I’m a big believer in steering wheels. Not just because they make your car go where you point it (although that’s pretty important), but because they fundamentally change the driving experience. It’s your primary connection to the car — the bit you grip, turn, lean on. When it’s right, it elevates everything. When it’s wrong… well, you feel every misplaced inch of it.
Now, I’ve changed steering wheels before — on newer cars, it’s often as simple as picking the spec you want online: flat-bottomed? Carbon? Alcantara with an LED display strip? Pay a premium, wait a few weeks, take it to a garage, and job done.
But changing the steering wheel on a 1966 Gilbern GT? That’s a whole different story. A proper learning curve. And this time, I decided to do it myself.
No airbags, no buttons – just splines and patience
Unlike modern cars filled with paddles, airbags and multifunction buttons, the Gilbern is gloriously simple — or so I thought. I assumed all I needed was a steering wheel that suited the car. Wrong. You can’t just buy a wheel and bolt it on. You need a boss kit — a kind of adaptor that matches your car’s steering column to the wheel.
“Oh, it’s a Gilbern,” I thought. “Surely there’s just one type of boss I need.” Nope.
Turns out, even amongst Gilberns, there’s variation. The splines on the steering column — those tiny teeth that grip into the boss — have to match exactly.
Measuring up – with a little help
Thankfully, another Gilbern GT owner, Mark, came to the rescue. He had his steering wheel off already and kindly let me measure the column. What a hero.
Armed with a micrometer and some guidance from Moto-Lita (a brilliant British company who still make handcrafted wheels here in the UK), I filled out their diagram with the required dimensions. Most Gilberns use a B25 boss — the same as the 1965 MGB — with 48 splines and a 19.04 mm diameter across them. Mark’s car matched this exactly, so I took the gamble and ordered the parts.
The parts I ordered
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Moto-Lita B25 Boss Kit – Painted Black, to fit PCD 101.6mm
– £118.80 -
Polished Alloy Billet Centre Horn – 3.5″, plain
– £112.80
(Ironically, my Gilbern’s horn isn’t wired through the wheel… so that was a bit of a doh moment.)
And then came the wheel itself…
Choosing the perfect steering wheel
Moto-Lita’s range of wheels is a rabbit hole of classic car beauty. Wood, leather, chrome, different rim sizes and slot designs — it’s a proper throwback to the golden era of driving.
Eventually, I settled on:
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Moto-Lita MK3 Wood Rim Steering Wheel
14″
Cobra Slots
Mid Brown Varnished
Flat-bottomed (to stop it sitting on my knees)
Price: £302.40 (with a discount code – love a bargain).
All in, including shipping: £548.00
Delivery time? They said 5 weeks — and true to their word, it arrived bang on schedule.
The fitting process – and a sore knuckle or two
Here’s where things got interesting…
I didn’t have the correct socket to remove the original steering wheel nut. Turns out, you need a 34mm ½ inch socket — not something most socket sets include. After guessing wrong a few times and getting close, I eventually found one on Amazon for a tenner. Job done.
Once I had the right tool, the actual process was pretty straightforward:
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Loosened the centre nut slightly, without removing it fully — crucial to avoid punching myself in the face when pulling the old wheel off (you will do this wrong once in your life).
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Gave the wheel a good pull to check it was free.
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Removed the nut completely and pulled off the old wheel.
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Slotted the boss kit onto the column.
Boss added to the Gilbern GT -
Attached the new steering wheel and billet centre.
Moto-Lita steering wheel -
Tightened everything up.
Quick tip: line it up carefully before committing. After the first test drive, I realised it wasn’t quite straight, so had to go back, adjust it, and try again. The second time nailed it.
First impressions – transformed!
I’m not exaggerating when I say the new wheel has completely changed the feel of the car. It looks awesome, yes. But more than that, it feels sportier, sharper, and more connected.
Turn-in feels more precise. Low-speed manoeuvres like three-point turns are easier. And the ridges in the wood rim offer a surprisingly good grip.
The old wheel was huge, round, and basically sat in my lap. This 14-inch flat-bottom beauty gives me more space and a better driving position.
Photos honestly don’t do it justice, but I’ll share some anyway because I’m proud of how it turned out.
Final thoughts
Replacing the steering wheel on the Gilbern GT wasn’t as simple as an online order and plug-and-play fitment, but it was worth every minute. It’s taught me a lot, got me properly hands-on with the car, and made driving it even more rewarding.
Next up… I might take apart the old steering wheel to see what’s hiding under the original cover. You never know what surprises are waiting in a 1960s Welsh sports car!
If you’ve ever swapped out a steering wheel on a classic, I’d love to hear how it went — especially if you’ve done it on a Gilbern!
