calspyderman
Active Member
I found an unrestored, beautiful condition (no pitting anywhere on the metal; and not a nick or crack in the slightly grey-patina leather) 380mm Petri.
I got my baby a new (old) steering wheel today!
- Thread starter calspyderman
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that looks great and will be a wonderful addition to your car
Nice! The factory csl wheels have a very distinctive thread pattern on the rear of the spokes. Can you take a pic?
Not a CSL wheel. I don’t see any leather either, but perhaps my eyes deceive me.
Nice wheel though!
380 Petri is the perfect size for a Coupe.
Was totally expecting poodles in this thread BTW!
Me too! Thank God we were wrong.
x_atlas0
Well-Known Member
Is it supposed to have leather? I have a 380 Petri too, and it doesn't look like it had leather, but it could be nice. Did people use a cover in period?
True CSL Petri wheels are leather and have very distinct details (shapes, stitch patterns) which are easy to recognize once you've seen one up close. Nothing wrong with rubber ones, they just aren't leather CSL Petri's. They are getting rarer by the day. When I got mine, it came from a forum member in Germany and wasn't cheap and they've only gone up in price.
I had my 380 Petri leather wrapped this past winter by a vendor through VSR in Bedford NH. vsr1.com
And I missed out on gripping that wheel by one terrible night's sleep.
The leather wrap will increase the diameter of the rim. And make it much more comfortable on long drives. Nice touch!
Honolulu
Well-Known Member
I leather wrapped and stitched the stock wheel on my first 1970 2002a. Not with a fancy stitch, natural latigo leather color, some kinda woven fishing line, using a hammer and nail to poke the holes through which I ran the line. It's long, long gone, but it was fun and rewarding for a patient person. Nowadays if I had to do it again (with the 'net there to help me) I'd use colored line and a fancier stitch. Point being that a patient person can DIY and have a result proportionate to that person's patience and investment in their car.
calspyderman
Active Member
Hello all - I stand corrected! It not leather (though that was my assumption because it kind of looks and feels like old, shiny leather). I did not think I was buying (and thank goodness... though expensive and from Germany - it was not represented to me, nor priced as a CSL steering wheel - which I understand are leather wrapped). It is a "standard" 380mm Petri.
calspyderman
Active Member
Thanks for asking... learned a lot from this thread. Its not a CSL wheel - I'm still a bit of a "Petri neophyte" and didn't realize (a) it wasn't leather; and (b) that CSLs had a leather version distinct to them. At first I was a little concerned given what I paid for it... then I asked SFDon what a nice condition non-CSL Petri sells for and confirmed I did okay.
calspyderman
Active Member
That looks like one comfy wheel for a long trip.
Yes that is still a very nice and desirable wheel!
x_atlas0
Well-Known Member
Would you be willing to post some pics of the details you mentioned? I'm particularly curious what leather grain was used; I'm not a fan of the modern smooth wheels so I'm interested to see if it has a more defined texture.
calspyderman
Active Member
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Your wheel is very nice. The Petri is one of the few wheels that has a profound impact on a coupes interior. They just look right... IMHO