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Carlotti wheel wanted

Limey

Limey

Donation Time
Hi all,

Wanted very much... (who doesn't??)

(I have also posted this in the 'wanted' section)

Carlotti steering wheel for my Harrington. I know they are gold dust so even a rough restorable will be fine. If you have one that you meant to use or restore but haven't got round to it then give me a call or email. I know it wont be cheap, I understand the 'price reality' of these.

If you can help, please contact me. If you think you know some one who can help please forward my request.

Drop me a line.

All help very much appreciated

Oliver
 
jumpinjan

jumpinjan

Bronze Level Sponsor
Oliver,
Most all of the Carlotti steering wheels have fatigue cracks in the aluminum. I have had them laser cut out of 6061-T6 and then re-engine turned the surface and re-glued the finger grips back on.
Jan
 
Limey

Limey

Donation Time
Thanks Jan,

If you know anyone who has one to sell whatever condition, let me know.

Best regards

Oliver
 
jumpinjan

jumpinjan

Bronze Level Sponsor
Oliver,
Well, I might be making them in the future. Since I'm retired now, I'm getting to projects that have sat for years now. I can't give a firm date when I can get to making the wheels yet, sorry.
Jan
 
jdoclogan

jdoclogan

Platinum Level Sponsor
Some years ago I was able to obtain one of Jan's laser cut stainless steel replicas of the Carlotti wheel via Ian Spencer. It was a magnificent replacement for the worn out fatigue cracked original in my HLM. I was able to do exactly what you described Jan and the outcome was - well - beyond my best expectations. Thanks!

Attached some before and an after photos. Sorry the restored pic is a photo of a printout ( a bit grainy).
 

Attachments

  • Harrington Carlotti original side view.jpg
    Harrington Carlotti original side view.jpg
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  • Harrington worn engine tuning.jpg
    Harrington worn engine tuning.jpg
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  • Harrington fatigue cracks.jpg
    Harrington fatigue cracks.jpg
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  • Restored Carloti with Servaties stainless steel.jpg
    Restored Carloti with Servaties stainless steel.jpg
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crs

crs

Gold Level Sponsor
Just a thought - Moto Lita makes replacement steering wheels for many old British and European cars - reckon they could supply one to replace the Carlotti?
 
jdoclogan

jdoclogan

Platinum Level Sponsor
John,

I'm not certain who you were asking but here is how I did the Carlotti Stainless Steel spoke replacement unit. The engine tuning was done with a 1/2 inch Cratex stick. I tried fine - medium - and coarse. I found the medium worked best for me. The sticks came in six inch sizes so I broke them in half. That half piece was inserted into my drill press chuck and tightened assuring, as best as possible, a perfect vertical alignment. You don't want any wobble. I did do some practice on a piece of stainless steel before working on the spoke unit. I found a good starting point and began with the first circle then overlapped the next with the perimeter touching the center of the first and so on. I got my Cratex sticks from Nolan supply 9 years ago but I imagine you could find the product through any internet search engine.

I have taken on a more recent engine tuning project doing a first version of a dash gauge setup out of aluminum for my Lyrad. The same process for aluminum but I need to dial in my technique so that I don't make to deep of a cut or too light of a cut on the aluminum. I'm finding because of the aluminum's softer attribute it is less forgiving to the amount of pressure applied.
 
Limey

Limey

Donation Time
Thanks for the help,

I have finally bought a good condition Carlotti with label. I will have to machine out the centre but that's easy enough.

I am re-creating the wheel as pictured in the magazine report on a Harrington / Hartwell special. I will have the boss next week if negotiations go well.

my Carlotti.JPG
Hartwell HA hub.jpg

Now all I need is a rarer than a virgin in New York Hartwell inlet manifold...

Oliver
 
alpine_64

alpine_64

Donation Time
Oliver the center boss always looked like the Mark Alpine boss to me.. and given harrington and hartwells association as rootes dealers.. id almost bet it is one.
 
65beam

65beam

Donation Time
carlotti

limey,
what car was this wheel fitted to? the center of the wheels used on harringtons had a large circular center opening and had six bolt holes. they also have the slots in the other three pieces. this wheel is so different from the three carlotti wheels that were on my cars and others that I have seen. the les leston wheel that I have also fits my hub adapters for my harringtons.
 
alpine_64

alpine_64

Donation Time
I thought you would know that photo Bob... that's the picture from the first road test of a Harrington.. its the car that had the Hartwell motor and DCOE setup on it. The boss looks very mark alpine/talbot to me.

6817405155_b5c2654321_o.jpg
 
65beam

65beam

Donation Time
carlotti

my question was directed to limey asking what car this wheel was made to fit originally. I am not concerned about how Harrington mounted a wheel on one particular car. I do know how they mounted the wheels at a later time when they were made standard equipment on the lemans. this wheel is very different in the center compared to the four carlotti wheels I have and others that I have seen including one I know of that was on an MGA. i'm sure limey knows the history of this wheel. it appears to have not been made to fit a series alpine steering column using one of the hubs of that time. I also know it's very difficult to find a hub that will fit the series 1 & 2 alpines and still use the column surround. since he mentioned he has to have the center machined I am now wondering what hub adapter he is going to use or is he going to use another means of mounting the wheel.
 
Limey

Limey

Donation Time
65beam said:
I am now wondering what hub adapter he is going to use or is he going to use another means of mounting the wheel.
Click to expand...

I have a contact with a Le mans Boss to examine. I was going to start there. I want to keep the cowling so at worst will have to have a custom hub machined. That won't be too difficult.

Oliver
 
bernd_st

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Oliver,

perhaps I missed it but how did you get on with your HA steering wheel/boss ?

Just stumbled over the Autosport HA Stage III article showing this extremely nice wheel/boss combination...
 
Last edited:
Limey

Limey

Donation Time
Hi Bernd,

It was a dead end. There is a shot of a prototype HA with the white boss in the photo above. I had thoughts top replicate that but soon dropped the idea. I believe AlpineIan has an Repro HA boss on Ebay but without the the Le Mans centre
 
bernd_st

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
A pitty. Love that b&w picture wheel/boss combination much more than the HLM affair. Think Michael came pretty close with his Sunbeam Talbot idea...
 
Limey

Limey

Donation Time
bernd_st said:
A pitty. Love that b&w picture wheel/boss combination much more than the HLM affair. Think Michael came pretty close with his Sunbeam Talbot idea...
Click to expand...

I had one lined up from an owner in the UK before I dropped the idea. And yes it does look a lot better. The HLM wheels look a bit DIY
 
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