patipatina is the place to find vintage steering wheels for sale from my collection and a lot of information about different models. From the preproduction 380mm Momo Montecarlo to the Momo Prototipo, Momo Sebring, Momo LeMans to many others: production years, diameters, sizes, colours, leather, stitching etc. And to check out my personal steering wheel collection. Feel free to make offers on the vintage steering wheels you find here. But it’s not only about Momo Steering Wheels, also about Abarth Steering Wheels and the legendary Kremer Porsche Steering Wheel. And my garage, my vintage Porsches, the projects and the tools & tips that go with it.
Even though we’re celebrating one year of patipatina.com today, I seem to have missed out on some steering wheel basics. I’d like to make up for that today.
So here it is, the ultimate guide to steering wheels: all about diameters, grip sizes, materials, dish, hub adapters, spacers, quick release kits, bolt patterns and much more.
In a racing environment, a lot of parts have to work a lot harder, especially brakes. Higher speeds and much more intense presses on the brake pedal and as a result – much higher temperatures.
Do yourself a favour and install the right calipers, pads, discs and also – brake fluid that are all capable of withstanding those temperatures to avoid fading.
The Momo Gilles Villeneuve Signature Steering Wheel is based on a design which Momo used for a number of steering wheels.
For a number of Volvo Steering Wheels, the famous Ferrari Dino Steering Wheel and of course, the pretty much related – Momo Jacky Ickx Steering Wheel. Same same but the horn pad.
Is a period correct steering wheel overrated? Of course not! I couldn’t put a brand new steering wheel in a 40+ yr old car. For your convenience I’ve added the production year into the database so it’s a lot easier now to find a period correct Momo steering wheels for your classic car.
Well, there are a couple of different levels of tires. Full race tires for the track only. They are not for the street.
And then there are what I like to call “drive to the track race tire”. And also a new kind of tire, a street race tire which is very streetable and capable on the track. Tried a lot of different tires, here are my best “drive to the track racing tires”.
Find the best birthday gift for the little car enthusiast!
So here are some of the best classic ride on cars for your kids or the big kids 😉 From foot to floor ride on toys, rides with pedals to electric ride on cars. And of course, a Porsche must not be missing – or two. No doubt, we all would have loved such a vehicle when we were young, that’s for sure!
Is there a best racing tire?
Again, using quarantine time to answer some questions. If you ask me, yes, there is. The article today is about full race tires, tires that should not be driven to the track. I do have two sets of wheels for my race car, a 1970 lightweight 911S. It’s equipped with 7×15 Fuchs wheels all around, so I am talking about 15 inch racing tires.
A lot of collectors that I know started somehow with the Momo Signature Series and I am one of them. I bought all I could get my hands on 15-20 years ago.
This one here is a very very rare version from the famous Momo Signature Series: the Momo Niki Lauda Steering Wheel in the 370mm diameter version.
No, not going to reveal the colour, but show you some progress. And yeah, I did love the bare metal look but on the other hand – can’t wait to see the car in it’s final colour. Meanwhile, some paint preparations. The guy who’s doing it is an artist, really. First he started with primer all around the chassis. Looks great, doesn’t it?
Grey is the final colour! Not!
Do I need more than one steering wheel? The question was a little different: Why the hell do you have so many steering wheels? Well, I need at least one for each car.
But do I need more than one steering wheel? I would say yes, one for every purpose.
So what is the best Momo Steering Wheel for every purpose?
Race car or not a race car? As I said, I wanted to do it right this time. All the effort, chemical paint stripping and all that. And then buying a roll-bar and just bolt it in? Not my style. I wanted to build my own and I had a very clear picture on how it should look like. Btw I did have a spare roll-bar from a race car I once bought. Took it out of the storage and put it in – just for a sec. Easy decision.
I still get tons of emails with questions about the Momo Signature Steering Wheel Series. I am trying to answer at least 95% of these questions with this article.
Which Steering Wheel was the first / the last / the rarest / the most common of the Momo Signature Steering Wheel Series?
Well, I’ve decided with this (final) backdate project to go the extra mile and do it right in my opinion.
After we took really everything out of the car, we brought it to a facility to chemical paint strip the whole body. Not the new (bolt-on) panels but the chassis itself. That really removes everything and goes into all the holes.
Just like everybody else, I tried different car detailing supplies and compared them side by side. They are all great and not that different from one another, whether they are from the Chemical Guys, Mrs. Meyers or TriNova just to mention a few. Tried them, liked them but I’ve had the best results with the shampoo from Poorboy’s World and the car detailing products from the Car Guys.
Every now and then a very special Steering Wheel comes along.
