“Hello Ron. The finish on the wood does appear to be original and well worn. I do not recall ever seeing the red paint around the outside edge of the metal rim. That could be something I am just not aware of or added by someone. The rims were applied only with adhesive and without any rivets to hold them secure. That is why virtually all have separated, yours included. I thought I had seen screws added from the rear, which would have been someone’s attempt to keep the wood on. I have an old advertisement that speaks of the method of bonding and how fool-proof it is. Perhaps you will find it as humorous as I do. No rivets were used because it had the alternating colors of wood and they did not want to spoil that with rivets. It all looks pretty much the same now but if you were to remove the rim and view the underside, you will see the two different woods. I have attached another picture showing just that. When I restore a Carlotti of this style and whether or not I replace the wood, I install dowels through the metal rim and into each side of wood to secure them beyond just the adhesive. That process can be seen here at the bottom. The wheel you have appears to be in bad shape. It is not clear whether the wood could or should be saved. I suspect a restoration by me would result in greater cost than the wheel would be worth. It might make a nice wall decoration as it is. If you decide to sell it, I may be interested. I do not have one with all three identifiers: Carlotti, Spyder, and Sprinzel. Regards, Mike Lempert”
Ron says: ” James (Cave?) has recently sold me some bits for the rebuild I bought a couple of months ago. There are quite a few missing items but it DID come with quite an unusual steering wheel. I am attaching are some pics and will wait for comments (!) – it’s 15″ diameter. James was intrigued and suggested you would perhaps be interested. Maybe you can throw some light on its “story”? Many thanks in anticipation, Ron”
I forwarded Ron’s pictures to both John Sprinzel and Michael Lempert with the following reactions:
FROM JOHN SPRINZEL: “Hi Martin – we did sell steering wheels back in the day, and my name was put on them, as with many of our products. I cannot recall who made them, but I think they were the same folk who did them for Healeys, where I obviously made a lot of commercial contacts. Sorry to not be helpful. Cheers. J”
And from MICHAEL LEMPERT: “First, the thumb scoop at the end of the spoke(s) is a Carlotti characteristic. Carlotti was made by (I believe) Simon Green for Les Leston marketing. They had a Carlotti sticker and the Carlotti name was made-up. The Carlotti was not very well made and the sandwich style rims all fell off over the years. That would explain the screws from the rear (if sandwich style rim). The metal was thin and a poor grade. Nevertheless, they are collectable and were original to certain cars like Sabra and Sunbeam Harrington. Different styles though. The one you have is a combination of Carlotti design and the Spyder stamping which I believe is just another 3rd party marketer. The Sprinzel sgnature makes it more interesting. The center mount is the common five-bolt. If sandwich style rim, (it is) the wood is likely a mix of mahogany and beech, although muddied by time and exposure. If ¾ wrap (wood wraps around outside edge), it is likely all beech but still discolored. I would love to restore that wheel and possibly purchase it if for sale”.
