[142 Guy]

I have a Moto Lita steering wheel and I have been considering two things, a smaller wheel and spacer behind the wheel. I have been thinking about the smaller wheel because with my EPS install a little less steering wheel leverage might be desirable because it is quite sensitive on the highway. I have been thinking about the spacer because with the amount of dish on my current wheel my legs hit the bottom of the steering wheel when using the brakes or the clutch. I am also perpetually whacking the OD switch with my fingers. Of course, if I go with a smaller wheel that might alleviate the leg interference problem negating the need for a spacer.

Problem is I am not sure what size my current Moto Lita wheel is. Its the dished Mark 4 (3 spoke) design from about 45 years ago. Moto Lita currently lists 12", 13", 14" and 15" wheels. The diameter of my wheel according to Moto Lita's measurement method (from outside of rim to inside of rim on the opposite side) is 13.5 ". I don't know whether that means I have a 13" or 14" rim or something else. Does anybody have a 13" or 14" Moto Lita wheel and can advise me as to what the measurement is according to Moto Lita's method? If I currently already have a 13" wheel I am not going to get much of an improvement by dropping down to 12".

 

[escondidoron]

I have a Moto Lita steering wheel and I have been considering two things, a smaller wheel and spacer behind the wheel. I have been thinking about the smaller wheel because with my EPS install a little less steering wheel leverage might be desirable because it is quite sensitive on the highway. I have been thinking about the spacer because with the amount of dish on my current wheel my legs hit the bottom of the steering wheel when using the brakes or the clutch. I am also perpetually whacking the OD switch with my fingers. Of course, if I go with a smaller wheel that might alleviate the leg interference problem negating the need for a spacer.

Problem is I am not sure what size my current Moto Lita wheel is. Its the dished Mark 4 (3 spoke) design from about 45 years ago. Moto Lita currently lists 12", 13", 14" and 15" wheels. The diameter of my wheel according to Moto Lita's measurement method (from outside of rim to inside of rim on the opposite side) is 13.5 ". I don't know whether that means I have a 13" or 14" rim or something else. Does anybody have a 13" or 14" Moto Lita wheel and can advise me as to what the measurement is according to Moto Lita's method? If I currently already have a 13" wheel I am not going to get much of an improvement by dropping down to 12".

I have a Moto-Lita Race Wheel on my Lotus Seven.

It is a 10" diameter model. It measures 10" using the technique that you mentioned.

I have this very small wheel for the same reasons that you mentioned. I'm quite tall and the Seven is pretty small to say the least. As a result I have the small wheel and a 2" spacer as well. This provides just enough clearance to be able to
1) Operate the pedals effectively
and
2) Steer the car while operating the pedals!

Spacers are pretty cheap, in the neighborhood of 3$30-$50. I'd go for a spacer first. It would be easy to mock one up with a block of wood or some waters to do a test fit and give you an idea of how much room that will buy you. You could also consider lowering your seat. I have done that on several of my cars in order for me to be able to fit comfortably.

As for what size your wheel is, you could email or call Moto-Lita. I have found them to be very helpful. I've even visited them in person. It is quite a small facility.

My guess is that they have only about 10 - 12 employees in total.

 

[142 Guy]

I have concluded that your suggestion about the spacer is the way I am going to go. I did a little cardboard template measurement and a 1" reduction in diameter yields very little improvement in leg space. One of their flat bottom steering wheels would be better as long as (as you note) I am not steering and applying brakes or using the clutch at the same time. A 1" spacer effects a much bigger improvement. Just fiddling around with some mock spacers at present to figure out exactly how much I want.

According to their web site about 1 week ago, the factory is shut down because of COVID 19 so it may be a while before I can actually order a spacer.

 

[escondidoron]

Just checking in. Any update on your steering wheel? Enquiring minds want ton know. Haha. I've got a new old Mountune hanging on the wall in my garage and it uses the same 9-bolt mounting circle as the Moto-Lita wheels. It's in the back of my mind to install it on my '73 145.

 

[142 Guy]

I finally got around to ordering a 1" spacer from Moto-Lita about 10 days ago. They are on reduced production because of COVID 19 so I don't expect to receive anything for a couple of weeks. I will post an update when I get it installed.

 

[scaramoucheii]

Just checking in. Any update on your steering wheel? Enquiring minds want ton know. Haha. I've got a new old Mountune hanging on the wall in my garage and it uses the same 9-bolt mounting circle as the Moto-Lita wheels. It's in the back of my mind to install it on my '73 145.