I wasn’t really looking for a Montecarlo Steering wheel. The wheel found me. And I would like to share the story with you. The story of the first pre-Momo Steering Wheel, still hand-made, that has been sold to the general public. Rare, really rare. Some say it’s the holy grail.
While I was still stripping the car, I started to bring several parts to certain shops. The gearbox went to a friend nearby, the engine went to another friend who needed a 3 litre engine for another project. For my car, we had something else in mind. Turned out to be a good choice, taking a 2.7 litre case, 3 litre RSR cylinders and some other nice things. But will that engine go into that car?
A few people asked my what the sometimes cryptic engravings on the Momo steering wheels mean (if at all) or what years the steering wheels are coming from, where no production years have been engraved. Well, most interestingly, there is no official information about it. No one alive really knows but I think we’re pretty close with this.
When I bought the car, my buddy told me, it isn’t running. For some reason I didn’t even check numbers back then. But when I took delivery of the car, I looked closely.
To my surprise it had something that I really wanted, something I should have bought otherwise. Find out what it was!
Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers Stickers
Lots of them. Finally they are here. I do like stickers, sure you do like stickers, everybody likes stickers. Stick them onto your car and tag me on instagram @patipatinasteeringwheels
This vehicle may not fit in the dream garage – or maybe it does. A piece of contemporary history – for Volkswagen and the Deutsche Bundespost. Volkswagen from it’s beginning has always produced special vehicles for the Deutsche Bundespost, but never as remarkable as the Volkswagen MK2 Postgolf.
What is a dream garage anyway? Fantastically located, fantastically large, fantastic cars? Not so easy to answer. Still, I found it. A few weeks ago when I was visiting a friend.
Where can you find something like this? Not in California, not in New York or Boston, not even in Europe. No, in the heart of Thailand, in the land of smiles, in the middle of Bangkok.
You know, I wanted a project car I could mess around with without messing around with the Porsche heritage. I would never dare to take a car that is significant in one way or the other and build a custom car out of it.
So I was specifically looking for a car that has been neglected and underappreciated.
In addition to Momo’s actual product range, Momo also made special steering wheels for car manufacturers. The most well known ones are certainly the steering wheels for Ferrari, Lotus, Porsche, Alfa, Alpine – and of course Abarth. But the also made wheels for smaller companies like the Italian coach builder Scioneri.
Leaving your home and getting back safely is such an underrated blessing.
The most important thing for me was always the fire extinguisher. But a red one wouldn’t fit my cars. So I was looking for a black one. Read about all the safety equipment items I have in my cars.
For me, a steering wheel is really something very special.
It is the only real connection of the driver with the car. The only connection that gives direct feedback. If I steer strongly, the car responds to it. If I steer too hard, the direct connection will come to an end.
Every not-so-young car-aficionado will remember all the alcohol and tobacco sponsors that were still allowed in the 70s and 80s. A few names will pop-up such as Rothmans Porsche, Marlboro Ferrari and of course: Martini Racing. Whether it’s the Porsche RSR or the Lancia Delta HF Integrale, everybody knows that iconic livery.
Everyone likes Momos old solid hubs, whether its for an early Porsche 911 or BMW 2002 or whatever. I am no exception. But have you ever thought about why Momo built these other hubs?
The ones that are not quite as pretty as the older ones and have this wrinkled rubber cover? Well. Safety.
How to choose the right car floor jack lift?
I’ve just ordered a few after getting recommendations from my buddies here in LA. Learn more about the ones I’ve checked and the one I kept. Perfect combination of high built quality, excellent handling and the perfect range, fits my very low 911.
When John Surtees won the Formula 1 World Championship in a Ferrari 158 F1 in 1964, no one suspected that this connection would become the closest in Momo’s company history.
Momo did not exist at that time and it wouldn’t have become what it is today without this collaboration.
The Momo Jacky Ickx Signature steering wheel is also based on a very successful model from Momo. Momo used it for special variants for car manufacturers. It was the base for the Ferrari 246 Dino steering wheel and for Volvo the base for their Volvo R racing series wheels with large engraved numbers such as 552032 on the center spoke.
What’s important when choosing engine oil for a classic car engine?
Just want to answer numerous requests from readers here and instagram which engine oil I use and why. Most important criteria for a classic car engine oil are viscosity, conventional or synthetic and vital additives.
Momo Indy – the most famous of all wooden steering wheels from Momo. Wooden steering wheels were very fashionable in the 1960s. In fact, the very first Momo steering wheel, which was in John Surtees 1964 World Championship Ferrari 158 F1, was a pre-production Momo wooden steering wheel. And if you compare those two, you can still see the legacy of the early wheel in today’s Indy.
