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GTS repro Steering Wheel
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belray Offline
#1 Posted : Friday, 3 April 2009 7:26:10 PM(UTC)
belray

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I recently bought a repro GTS steering wheel (complete) from rares to replace the scratched original on my Monaro. It turned up yesterday. When I ripped open the box, I should have been very satisfied, I was however ambivalent. From first glance, it was OK, but it was clear that it was not made as per the original. I know it is a repro, but shouldn't a repro "reproduce" the original closely if not faithfully?

Here are the problems I found. Although the steering wheel itself looks OK on the car, the actual "spokes" appear to be thinner than the original. The major drama I have is the boss kit. Although it is black (that is the closest it comes to the original) it appears to have a furry, leather appearance and doesn't match the texture pattern of either the actual wheel or gearshift knob. Furthermore, it also differs in that it is not a cylindrical shape like the original and the underside where the steering locks, is completely foreign to the original.

I thought "No problem, I will just use the wheel and attach it to the original boss kit". Not a chance. The repro is bolted to the boss kit, whilst the original is a one piece setup. Such a shame. it appears that the only way ahead is the have my original taken back to bare metal and spay painted (any advice is welcome here).

Anyway, I am not having a pointless whinge here and in my opinion, Rares are great, because if not for them, many Aussie classics (mine included) would not be representing our motoring history. What I am writing for is to find out if I received a one off, or if this is the standard for this product?

Cheers....

Edited by user Friday, 3 April 2009 7:32:41 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
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les Offline
#2 Posted : Saturday, 4 April 2009 5:58:21 AM(UTC)
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This is the story as far as I know GMH gave us permission to use the original tooling for the GTS wheel, we had Bridgestone make them for us using the 3mm spoke. The tooling for the spokes broke sometime later and Rare Spares took over the production of the spoke. We had production runs with the Bridgestone spoke and then the Rare Spares spoke; I am not sure how many of each where actually produced. The next problem we had was the hub tooling it had be come unusable and had to be repaired being GMH tooling we had to get their permission . When we finally got the ok to fix the tooling the company that originally did the hub and spoke (one piece moulding) no longer wanted to do it. After many months we still had not found any one able to do the moulding, in the mean time Bridgestone had returned the rest of the tooling to GMH (unbeknown to us) where it was dumped. Now we had a bigger problem no GTS wheels and Bridgestone where not that interested in making a wheel using this outdate method, we had no one to make the hub and no tooling. So we started from scratch to make a repro wheel, a wheel that we have to sell to the majority of people at a price they can afford.
We possibly could have made it closer to original but not in Australia and even in Asia we could not have produced it and sold it at its current price or any where close to it, I suggest that it would be twice the price or even more it is along time since we priced it. So we compromised as we sometimes have to do or we do not have the product I think it is a good product and I release that not everybody will be satisfied but the bottom line is we can not make it as per original.
Les
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belray Offline
#3 Posted : Saturday, 4 April 2009 7:54:42 PM(UTC)
belray

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Thanks Les, I appreciate you taking the time to explain all that. I will keep the wheel on the car, becvause it looks good, just not "perfect". I will get the original restored for those "perfect" days.

Thanks again Les....
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belray Offline
#4 Posted : Monday, 6 April 2009 7:17:39 PM(UTC)
belray

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The plot thickens. I fitted the repro steering wheel to the car only to find, that the indicators will no longer cancel (rego requirement) and the horn wont sound (also a rego requirtement). Fortunately, I didnt put it on too tight, because it has no threaded holes to attach a steering wheel puller. If I had put it on properly, I would not have been able to remove it without damaging my steering column.

Upon closer examination and comparison, I note that my original wheel has a plastic insert that screws to the underside of the wheel. On this insert is a horn relay and the piece that cancels the indicator. I gave the blokes at Rares Canberra a call and the bloke I spoke with suggested that this is the first he has ever heard of a steering wheel not being suitable for purpose. Anyway, he said I could take it back, which I unfortunately have no choice about.

Having said all that, I have bought more quality stuff from Rares than not.

Cheers....
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les Offline
#5 Posted : Tuesday, 7 April 2009 2:44:49 AM(UTC)
les

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The plastic piece you are talking about is not part of the steering wheel; it was not supplied by GMH with the wheel but as a separate part. We do not make them and there are a few different types I would suggest you use your old one.
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kevin Offline
#6 Posted : Tuesday, 7 April 2009 4:19:17 AM(UTC)
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i also put 1 on my gtr when you do the nut up you cant turn the wheel cause it locks up on the ignition barrel

kevy
kevy
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les Offline
#7 Posted : Tuesday, 7 April 2009 4:31:19 AM(UTC)
les

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Kevy
Did you tell anyone from Rare Spares or show anyone, there could be other reasons for that problem; we have been making them since 2002 and never had this problem. Or you may just had a faulty one I cannot tell without testing the wheel do you still have it.
Les
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kevin Offline
#8 Posted : Tuesday, 7 April 2009 4:43:03 AM(UTC)
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yes i do les i got it from rares at homebush i will chase it up as soon as i can i will let you know how i go i will most likely drive the car down so they can see themselves what is happening

kevy
kevy
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les Offline
#9 Posted : Tuesday, 7 April 2009 4:54:51 AM(UTC)
les

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Kevy
I have advised our Products Manager of your problem
Les
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belray Offline
#10 Posted : Tuesday, 7 April 2009 7:19:08 PM(UTC)
belray

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quote:
Originally posted by les
The plastic piece you are talking about is not part of the steering wheel; it was not supplied by GMH with the wheel but as a separate part. We do not make them and there are a few different types I would suggest you use your old one.

Thanks Les. Again, your help is appreciated. I actually tried to fit the plastic piece, but to make it fit I would have to force it and since you dont see them everyday, I decided not to risk breaking it. It has all worked out OK, I will probably use part of the refund to buy some other parts.

Cheers.....
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