All the while, I have been obsessing over the direction I want to take the car, in terms of further upgrades. The conclusion I have come to is that it needs to remain a reliable touring machine. The engine makes decent power and mechanically the car is sound, so no worries there. Maybe future upgrades will be needed, but it is a pretty great package. 3.2 short stroke, 9.8:1 compression, 964 cams, SSIs, etc. I always think maybe some PMO carbs and S cams might improve it a bit, but that certainly isn’t a priority now.
However, my 911 is getting a bit tired in its old age. And given that it is far from being an original, unmolested example, it may as well become my perfect hot rod. Simplify. Remove weight and unnecessary accoutrements. Restyle to suit my tastes. The purists may cringe, but I want to make this my perfect 911. I’m not building it for anyone but myself (and Mrs. Erock, of course).
One of the first changes I made was to replace the steering wheel. It may be inconsequential to some, but the steering wheel is always in my hands and in my line of sight. It needs to be perfect. The two options I have been swapping between are a Nardi Classic and a Momo Prototipo-style wheel from Classico Wheels (
356 Porsche, Wood Steering Wheels, Nardi Steering Wheels| Vintage Steering Wheels | Hub Adapters | Porsche Steering Wheels).
As an aside – our host is typically my first stop for parts. My god, that USD/CAD exchange rate though. The Nardi isn’t available on Pelican, and came from Nardi’s Canadian distributor, which is located in Manitoba in Manitoba (the name of which I can’t remember). The early-style Prototipo came from Classico, of course. Both were excellent to deal with.
I can honestly say that the Nardi is a joy to behold. The quality of the leather is superb. It feels incredible to the touch. And the workmanship is incredible. The Prototipo is also very well made and is, of course, the “correct” aftermarket wheel for the purists out there. It is what I primarily have on the car.
I did have some issues with fitment, however. First I tried the Momo adapter that the Nardi distributor sent me. As you can see below, I don’t think this was the correct part for the 911 SC. The splines fit the steering column, but the adapter would not seat all the way down and make contact with the horn ring, leaving a large gap.
Hence, my phone call to Jeffrey Fellman at Classico, who supplied me with the Prototipo and a more attractive machined aluminum and powder coated adapter (instead of the Momo part, which is chintzy pot metal with a rubber gaiter over top). Again, and this adapter didn’t quite fit and left the steering wheel right up against the dashboard.
When I initially spoke to Jeffrey on the phone to place my order, he did warn me that this would likely be an issue, so no worries there. He offered to send me a machined spacer after I test-fit this setup, at no extra charge, but I concocted my own solution instead. I procured an NRG shorty quick-release hub. I don’t have a good picture, but the finish is an unobtrusive black carbon fiber. This puts the wheel in the perfect location and has an added benefit of theft deterrence, given how easy these cars are to steal. There is no play in the NRG system, and it is more competitively priced compared to the Porsche-specific devices you will see advertised. This being a fancy model, I believe I paid $170 USD (at par value CAD back in 2014 . . . ugh) on Amazon. You can see the tabs to activate the quick-release behind the wheel in the below picture. The specific part I used was a Gen 2.5 hub, in black with a black carbon ring (
SRK-250CF Quick Release Gen 2.5 (Black Body w/ Black Carbon Fiber Ring) | NRG Innovations).
Anyway, I had a working steering wheel that I think a step up from the worn-out Moto-Lita wheel that came on the car when I purchased it.