Das Treffen – more than just a gathering. When you think of the Porsche scene, Germany, Stuttgart or Zuffenhausen probably comes to mind first. Maybe North America, California, Rennsport, Luftgekühlt, Deus Ex Machina in L.A. Maybe the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. But Thailand? Ever heard of Das Treffen?
The day before yesterday an instagram follower asked questions about the different Victor wheel versions. That reminded me that I wanted to do an article about that very special steering wheel. I browsed through my old magazines, catalogs and old ads, compared publishing dates and datas and finally compared all the information.
A very special Momo steering wheel. Not because of the “special” in the name of well-known Formula 1 sponsor and successful tobacco producer John Player Special. Special, because it is an exception in the production line. To this day, it’s the only Momo with a logo on it which is not a car manufacturer logo – the Momo JPS wheel made for Lotus.
The Abarth steering wheel has been a very popular steering wheel for a lot of classic car fans for many years. No matter if you drive a Porsche, Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo or BMW. Maybe it’s still a bit under the radar, rather for connoisseurs, while everyone who considers himself and his car sporty, buys a Momo Prototipo.
After a few month of continuous working I took two weeks off in order to go to Italy and drive some of the amazing alpine mountain roads with a car I still have in Europe. Being a Porsche aficionado for such a long time, I’ve never made it to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It was time to finally go and what can I say: it was absolutely worth it!
Magnus Walker once again visited Hamburg, his absolute favorite city in Germany. Asked about the details, he answered jokingly that he likes Hamburgers and that’s why he likes to be in Hamburg (eating Hamburgers). And indeed – he likes steering wheels as much as we all do. And I had the chance to get a few steering wheels signed for PATIPATINA.
A few people asked my what the sometimes cryptic engravings on the Momo steering wheels mean (if at all) or what years the steering wheels are coming from, where no production years have been engraved. Well, most interestingly, there is no official information about this. No one alive really knows for certain but I think we’re pretty close with this.
A lot of people have seen my Kremer Porsche steering wheels and a few had the chance to buy one. Those wheels became famous when Kremer Racing installed them in their K2 and K3. Most people drilled holes into their steering wheels and installed them to the hub they had in the car already. Well, you could still do it. But you shouldn’t. Here is the adapter!
The Momo Mario Andretti signature steering wheel is based on one of the most known Momo steering wheels: the Momo Cavallino, also known as the C35. As the Cavallino, the wheel was available in black and silver and in various sizes. Unlike the Cavallino, the Momo Mario Andretti was only available in black and in 350mm diameter.
This mornings cars and coffee was full of discussions about the need and no need of gadgets for your car. It was quite interesting, a few of my buddies were against all kinds of electronics in their vintage cars but most people appreciated the easiness of these little helpers. Easy to install, easy to use – and sometimes life saving.
Anyone who has ever changed spark plugs on a Porsche 911 – I’m talking about the models of 1964-1989 – knows how difficult it is to get to some of the spark plugs. Not only the air hoses are in the way, most spark plug wrenches just doesn’t fit properly. One is too long, the other too short, extensions doesn’t fit either. I show you a tool that will make your life much easier.
The Momo Gritti is again one of the steering wheels of Momo with many stories, secrets and mysteries. As mentioned in previous articles, Momo developed a variety of steering wheels, which were manufactured during it’s lifespan exclusively for Momo or almost exclusively or with minor modifications exclusively for other car manufacturers.
The Momo Niki Lauda signature steering wheel represents the characteristics of Niki Lauda probably like no other from the series.
Straight and straightforward, direct, clearly focused and a good grip, which is a little thicker – similar to the Momo Jackie Stewart steering wheel.
When it comes to tools, I choose quality over price, also, because I don’t like to buy twice. So my cars are german, my dog used to be german, why wouldn’t I pick something else than “Quality – Made in Germany” – I need metric anyway. The tools I use the most when it comes to wrenches, are ratchet wrenches.
The Momo Clay Regazzoni steering wheel is perhaps the most beautiful of the entire Signature series. The steering wheel is based on the Prototipo S, on the other hand, it shows visual aspects of the successful model Prototipo. One could say best of two worlds.
Yesterday I got a small package from an even smaller town called London, England. By a talented guy, he calls himself builtbybasil and produces shift knobs from old skateboards among other things. This is the shift knob he made for me, goes into my shitty old 911 soon.
Momo dedicated a beautiful steering wheel to Ronnie Peterson, which was only available in black – like his friends steering wheel, the Momo Mario Andretti. The diameter is 350mm, it is slightly dished and drawn by the very elegant slots look.
My passion with Momo steering wheels started when I was looking for the perfect match for my early Porsche. The car came with a huge, super thin steering wheel and I wanted the opposite. That’s what I found.
