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CBoehr
Samba Member
Joined: November 27, 2006
Posts: 27
Location: Arcadia, California
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 Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:18 pm Post subject: Split bus steering wheel from Flat 4 vs. Koch Rebuild |
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I am in need of a new steering wheel for my 58 SC and I am wavering between two options. One option is getting a brand new wheel from Flat 4 (Japan) and keeping my old wheel as a spare.....or getting my old wheel rebuilt by Koch. Are the Flat 4 steering wheels junk? Or is there not much difference in quality overall? (except for the fact that they are not original the original). Any experience either way would be helpful....
Thanks.. |
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Birdmanhere
Samba Member
Joined: June 03, 2006
Posts: 1054
Location: CANADA EH
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| Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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I have a flat4 one....
I wish I asked this question before I got mine.
They suck.
cheap and flimsy
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66 Bus
71 Bug |
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CBoehr
Samba Member
Joined: November 27, 2006
Posts: 27
Location: Arcadia, California
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| Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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| thanks...i was afraid they might be junk...so that confirms my suspicions. |
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splitpile
Samba's Worst Speller
Joined: May 03, 2000
Posts: 5927
Location: back to living where hell meets the suface
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| Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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| CBoehr wrote: |
| thanks...i was afraid they might be junk...so that confirms my suspicions. |
If your not in a hurry Chriss Drake "the steering wheel man" is tooling up to make his recast steering wheels again.mmIf you are get a Koch's
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big wavos
OCTO
Joined: September 06, 2007
Posts: 223
Location: 562
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:20 am Post subject: 3 spoke resto |
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| who can restore the older 3 spoke wheels? |
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mr. warehouse
Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2001
Posts: 5001
Location: Nor Cal 707
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 2:09 am Post subject: |
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All of Koch's wheels are recast at this point. Maybe not *all* of them if you have a few small chips and need it painted, but for the most part they are.
I'm sure they can a 3 spoke. |
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66uno
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2006
Posts: 603
Location: maryland
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 4:39 am Post subject: resto |
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I havent tried restoring one. .. mine is in good shape. But, I dont think it would be too hard. West System marine epoxy is the key, because it is flexible. You would need to open any cracks up a little with a dremel tool & then mix the epoxy with the thickening agent (its a powder). After it is spread on, it would need to be fared out (sanded to blend with the old wheel. Then the whole thing would have to be sanded lightly and painted with good quality 2 part epoxy paint.
If you dont wanna do it yourself, I think someone that does marine repairs would be able to handle it. |
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WhitewallsJohnson
Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2005
Posts: 620
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mynameismud
Samba Member
Joined: October 23, 2002
Posts: 5928
Location: Middle of a corn field
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:00 am Post subject: |
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go with Koch-yes, they recast 3-spokes. I sent a white 3-spoke, wanting it recast in black for my kombi..and waaaaaaaaa-lah.
it's gorgeous.
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CBoehr
Samba Member
Joined: November 27, 2006
Posts: 27
Location: Arcadia, California
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 11:01 am Post subject: |
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| my wheel would definitely need to be recast....all the resin is gone around the hub and the horizontal cross members and probably 40 % of the circumference. |
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campingbox 
Samba Member
Joined: November 14, 2000
Posts: 10196
Location: Petaluma, CA
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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| I've had three or four wheels done by Kochs (including a couple recasts) and I've been very happy with them. I've put 6000 miles on my '56 camper this year and it hasn't chipped through the paint yet. |
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1964ThirteenWindow
Samba Member
Joined: October 09, 2007
Posts: 25
Location: Whittier
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| Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:10 am Post subject: |
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| Just saw mention of the "steering wheel man". Where is he located and is there any idea of how close he is to getting up to speed? Any prices known for restoration? I'd like to have mine done. I've also looked into Koch's. Thanks |
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WhitewallsJohnson
Samba Member
Joined: October 21, 2005
Posts: 620
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| Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:27 am Post subject: Re: resto |
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| 66uno wrote: |
I havent tried restoring one. .. mine is in good shape. But, I dont think it would be too hard. West System marine epoxy is the key, because it is flexible. You would need to open any cracks up a little with a dremel tool & then mix the epoxy with the thickening agent (its a powder). After it is spread on, it would need to be fared out (sanded to blend with the old wheel. Then the whole thing would have to be sanded lightly and painted with good quality 2 part epoxy paint.
If you dont wanna do it yourself, I think someone that does marine repairs would be able to handle it. |
This is the way to go if your wheel isnt that bad. I did it with a 65 a few years back. The bus was a flipper, so I just used a round file to open up the cracks and filled them with JB Weld. Smoothed her up with a flat file, some sand paper and primer. I did use good quality sikens paint and it held up fine for the year or so that i kept it. The paint was left over from an oval window i had just finished, so the whole process cost me about two dollars.
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