I'm in the process of cutting up a spare 90's airbag wheel to make it have a flat bottom, as well as wrap it in leather. The reason for this is that I found no flat bottom wheels that matched well enough with my interior, as well as wanting another custom touch to my car. The flat bottom is mainly so I can get into the car more easily, right now with my seating position my steering wheel rubs against my legs while getting inside. I'm also gonna add a yellow stripe at the top center of the wheel for aesthetics. If this goes well I might even sell these to members.

 

Here it is so far. I cut the foam off of the bottom in 4 pieces so I can re cut it later and glue it back on, after I cut the curved metal ring off the bottom and weld in a straight metal bar

 

Since my car has a gray leather interior, I'm thinking of rewrapping the bottom flat part in gray and the rest in black. Still debating on vinyl or leather, I rewrapped my iroc's wheel in black vinyl and it came out great. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated!

 

 

Welded my new flat piece on the bottom today. Grinded the edges down to a 45 degree angle so I could have a channel to weld into. I'm not gonna reuse the foam pieces I had cut off, they are just too curved even after trimming them. Ordered some vinyl yesterday, gonna have to order a foam cylinder with a similar density as well. More updates to come once my vinyl shows up

 

I am fairly certain that the high density foam is molded in place; can you buy it somewhere in pieces and carve to fit?

 

I'm not really sure how they made it, it think it was molded in place as I don't know how else they would assemble it. I'm trying to find some, its literally just a 6 inch long cylinder that I need. I'm gonna try a local Joanns fabrics since they have a ton of vinyls and foams, if they are still open with the current covid situation in connecticut

Edit: I'm thinking of just trying to use the foam that goes on bike handlebars
Or the foam that goes around copper pipes. If the inner diameter is too big, I can weld a 3/4 steel tube to the bar in my previous photos to get it big enough, and hopefully end up with a similar sturdy feel to the rest of the wheel

 

Was doing some googling and found this thread where someone just bought some foam... I guess steering wheel foam isn't as dense as I thought? https://oldspower.com/threads/re-padding-a-steering-wheel.156/

 

My problem here, is that a have always disliked the 90-92 airbag wheel. In fact most first-generation look terrible, Imo. Second gen, and later airbags look much better. My 2004 Chevy CC dually has a pretty cool wheel. I wonder if that one could be made to work? Hmm... Sorry, a little off topic. I would think, that with a heat gun, you could get the original foam to work. The factory steering wheel is indeed injection molded, around the welded steering wheel frame. It is some sort of foam rubber.
DR.K.