Thats right, i'm bored with life so i thought to myself, what can i do thats original, difficult, affordable, wont chav my car, and maintains my theme of original fiat parts.
then it came to me. a fiat coupe leather steering wheel! they're sexy enough to make it worth while, and i bet i'll be the only one with one.
so i've bought it and attempted to fit it last night. its not as easy as i thought, no where near, but its possible.
the problems are:
1. the bravo shaft (too wide) wont fit into the coupe steering wheel
2. the horn wiring is completely different (earths through shaft on coupe)
3. the airbag wiring is different (not even similar)
4. the indicator cancelling system is different (not even on same planet)
5. the part used for 2,3&4 on the bravo needs to be modifed (destroyed) to allow the wheel to fit on the shaft, if it can actually fit on the shaft.
so what am i going to do about it?
well i've measured up the pipe in the centre of the coupe wheel, i think if i grind about half an inch off the back of it and i'm having a lucky day it should physically fit onto the bravo shaft. the spline pattern is the same on both, but the shaft is slightly wider on the bravo than the coupe so it wont push on all the way, or even half way, so i need to trim everything off the wheel except the splined part. this will have no impact on safety as it is only the splined part that is used to secure the wheel.
i've decide the airbag wiring is irrelevant because i had it disabled anyway. so i'm leaving the airbag disconnected. hooray for that!
however i'd like to have a horn (kind of useful at rush hour), so i'm going to determine where the live for the horn comes from on the bravo. it looks like a metal contact behind the magical part mentioned in 5. then i'm hoping i can still earth through the shaft as it does on the coupe, failing that i'll be able to earth it somehow by magic, using enoughn wire to allow full rotation fo the wheel. either way i'm not worried.
then there's the indicator cancelling system. this is probably the hardest part. on the bravo there is a big round plastic part that is connected to the sttering wheel and turns with it. the way it connects to the wheel is with 2 big plastic lugs at 3o'clock and 8o'clock. the coupe wheel only has a hole at 12oclock, and it isnt big enough to fit either lug in. so i'm going to remove both lugs and then drill a hole to fit a new one at 12o'clock on the round plastic part, then hopefully that will pit on the hole on the steering wheel and work in the same way it did. if this fails i'll just take the part off, stamp on it, then live without indicators that cancel themselves until i can make a part to do the job.
that shoud do it. i expect it will be all done tonight if i'm lucky, or definately by the weekend. pics to follow.....
and for anyone who's considering the conversion, dont do it, i think a mk2 punto sporting wheel is better looking, nicer to hold, and easier to fit :bang:
then it came to me. a fiat coupe leather steering wheel! they're sexy enough to make it worth while, and i bet i'll be the only one with one.
so i've bought it and attempted to fit it last night. its not as easy as i thought, no where near, but its possible.
the problems are:
1. the bravo shaft (too wide) wont fit into the coupe steering wheel
2. the horn wiring is completely different (earths through shaft on coupe)
3. the airbag wiring is different (not even similar)
4. the indicator cancelling system is different (not even on same planet)
5. the part used for 2,3&4 on the bravo needs to be modifed (destroyed) to allow the wheel to fit on the shaft, if it can actually fit on the shaft.
so what am i going to do about it?
well i've measured up the pipe in the centre of the coupe wheel, i think if i grind about half an inch off the back of it and i'm having a lucky day it should physically fit onto the bravo shaft. the spline pattern is the same on both, but the shaft is slightly wider on the bravo than the coupe so it wont push on all the way, or even half way, so i need to trim everything off the wheel except the splined part. this will have no impact on safety as it is only the splined part that is used to secure the wheel.
i've decide the airbag wiring is irrelevant because i had it disabled anyway. so i'm leaving the airbag disconnected. hooray for that!
however i'd like to have a horn (kind of useful at rush hour), so i'm going to determine where the live for the horn comes from on the bravo. it looks like a metal contact behind the magical part mentioned in 5. then i'm hoping i can still earth through the shaft as it does on the coupe, failing that i'll be able to earth it somehow by magic, using enoughn wire to allow full rotation fo the wheel. either way i'm not worried.
then there's the indicator cancelling system. this is probably the hardest part. on the bravo there is a big round plastic part that is connected to the sttering wheel and turns with it. the way it connects to the wheel is with 2 big plastic lugs at 3o'clock and 8o'clock. the coupe wheel only has a hole at 12oclock, and it isnt big enough to fit either lug in. so i'm going to remove both lugs and then drill a hole to fit a new one at 12o'clock on the round plastic part, then hopefully that will pit on the hole on the steering wheel and work in the same way it did. if this fails i'll just take the part off, stamp on it, then live without indicators that cancel themselves until i can make a part to do the job.
that shoud do it. i expect it will be all done tonight if i'm lucky, or definately by the weekend. pics to follow.....
and for anyone who's considering the conversion, dont do it, i think a mk2 punto sporting wheel is better looking, nicer to hold, and easier to fit :bang:
) the HGT wheel is thinner and the stock gear knob is terrible 
