Mystery Steering Wheel

Al Baran, faithful Hemmings reader and the owner of the stunning MGA 1600 that was our featured car in the July 2006 Sports & Exotic Car MGA Roadster Buyer’s Guide, recently wrote us to share some images and ask if we could help him find some information.

I don’t know if you recall when you were at our house taking pictures of my MGA, I was working on a Spyder 550 replica. I had the stock banjo type steering wheel, which had a larger diameter. Because I am not as svelte as I used to be in my younger days, I was looking for a smaller diameter wood rimed wheel that would look like a period piece. While walking through the vendor section at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival, I spotted and bought a wheel that was exactly what I was looking for. It was 13.5 inches in diameter, with the right amount of patina on the rim to make it look authentic. The spokes were “T” shaped (which gave a clearer view of the gauges) and were 3 separate sections bolted to a ring in the center. The only marking on it says “Mark Donahue”. I can find no record of Donahue ever making a wheel like this. I cut the center section out of an old Grant wheel to fabricate the adapter.

Perhaps some of your readers can answer the mystery of the steering wheel.

He sent along these photos:

And a closeup of the engraved signature:

We’re aware that Racemark made a Mark Donohue signature wheel that is sometimes seen in Porsche 911s, but it looks nothing like this unit.  We welcome any information, and we’ll pass it on to Al!

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