Vintage Steering Wheels

Does anyone know anything about this type of Momo:

I'd like to get a nice Momo to replace the bus-sized airbag steering wheel in my E30, but I can't find any like in the picture available. The Monte Carlo is available brand new in 350mm, but it doesn't have the center pad. Were these only available on Momos that came in cars from new?

/shamelesshelpthread

Wow... That is odd.. Surely there is a demand for a steering wheel with a center pad. Just looked at MrSteeringwheel.com. Lots of repeats of very similar looking wheels in different brands.

I have great luck finding old steering wheels like these by searching "Momo" on eBay with the "used" condition box checked.

I even just found one there exactly like the one you posted.

Would that work?

Back in 2009 that was a 930s wheel... Found the picture on the Pelican Parts board.

I'm pretty sure that the center pad and the clips that hold it were an option. I have a Monte Carlo, without the pad, but back in 1989, I bought a similar Mugen wheel that I alternately ran both with and without the pad. Pads are probably rare because the wheels look better without them, but they may have been standard on Ferrari 308/328/348s.

I wonder if some E36 wheels would fit? I had a European M3 steering wheel in my 318ti, it fit beautifully and I assume it worked with the airbag as the light never illuminated otherwise.

I guess what I'm wanting to know is this - if I bought the 350mm Montecarlo, would it accept a pad from a different wheel? If that option is open, I'd just buy the Monte Carlo now and let the chips fall where they may. Otherwise, depending on how much I really want this pad nonsense, I'm going to have to buy a used one that already comes with a pad.

Just looking at the Monte Carlo on Amazon it looks like a pad wouldn't work because the contour of the leather wouldn't match.

Woody, I almost agree with you that the "naked" ones look better. Might just go that direction after all. Sometimes I think it looks a little "tuner" for the E30s interior though, so that's what got me interested in the other version.

Related: wish they sold a 360mm or 365mm Monte Carlo. 350mm is a little small IMO.

c0rbin9 wrote: Related: wish they sold a 360mm or 365mm Monte Carlo. 350mm is a little small IMO.

I have that gripe as well. My E28 has period Recaro seats, so I figure a Momo wheel from the same era would be fitting. Sadly anything less than 370mm or so does a nasty job of obscuring the gauges, and aftermarket 370-380mm wheels aren't exactly common...

Nardi, for what it's worth, is one of the few companies that makes >350mm aftermarket wheels.

Considering this:

Trying to visualize how it would look in the E30 interior.

I've done a little more research and it seems the wheels marked "Typ V36" are the ones with the covers and the slight contouring, which is what I'm after. "Typ V35" are standard Monte Carlo's.

There's also the Momo Cobra, a pic of which I posted above, but I think the 100% roundness is more suited to a muscle car. Also the straight stitching and spoke position is more muscle car.

Thanks for the eBay tip. I'm going to keep my eyes out for a "Typ V36", something like this:

I can't find any photos, but my Mugen wheel had two little stamped brackets that each fastened to two of the wheel-to-hub screws. I'm 90% certain that the whole thing was a ripoff of the Momo design. The whole shape of the wheel somehow looked different with the pad in place. Interestingly, you still used the same horn button under the pad.

Try to get your hands on an issue of Car & Driver from 1985 or so. I'm pretty sure that the ads from Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories had photos of Momo wheels back then.

Damn.

I just went up into the archives/attic and grabbed an issue of Car & Driver circa, 1986. The Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories ad has a picture of a Nardi wheel.

I am ashamed at the inaccuracy of my memory.

Might want to email or pm this guy

The wheel a couple of posts up is just a fake Alpina horn button in a regular Momo wheel. You can buy a genuine Alpina/Momo wheel from Guten Parts in NJ. They've got a fat center pad like what you're looking for. The color is slightly grey rather than pure black and they have contrast stitching in green and blue Alpina colors. I had one in my old E30:

The ItalVolanti Indianapolis Formel, which was popular in E30 M3 DTM cars, also has a 3-spoke design with fat center pad:

They look great in an E30, but it's a more "vintage" kind of look:

I'm aware of the ItalVolantis, and I think they're lovely, perhaps not quite the look I'm going for though.

I actually ended up bidding on and winning the Momo Cobra. I offered $83 shipped and the seller accepted, which I think is quite a good deal, though it doesn't come with a horn button. It will hold me over until I can source something like in the OP. Can't wait to try out a smaller wheel in place of the huge 385mm bus wheel.

That's the vision. Perfect match for the E30 interior IMO. Note that this is not a Monte Carlo (AFAIK.)