Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Pretty sure it was a Wheelskin that I put on the W140. A bit tedious to install correctly, but when done right it’s nearly imperceptible from the original cover (if it had one.) -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 12:31 PM, Jim Cathey via Mercedes > wrote: > > The steering wheel is your primary user interface, it's usually worth > a bit of effort to make it nice. We've used Wheelskins covers on a > few of ours. Nice, but the installation is a bit tedious. > > -- Jim > > > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
The steering wheel is your primary user interface, it's usually worth a bit of effort to make it nice. We've used Wheelskins covers on a few of ours. Nice, but the installation is a bit tedious. -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Absolutely, to each his/her own. If it was really rough or there was concern about it hurting me with scratching or cutting, I would do it as an interim fix until I could restore/replace. The restoration process isn’t difficult, but time consuming. A lot of fill/dry/sand, rinse and repeat until it’s nice. Much like bodywork, which I hate, so the option of a brand new $500 steering wheel versus many hours of work that might end up with a less than satisfactory result was pretty attractive to me. My time has value, too. I replaced the steering wheel on my 2008 ML550 because the lacing was unraveling. I tried re-sewing which didn’t really help much, as the OE cover was loose now and would move around when gripped no matter what, so I found a nice used replacement for about $150 and swapped it out. I replaced the telematics switches while I was there as well, as they were getting grungy/sticky, too. Swapping a steering wheel isn’t difficult, especially if you have the MB driver for the airbag screws. It’s so much nicer since I did that. -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 10:15 AM, Allan Streib via Mercedes > wrote: > >> Or put a leather wrap on it. > > That's what I've done. Get a nice lace-on leather wrap, looks good and > feels good on the hands. > > You'd still need to fill in any gaps but would not have to worry so > much about getting a perfect finish. > > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
I have a leather wrap on my W211 steering wheel. The original varnish/plastic finish on the wood sections was cracked and chipping off. I bought a lace-on leather wrap that is thin (it's just leather, no padding), it fits really tightly, feels nice in the hands, and IMO looks good. I appreciate that it's a matter of personal preference however. On Sat, Jun 1, 2024, at 14:36, dan penoff.com via Mercedes wrote: > As a purist I would never wrap a steering wheel like this unless it was > the absolute last thing I could do. > > That said, I have used a really expensive leather wrap on a W140 that > looked almost OE and was very high quality. It also took over an hour > to install… > > -D ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
As a purist I would never wrap a steering wheel like this unless it was the absolute last thing I could do. That said, I have used a really expensive leather wrap on a W140 that looked almost OE and was very high quality. It also took over an hour to install… -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 10:16 AM, Allan Streib via Mercedes > wrote: > > >> >> Or put a leather wrap on it. > > That's what I've done. Get a nice lace-on leather wrap, looks good and > feels good on the hands. > > You'd still need to fill in any gaps but would not have to worry so > much about getting a perfect finish. > > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
> Or put a leather wrap on it. That's what I've done. Get a nice lace-on leather wrap, looks good and feels good on the hands. You'd still need to fill in any gaps but would not have to worry so much about getting a perfect finish. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Nearly everything expands and contracts with heat. A major source of trouble would be differential coefficients of expansion between the plastic(s) and the steel spine. Ideally they minimized that by choice of plastic, but did they? (Consider the lowly vacuum tube or incandescent light bulb. The metal that goes through the glass envelope was carefully chosen so that its expansion coefficient matched the glass, so that the seal would never break from the extreme thermal cycling present in that environment.) Expansion and contraction could cause cracking if the material is not resilient enough, but the fact that there are fissures and no lost material indicates that it is the original plastic _shrinking_, slowly, that is the root cause here. (Unless you think that the steel core is slowly _expanding_?) Even repaired, it probably will eventually do the same again/more, but it'll take some time. And you can always repeat the repair in another decade or three if it bothers you. Or put a leather wrap on it. -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Nothing, but consider that you’re looking at material that’s been exposed to the elements for all intents and purposes for over 60 years, I wouldn’t be terribly concerned myself. That and I would also be storing the vehicle in far less extreme conditions that it had probably experienced over it’s life up to that point. And no matter what, it will still look better than it did... -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 8:58 AM, Allan Streib wrote: > > What prevents the same expansion/contraction from re-cracking the repairs? > > On Sat, Jun 1, 2024, at 11:37, dan penoff.com via Mercedes wrote: >> No. The pieces of remaining steering wheel material are firmly anchored >> in place to a steel ring which is the foundation for the steering >> wheel. It’s just expansion and contraction of the material over many >> years that causes the cracks, I presume. When they do crack, and even >> when pieces come off, the others remain in place and don’t move around >> - at least from my experience they don’t. I guess you could have one >> that missing some really big chunks and some of the remaining ones >> could move around, but I’ve never seen one that severe. >> >> -D >> >>> On Jun 1, 2024, at 7:28 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes >>> wrote: >>> >>> Rare S class finnie, a case study in decayed elegance... Might be fun to >>> drive while putting off any thoughts of a restoration, although the >>> steering wheel may completely disintegrate in the process. Wonder what >>> it's worth... >>> >>> https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mercedes-benz-220sb-sedan/ ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
