Preservation of Original Bakelite Steering Wheel.

[SHEC]

Greetings -

I was told the 30-31 steering wheels are hard rubber with a unique Ford blend for endurance. We have the original on our '30 Coupe and with use the oil from your hands coats the rascal and will eventually stop the black stuff from rubbing off.

Food for thought.

Be well -

SHEC

[ItsA31]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

STEERING WHEEL
All steering wheels had 4 grooves on the face
of the rim. The 1928 steering wheel was made of
phenolic resin known as Fordite which was dark,
reddish brown in color. Some steering wheels had
small black specs embedded in the resin. These were
used through February 1929. The steel hub of this
wheel was unfinished, black or painted similar in
color to the wheel. In January 1929, a new steering
wheel was introduced which was made of black
composition material resembling hard rubber. The
steel part of the hub was painted with semi gloss
black lacquer.

The1930-31 steering wheels were made of a black
resin coated soybean composition or a solid black
resin with a satin finish . Soybean wheels can be
identified by their different hub design, and the
mold number is located under the hub portion that
is hidden by the lever quadrant. The hubs on the
1930-31 steering wheels were the same material as
the wheel and spokes. Non soybean wheels have
a raised mold number(s) on the underside of one
wheel spoke. These steering wheels also had a
different finger grip design.

Very informative. Thank you for posting this. There are no mold numbers on the back side of one of the spokes. This confirms that my 1931 wheel is soybean composition.

[ItsA31]

Thank you to everyone that contributed. I appreciate it!