So since my post about the movie correct French steering wheel availability it seems Eleanor enthusiasts have bombarded my friend Dom proving there are many of you out there that are after one of these hard to find steering wheels. Well for those still deciding or considering one here is a small update from Dom, hit the jump for pictures of this beautiful wheel.
In my last post on the subject I posted about Dom and the Woodwheel website. Dom has now given me his personal website (in French) and has also sent over a heap of pictures. But first, who is Dom you ask? Well in his own words “I’m a French enthusiast and collector of classic steering wheels. As a hobby, I design steering wheels as I feel they should look regarding the period of the car they may fit.”
As I said since my last post Dom has been inundated with requests for the wheel and after stating “I may make the original wheel available again for a few number of you since the workshop where my hobby wheels are currently handcrafted is a “survivor” of Motolita France who made these Eleanor wheels up to about 2002″ He has decided to produce them in small runs.
hen it comes down to the finish, personally I was only ensuring it was smooth and had the 18 rivets but Dom is determine to produce the movie correct wheel which you can see below is a much lighter color.
Here is one an original used on the movie cars:
And here is one Dom has produced:
Great isn’t it. But it doesn’t stop there. If you supply the center horn graphic he can attach this to any hub you like. See pictures below. The steel hubs give the car that authentic GT500 look if you’re not keen on the black plastic like the movie car had.
As always though to discuss the wheels, sizes, finishes and anything else please contact Dom direct. He can be contacted at reffet.dom[at]free.fr. Tell him Cam sent you!
Oh and here is a nice piece of inside info on the whole Motolita/Lecarra French debacle.
“Motolita France was younger than Motolita UK but quickly they had a bigger growth due to some OE business in vehicles manufacturers and European aftermarket business (more or less in competition with Motolita UK). More, since Moto-Lita brand was first registered by Motolita UK, Motolita France was not free for its use and in view of developing their business, they created the Lecarra brand name .
The boss was an ex-GI who married a french woman after WWII and stayed in France. The rest of his family was still in the States and so, that helped the development of Lecarra in the US at such a point that US part consisted of about 70-80% of their total business. The situation that put them in trouble was the Gulf War and the subsequent boycott of the French products occurred. That was the beginning of the agony that lasted over 10 years up to the final closure near 2002.”
Here are some photos of a few variations Dom can produce.
© 2010, 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. All rights reserved.
cam the email address to dom does not seem to get through is it correctly shown as a friend would like to order a wheel please respond asap.
Any idea of prices, i too would like to buy a couple.
Cam this is an awesome find as i was looking for the last 2 months.
I’m keen for one, myself. Anyone been able to get through on that email addy, then..??
Ok, I just got a reply from Dom about 5 minutes ago, and he says he is out of the light-coloured 15″ wheels at the moment, and should have some more in stock in around 4-6 weeks.
Dom also added this…
“For a 15″ Eleanor wheel plus a GT500 billet center,
I would ask 490euros shipping to Australia included”
That equates to a few dollars change from AU$700. Not too bad, considering it includes shipping for a decent-sized item.
Hello guys, reading your comments, that sounds you have a lot of interest for my stunning Eleanor wheels. Since long, I thought a well designed s/wheel is only the 1rst step, the center will do the rest !!! Here again with suitable GT500 emblems . If you’d like a wheel for Xmas, think to join the waiting list for the next delivery in 4-6weeks. Have a great day Dom
Hi all. Good to see you got through to Dom. Though seems he is posting here (above).
Good luck with your wheels!
Cam
I wonder if we could look at getting a group buy together to save on costs, etc? $700 would get me in some serious trouble from the g/f (when am I not, eh?), especially when I don’t even have a car to put it in, lol!
Morphine, I was gonna suggest the same thing, but wasn’t sure how the logistics of it would go. Who would take the delivery, and are they gonna go through all the trouble of shipping everyones wheel..?? Maybe we could just do an Australian deal only (I’m guessing ur Aussie. lol)
We should be checking with Dom if he wants to do a special deal on shipping a large amount of wheels, or else we all may as well ship our own wheels to our own address.
Hey guys no need to pay $700AUS, i just bought a wheel through Motolita UK and had it shipped with billet centre for $503AUS delivered to Brisbane. Carolyn
Connolly is more than happy to do one off deals and her email is Info
Regards Brad
Brad, if it is the 9 rivetted version (looks to be the Shelby OEM wheel on the website), it’s not the original. Sure it’s cheaper, but if you’re going for the movie correct look, it’s not the same unfortunately.
Hey morphine its an 18 rivet wheel exactly the same as the one in the pictures above, they don’t have a photo of it on their website as its a custom build, i can send photos to anyone who wants to email me at kylo@austarnet.com.au and again Moto litas email contact is info@moto-lita.co.uk
Brad they should have it on their website. they’ve probably missed a good 20-50 orders because of it in the last few months alone. Lots of people are going for Dom’s wheels and are more than happy.
Point them my way if they want me to feature their items.
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FINALLY!!!!
But I already have a nice steering wheel that I will be using on my 67 mustang fastback but it’s good to know that it’s out there! Lol
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