[lebowski]

A week ago I placed an order for a pair of Moto-Lita steering wheels and hubs for my two '95 Miata's that still had the original exploding tillers. I gave Bryan Jones of Autoquip Ltd. the go ahead at 0930 Pacific Coast time on Monday. Bryan's in England; I'm in California. By that Friday I had the shipment in hand.

Here's what I got:

 

[lebowski]

If you look at the last photo, the one of the hub, that shiny ring is a contact for the horn. I didn't need that, and neither will you, so off it, and the insulator beneath it, came:

 

[lebowski]

You'll notice that there's a bit of a problem with the connection from the clockspring in the next photo, so some minor modifications are required:

 

[lebowski]

Oh, yeah; some assembly is required. Really, it's just a matter of making a tiny little bean shaped hole to clear the combination airbag-horn plug:

 

[lebowski]

On the first hub I started my plug hole from the inside and worked out. On the second hub I got a bit smarter and started by outlining the plug hole with small drill holes. You can see that in the last photo from the previous post. The outline was finessed out with some drill wiggling and a hammer, and the rest was easy.

 

[lebowski]

Perhaps this is a good time for a small digression before we move on to the steering wheels.

You don't have to make the little hole I made to clear the plug. It's much easier to cut the clockspring wire at the plug that attaches to the airbag and horn plugs, and make a much smaller hole to clear the wire, but that would have been too easy for me. Hopefully, you're smarter.

Right! On to the wheels.

The wheels have to be attached to the hub, which is done with nine machine screws, lock washers, and nuts. A 5/16" open end wrench fits the nuts nicely.

The photo shows the the leather covered wheel with the mounting hardware, and the wood rimmed wheel already attached to the hub.

 

[lebowski]

And here's the sequence:

 

[lebowski]

Ah ha! There's that damn plug. The pair of wires from the plug go to my homemade airbag simulator, and the single wire goes to the back of the Moto-Lita horn button.

Oh yeah; remember way back when we pried the shiny ring from the hub. Well that ring has a horn wire attached to it - you'll need that wire so go back to the garbage and fetch it out.

The next photo shows the plug and airbag simulator nicely nestled within the hub. There's plenty of room.

 

[lebowski]

I guess I skipped a step there, and forgot to mention you need to put the wheel on the steering shaft and tighten the locknut. The all aluminum hub fits perfectly, with about a millimeter of clearance between the back of the hub and the combination switch box.

Anyway, with the wires nestled safely in the hub, all that's left is to push on the horn button.

 

[lebowski]

A couple of words about Bryan Jones...

I pestered Bryan for a week or two asking innumerable questions. I'd never seen a Moto-Lita wheel in person, and while not outlandish in price, they're not exactly cheap.

I'd ask a question in the morning, go to work, and by the time I got home Bryan had answered it. Remember, Bryan's an ocean and continent away from California, and there's an eight hour time difference.

Bryan offered to call me at home and we went over a few last details. I chewed things over for another few days, and then I completely changed the plan. Bryan rolled with it, never lost patience, and always let me know whatever it was I wanted he would do his best to satisfy me. Let's just say Bryan's an old-school gentlemen, and the kind of man we should all have the pleasure of doing business with.

Now you can order directly from Moto-Lita, and I originally started along that path, but after being introduced to Bryan I never contacted Moto-Lita again. Bryan has a 40-year history with the company, knows the owner personally (has his home phone number), and will even save you a few pounds on shipping.

If you are considering a Moto-Lita steering wheel, Bryan's the man you want to speak with. You can have a look at his goods here:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CLASSIC-STEERING-WHEELS?_trksid=p4340.l2563

You can contact him directly by email here:

[email protected]

 

[lebowski]

And a few words about purchasing an ocean and continent away...

I'd never ordered anything from outside the States, and as you know currency in England is in Pounds Sterling.

Bryan's website has the price for each item clearly listed; in the case of the steering wheels they were 122 Pounds each.

If you Google, "pounds to dollars", you can get a rough idea of what the cost is in American Dollars. At roughly 1.56 Pounds per Dollar, the cost in Dollars is about $190. Don't forget the hubs and the shipping; you'll need them too.

The total for my purchase was just over 388 Pounds, including shipping, which was about $612. I gave Bryan my Mastercard number and he took care of things from there. Mastercard (surprise!) charged me $18 or so for an "International Transaction", which was about 3% of the total. There may be a better way to do it, but it sure was easy and fast.

 

[lebowski]

Oh yeah. Thanks Metalhead, OldCafe, Joeyb, and Smac; your help was invaluable.

 

[piano]

Very cool

 

[5imon]

Well done buying a Moto Lita Lebowski! You might have noticed mine in the 'what steering wheel' thread.

I'm not sure how you feel about the fit but I felt mine needed to come a little bit closer to me. I emailed the very same Bryan Jones (as I'd bought the wheel from him) on a Sunday afternoon regarding a 1" spacer and got my reply within an hour. I placed my order that afternoon and received my parcel on Tuesday morning. The service the man offers is second to none.

Enjoy your wheel(s)

 

[90210]

Thank you for the PM and information. Much appreciated

 

[oldcafe]

thanks mate, Bryan Jones is very helpfully

 

[lebowski]

Well done buying a Moto Lita Lebowski! You might have noticed mine in the 'what steering wheel' thread.

I did notice your wheel, and seeing it made buying mine a bit easier. They really do look great.

I also considered the Nardi and Momo offerings, and they are beautiful, but the Moto-Lita is not the same league; it would be like comparing hand grenades to howitzers. I'm not saying I wouldn't mind having those as well, or that they're a lesser wheel, but I'm glad I purchased the Moto-Litas. I'll elaborate in another thread sometime later when lighting is more conducive to photographing.

I'm not sure how you feel about the fit but I felt mine needed to come a little bit closer to me.

Fit really is a personal thing, and sometimes has to be adjusted for your own body size, shape, and preference. I've got my seat hard against the rear bulkhead, and the stock setup of my Moto-Lita wheels suites me perfectly.

The face of the stock wheel sits about 4-5/8" from the combination switch casing. My Momo Retro with the $12.95 HKB hub sits a bit closer to the casing; about 4-1/8". The Moto-Lita wheels with the Moto-Lita hubs are just about the same distance, between 4-1/16" and 4-1/8". So all three wheels (both ML's and the Momo) it a bit farther from me then the stock wheel, but for me they're perfect as they are.

I emailed the very same Bryan Jones (as I'd bought the wheel from him) on a Sunday afternoon regarding a 1" spacer and got my reply within an hour. I placed my order that afternoon and received my parcel on Tuesday morning. The service the man offers is second to none.

It's ridiculous how good and fast Bryan is. He really is second to none.

 

[lebowski]

Nothing happening here; just making it easier to search for. Carry on...

motolita, moto, lita

 

[72Bacon]

Good thread. Will need this info soon