What prevents the same expansion/contraction from re-cracking the repairs? On Sat, Jun 1, 2024, at 11:37, dan penoff.com via Mercedes wrote: > No. The pieces of remaining steering wheel material are firmly anchored > in place to a steel ring which is the foundation for the steering > wheel. It’s just expansion and contraction of the material over many > years that causes the cracks, I presume. When they do crack, and even > when pieces come off, the others remain in place and don’t move around > - at least from my experience they don’t. I guess you could have one > that missing some really big chunks and some of the remaining ones > could move around, but I’ve never seen one that severe. > > -D > >> On Jun 1, 2024, at 7:28 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes >> wrote: >> >> Rare S class finnie, a case study in decayed elegance... Might be fun to >> drive while putting off any thoughts of a restoration, although the >> steering wheel may completely disintegrate in the process. Wonder what >> it's worth... >> >> https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mercedes-benz-220sb-sedan/ ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Exactly. POR-15 made a steering wheel restoration kit some time ago that was basically a couple blocks of their epoxy putty and some sandpaper. That’s all it takes. I’ve never done it, but I was prepared to before Jamie found the reamining stock being sold, so I bought a new one. And it was breathtaking! -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 8:43 AM, Jim Cathey via Mercedes > wrote: > > My experience (W115) is that the epoxy-like plastic shrinks with > age, and once the accumulated stress exceeds the remaining > material strength a fissure opens up, and only gets wider with > increasing age. Nothing is loose, mobile, or crumbly. It seems > like it would be a pretty good base for the described repair. > > -- Jim > > > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
My experience (W115) is that the epoxy-like plastic shrinks with age, and once the accumulated stress exceeds the remaining material strength a fissure opens up, and only gets wider with increasing age. Nothing is loose, mobile, or crumbly. It seems like it would be a pretty good base for the described repair. -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
No. The pieces of remaining steering wheel material are firmly anchored in place to a steel ring which is the foundation for the steering wheel. It’s just expansion and contraction of the material over many years that causes the cracks, I presume. When they do crack, and even when pieces come off, the others remain in place and don’t move around - at least from my experience they don’t. I guess you could have one that missing some really big chunks and some of the remaining ones could move around, but I’ve never seen one that severe. -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 7:28 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes > wrote: > > Rare S class finnie, a case study in decayed elegance... Might be fun to > drive while putting off any thoughts of a restoration, although the > steering wheel may completely disintegrate in the process. Wonder what > it's worth... > > https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mercedes-benz-220sb-sedan/ > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Do the cracks pinch? On Sat, Jun 1, 2024 at 11:33 AM dan penoff.com via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > The steering wheel will not disintegrate, believe me. Typical restoration > for these, since Jamie and I bought the last of them a few years ago, > involves filling the cracks with epoxy, using a rasp and sandpaper to > smooth out, then paint. It’s not terribly difficult or expensive to do if > you have the time to invest. Pay someone to do it and you’ll feel some pain. > > -D > > > On Jun 1, 2024, at 7:28 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > > Rare S class finnie, a case study in decayed elegance... Might be fun to > > drive while putting off any thoughts of a restoration, although the > > steering wheel may completely disintegrate in the process. Wonder what > > it's worth... > > > > https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mercedes-benz-220sb-sedan/ > > ___ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
The steering wheel will not disintegrate, believe me. Typical restoration for these, since Jamie and I bought the last of them a few years ago, involves filling the cracks with epoxy, using a rasp and sandpaper to smooth out, then paint. It’s not terribly difficult or expensive to do if you have the time to invest. Pay someone to do it and you’ll feel some pain. -D > On Jun 1, 2024, at 7:28 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes > wrote: > > Rare S class finnie, a case study in decayed elegance... Might be fun to > drive while putting off any thoughts of a restoration, although the > steering wheel may completely disintegrate in the process. Wonder what > it's worth... > > https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mercedes-benz-220sb-sedan/ > ___ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
[MBZ] Interesting 220Sb on BAT
Rare S class finnie, a case study in decayed elegance... Might be fun to drive while putting off any thoughts of a restoration, although the steering wheel may completely disintegrate in the process. Wonder what it's worth... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-mercedes-benz-220sb-sedan/ ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
