432R leather Steering Wheel

[acf321]

Hey guys ... when I had my 240 ten years ago I longed for one of the factory 'fat' leather rimmed Datsun Steering wheels (as seen on Office Tomituka's car and other factory hot rods). Cut a long story short, I just bought one on-line. Have tried to attach a photo. Its the genuine 432/R wheel, used and in VGC. Can't wait to stick it on!!!!

 

 

[acf321]

I meant to finish by saying .. I sold that Z and have just bought another project ... this wheel will be used on the new one !!

[NZeder]

Nissan Compe Wheel - these were an option on the JDM sports list (and back in the day if your Datsun dealer was on to it you could have ordered one from them too) Nismo did a re-run of these, maybe they will do a re-run again now we are getting close to 40 years of z cars (later this year)

 

I also have one - and can't wait to get it on the car also. They are urethane by they way. There was a place in Japan at one point did take the stock rim, cut it down and install a smaller rim then cover in leather so it might be one of those if leather but more than likely the urethane version. Yes these were standard on the 432R.

[acf321]

I saw a Nismo 10th sell on Ebay a few weeks ago for north of $US1000 ... This one I bought from Japan for much less, however the price was still 'crippling', like me if my wife sees what it cost me .. But they look so right on a hot Zed !.

[NZeder]

got mine from Japan too, like my RS Watanabe's, hybrid RB26DE engine and host of other stuff too

 

And like you if the wife knew how much some of this stuff cost....well lets say it would take a few years to get out of the dog box.

[HS30-H]

Gents,

There was no special 432 / 432R-specific steering wheel fitted to the cars when they left the factory. They were exactly the same as the other steering wheels on the domestic S30-series Z models: a pressure moulded wood-composite item with steel spokes manufactured by Izumi. Note that these stock domestic steering wheels had a different spoke angle from that of the Export market versions, which changes the distance between the hub and the rim of the steering wheel. 

 

The steering wheel that acf321 has bought is known as the 'Datsun Compe' ( short for 'Competition' ) steering wheel ( 'handle' in the quaint Japanese vernacular ) which was produced from 1969 onwards, and was sold as a Nissan 'Sport Option' part for several models, including the Cherry, Bluebird, Sunny, Skyline and Z.  The very earliest of these had the solid spokes with the pressed-in squares, but slightly later they had the squares cut out - which is just like the sequence of events in the standard road cars. So you can date an Izumi 'Datsun Compe' steering wheel to 'early' or 'late' in just the same way as you can a stock one.

 

The rim itself looks like a properly stitched leather-bound item - but in fact when you look closer you can see that it is a clever moulding in urethane which incorporates imitation stitch detailing. It has a grain to it which wears smooth with use, so older high-use ones tend to look glossy. High exposure to sun ( and sweat ) makes them crack eventually.

 

In 1996 Nissan had a special 'NISMO 10th Anniversary' collection of old products remanufactured, and the 'Datsun Compe Handle' was one of these. They came in a special '10th Anniversary' box, and quite soon they sold out. Lots of people bought them and never fitted them - so you can occasionally see these pop up for sale on Yahoo auctions. I have both an original ( vented ) version, and one of the 10th Annivesary re-issues. They are really nice to use, and I think they suit 'our' cars well. The nice thing is that they are a true bolt-on, and the stock signal-cancelling pins and horn mechanism are present on the boss.

 

Like a famous beer, they are "reassuringly expensive"!

 

Cheers,

Alan T.       

[chris240]

your a walking encyclopedia Alan !

are you the same Alan from the  zed club "Sydney" ?

[gav240z]

your a walking encyclopedia Alan !

are you the same Alan from the  zed club "Sydney" ?

 

No, he lives in the UK and owns the only Fairlady 240zg in Europe if I'm correct? But we're glad to have his wisdow here all the same.

 

I'd love one of these Compe wheels, some day I guess .

 

Funny I just spent less money on a Guitar than this steering wheel is worth and that stung the bank balance.

[260Coupe]

A very rare item indeed (and with rarety come expense !).....I'm just happy I have one on my Zed  .......they looks great however the trade off is the rim is a little too skinny for my liking.....it sould have been a tad fatter to suit "western" sizehands 

[acf321]

Intriguing again Alan ... By the look of the one I have bought its been used to have the shiny patina.

 

Had a look at the photos on ClassicZcars site last night ... its an aladdin's cave of treasure ... and for what is worth, I'm definitely one of the 2% of people on your side Alan ... The 920 colour is magnificent and actually when thinking of the new 350Z release about 6 years ago, the big colour they pushed was that orange/gold metallic, that upon thinking about it looks like a crude derivative of 918 and 920.

 

Take care.

 

Adam