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Hi All,

Just about to buy a new Moto Lita Steering Wheel when a few questions popped into my head.
I hope you can help.

I have the original leather spoked dished steering wheel atm ( 1969 MK11 Conv), what is the best replacement:

A 14 inch Dished or Flat

A 13 inch Dished or Flat

If anyone has any Experiance of changing the original to a Moto Lita please let me know your experiance.

Regards

Andy

I've got a 13" on my Herald and sometimes think it's a bit small around town as the extra muscle power required to turn it can get a bit annoying - great on open roads where i spend most of my time.

Hi Andy. When i first fitted a moto lita wheel to my my spitfire, i fitted a 13 inch flat, but again i wished i had fitted a 14 inch as it took some getting used to going round corners!.

Go for the 14" as the 13" makes for heavy steering when parking. The flat looks better than the dished. But the dished does better leg clearance. However, you can adjust the steering column height to increase the clearance.

My Herald came with a 13" dished, (TR4A option wheel), but it was too small to be used comfortably.

I later fitted a Moto-Lita 14" flat, used it for over 100,000 miles and loved it.

I know that there is a good reason to use the flat over the dished, but cannot recall what it is?

Good Luck

LÃ©on

LÃ©on, The only reasons I can think of for using the flat type are 1/ You can reach the column storks more easily 2) There is less bend or movement in the wheel. Though I should say the original Stanpart wooden wheel has a slight dish.

More leg room was stated as the original reason for the standard wheel being dished.

Just my thoughts

LÃ©on, The other reason, I left off, is flat steering wheels are considered to be safer. No spokes to impale yourself on. Though I guess this is less true with a classic car as the central steering column would be just as effective!

It does make good sense to use a flat type on modern cars with all their other safety features.

Dave,

Interesting that you say the steering coloum can be adjusted. With my current wheel leg room is very tight
and im sure with a 14" Flat Moto Lita ( Which is my wheel of choice ) its going to be even tighter.

I have quickly looked at the clamp which holds the steering coloum in place and was wondering if you had
any knowledge of how to adjust this to get a little more clearance for the leg room.

Many Thanks

Andy

Look in the owner's manual! If you haven't got one, the club shop sells one, and it fits neatly in the glovebox.

First place i checked was the original handbook that came with the car and the Workshop Manual.
Not a mention of any adjustment.

Andy

You basically have to loosen the nuts on the two clamps that hold the outer steering column to the car (upper ones are behind the dash and a bit awkward to get at, and be careful not to not to disturb any wiring while you're there; might be a good idea to disconnect the battery).
The the two BOLTS that clamp the actual steering shaft at the bottom of the outer column. Then the whole lot should move up and down with a bit of pulling/pushing and wiggling. Retighten all bolts afterwards, trying to retain the same axial clearance between the wheel and outer column so the horn still works!
Theoretically you should use a torque wrench on the allen key type grub screw with big lock nut in the middle of the steering shaft clamp as this is what determines the force required for the shaft to telescope in the event of an accident. However, ASSUMING it was done up to the right level in the first place, if you only slacken and retighten the outer bolts, leaving the centre one untouched, everything should be the same again afterwards.

Andy

I have a Herald steering wheel on my mkII Vit and would love the correct one. If yours is in good nick, are you planning to let it go? Can I buy it? BTW, when I and my group of buddies had Heralds as 17 year olds 30 years ago my mate installed a 10 inch steering wheel. I can confirm it was a bad, bad idea for all of the obvious reasons but, I recall, there was some feeble teenage macho reasoning that made him stick with it. He now drives cement lorries. Perhaps the training was useful?

Simon Holloway

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