both are quality made with a proper hub.

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Regards,
Robert Kirk
kirkbrit@yahoo.com
563 323 1017
Moss distributor UK importer
Beat or match any retail/delivered quote

Yup, that's another common one, as is having bumper overriders upside down etc.

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Bill Spohn www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html
1958 MGA Twincam (race car), 1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe
1969 MGC roadster, 1957 Jamaican MGA
1965 Jensen CV8, 1971 Jensen Interceptor
1969 Lamborghini Islero S, 1988 Fiero GT turbo
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe
West Vancouver BC

Gentlemen:

I have somewhat recovered from the emotionally devastating loss of the last attempt at an extensive post, but it will likely take a number of therapy sessions before I can truly get back to normal(yeah, like that's a reasonable goal).

That said, I believe I've made a decision on a steering wheel and hub for Ol' Snort. I'll be ordering the same unit as did JimNH only in 14". I wanted to try and get a 13", but with a negative comments or two (post #8) as well as the positive comments by JimNH, SteveLandry, and TeamEvil (posts #8, #9, and #10, respectively), it seems like the best deal for me at this time.

The hub I at which I was seriously looking ended up to be out of stock when I went to check on it yesterday. Also, the $100 price tag was a big hinderance. Add to that the price and shipping of most of the other wheel options with similar aesthertics (wood, rivets, and polished spokes), as well as the cost that kept climbing upwards of $250, the other options were beyond my budgetary limit. This option is slightly less than $200 with shipping and a polished hub.

I would like to thank Robert Kirk for all his help in trying to put together a proper setup for me and providing some much needed education. I'll be looking to him for the other parts I'll be needing in order to get Ol' Snort mechnanically and aesthetically proper.

I would also like to thank all who posted and helped me navigate my little problem. The last time I worked on this car was at age 18 when I was a teenager living in Eastern Oregon some 34 years ago. There was no internet or email and the largest local parts houses were the local wheat combine dealership and the Caterpiller shop. When I was forced to go in there for something they would always ask the inevitable, "What's it off of?" question. The last thing I wanted to tell them was, "It's a 21-year-old English sports car." "Oh, we don't have nuthin' for those." was always the immediate response - even if I was only looking for something as simple as a piece of copper tubing to hook up the oil pressure line. This time around I hope the current efforts will be a little easier. Forums like this one and the wealth of information you all provide are certainly worth the price of admission and will help Ol' Snort to become the properly-sorted, reliable Babe Magnet at which she started out so long ago.

Truthfully? Fat chance ("fat" being the operative word here).

Keith

getting a chuckle from this thread...

i don't have the same, er, 'challenges', that you bigger guys have and am actually looking for an original A steering wheel. Let me know if you'd let one go for a reasonable amount plus shipping. Right now i have a 17" B wheel, and while i like the size i want the 4 set of splines vs 3.

thanks,
Gordon

Gordon,
I've got one of these still in the Moss box:
http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=37420

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Regards,
Robert Kirk
kirkbrit@yahoo.com
563 323 1017
Moss distributor UK importer
Beat or match any retail/delivered quote