What diameter is the wheel hanging on your garage wall? Parking the car, and doing 3 point turns is troublesome with a wheel smaller that stock. (In fact troublesome with the stock wheel and slightly wider and stickier tires than stock narrow hard rubber) I Believe that 142Guys has electric power steering installed now.

 

[escondidoron]

What diameter is the wheel hanging on your garage wall? Parking the car, and doing 3 point turns is troublesome with a wheel smaller that stock. (In fact troublesome with the stock wheel and slightly wider and stickier tires than stock narrow hard rubber) I Believe that 142Guys has electric power steering installed now.

I understand your point and it is well taken. I have followed 142Guy's progress and am aware that he has fitted electric power steering. In our case, our 145 has 205/50 all season tires fitted (which don't rub BTW, well maybe the rears just a hare under full jounce while cornering at high lateral load). However the 145 won't be the car that requires the greatest effort to steer while parking in our little home fleet. That is the reason that I am not overly worried about the increased steering effort (as you can tell by the 10" diameter wheel on my Lotus Seven with 205/50 semi-slick track tires, seen in the pic, above, and another 2200Lb car in our fleet with 225/50 Toyo R888Rs in front with no power assist and a 12" diameter steering wheel). I would very much appreciate increased thigh clearance that the smaller 15" diameter wheel will afford as well as the fatter rim diameter. However a serious downside, for me at least, will likely be the obscuration of the instrument panel induced by the smaller diameter wheel. At least on the 145 I won't be worried about excessive wear and tear / damage on / to the steering gear as I am with our little sporty cars when cranking the wheel while stopped!

142Guy: What steering wheel hub adapter are you using, one from Moto-Lita, Momo, Lusi, other? Does it have a cam(s) for canceling the turn signal switch? I wonder if the steering column spline and turn signal switch cancel interface are the same on your '71 as for my '73....

 

[142 Guy]

I am using a Moto Lita hub adapter. Turn signal cam would be elevating Moto Lita's technology. It has been a while since I actually looked at the adapter; but, my recollection is that the 'cam' consists of two pins mounted on the hub which whack the little toggle on the turn signal switch.

I think you may be out of luck with Moto Lita hubs and your 1973. Moto Lita only lists up to 1972 for the 140 and offers no products for the 240. Isn't 1973 when Volvo did the interior facelift on the 140 which included moving the steering lock assembly to the dash. Perhaps the steering shaft / spline count got altered at that point. When did Volvo start its soft conversion to metric dimensions? Does the 1973 have any metric stuff on it or still all SAE?

 

[escondidoron]

Thanks for the quick response.

I am using a Moto Lita hub adapter. Turn signal cam would be elevating Moto Lita's technology. It has been a while since I actually looked at the adapter; but, my recollection is that the 'cam' consists of two pins mounted on the hub which whack the little toggle on the turn signal switch.

Low tech but efficient.

I think you may be out of luck with Moto Lita hubs and your 1973. Moto Lita only lists up to 1972 for the 140 and offers no products for the 240. Isn't 1973 when Volvo did the interior facelift on the 140 which included moving the steering lock assembly to the dash. Perhaps the steering shaft / spline count got altered at that point. When did Volvo start its soft conversion to metric dimensions? Does the 1973 have any metric stuff on it or still all SAE?

You are correct about the instrument panel change on the '73. But all of the fasteners are still SAE. Most of those little Phillips head screws that hold the dash together are 1/4-20. I'd like to think that the early 240 has the same steering wheel spline interface. But I know that the turn and wiper switches for the '74 are different than my '73. I can confirm that because I replaced my original ones (the detents were worn out) with a pair off of a '74 and they required spacers to shim them out from the plastic mounts on the column so that they would clear the turn signal cancel sleeve.

It may take a while but I'll figure something out......

 

[142 Guy]

I took a photo of the underside of the dash on my 142 when I was putting it back together in 2013. The photo shows the turn signal switch mounted on the column.



If you can capture and zoom in on the photo you can just barely see the little white toggle protruding from about the middle of the right side of the switch body. When you set the turn signal lever, the white toggle extends out from the switch body. As you turn the steering wheel into the turn and the cancel pin on the hub hits the toggle the toggle will flip out of the way. When the steering wheel returns to straight the cancel pin hits the toggle from the opposite direction and the toggle does not flip out of the way causing the switch to cancel. From memory, the cancel pins are probably +/- 45 deg relative to the toggle with the wheel straight ahead.

Hope that helps with determining whether the 'interface' is the same as on your '73.