Just thought I’d drop these here.
From my 53 OTS, originally Suede Green/Suede Green… Not sure I’m going to reinstall a white one. In a Cream/Maroon car, a white wheel might take a bit more explaining than I want to put up with.
Does anyone have any idea how many white wheels were installed?
Of note: the little set screws holding the turn assy. gave zero resistance. I came ready for a fight.
The white wheel is not unknown, but was not offered as a listed option or service part, so it was either a factory special for display at a show, or more likely a dealer special arrangement.
The setscrews in my Mark V (same wheel) gave me the excuse to buy an impact screwdriver. 
BTW in case you didn’t know, your knurled nut used to have a plastic covering that said Bluemels on it.
Oh yes. It fell off in my hand in pieces. I took that to show what lies beneath the high-priced covering.
Odd thing those white wheels. Kinda like white walls. They look good on only some cars.
I’ve only seen 2 before and on customer’s cars. Both were later painted black. The cars were very original, so the white wheel must have been installed early-on.
Phil
White steering wheels were a listed option for XK120, but no idea how common/rare they are.
See attached pic of a local car with a race history in Australia, gradually being returned to a more trcatable road specification - but steering wheel is its original with ‘period’ lightening modification, not fixed when wheel was restored.
I looked through all the XK120 sales literature I could find, and I don’t like to contradict Roger, so I think a couple of possibilities are at work here. He may be remembering the optional Brooklands wheel, listed in the SPC as being 16" though mine measures 17" at the OD. Or more likely, he may have access to a sales brochure I haven’t seen.
My regular 120 wheel also measures 17" OD.
My Mark V wheel measures 18", and it is interesting to note that the XK100/120 wheel was quoted as 18" in the initial Advanced Particulars brochure.
The early color brochures show a tan wheel.
Mitch, can you measure the diameter of your white wheel at the outside?
It’s 16 7/8". Call it 17"
Thanks. Clausager’s XK120 book shows white wheels on the earliest show cars, and a red wheel on 670001 in 1949 at the Silverstone race, and the same car as it is restored today with a tan wheel.
It’d be pretty cool to find that my car was a show car. Delivered to CA, '53. Pretty late in production to still be tossing out specials for display.
…good luck finding it in a book, huh?
I wonder if it got the white wheel to beat the CA sun, keep it cool.
roger I assume then period photos of this car racing will show a white steering wheel?
local car with a race history in Australia
And here is my white wheel on an originally cream colour 140 FHC . Is it original ? Somebody here will have a view.
If white was available in 140’s, could be.
I notice a nut holding the wheel onto the column - different column and wheel hub, different part numbers. I can’t imagine they would offer the 140 wheel in white if the 120’s white wheel didn’t sell at least well enough to make a dent in the stats.
Rob,
I give up for now, as after a quick look for my reference, it wasn’t where I thought it was - in the SALESMAN’S DATA BOOK for the Mark VII and XK.120 MODELS (1st January 1954).
I do distinctly recall seeing a period reference to XK120 having optional White Steering Wheels, but was not a main-stream reference such as the SPC nor the common Sales Brochures. My secondary references are unfortunately not well indexed - one day maybe 
So unless someone else with better memory than mine, and with a good collection of period XK120 literature, can advise … I just don’t have time/priority to look further.
Ok Roger, we’ll table it for now.
And to round out this discussion, a white wheel in a white California '51 Mark VII.
Hi,
And I will return to this at least on the pushrod forum, once I get to the bottom of my 1950 MKV DHC (647194, Birch Grey / Pale Blue, sold new in CA) steering wheel, which appears to have originally been white, 18".
Cheers!
Hi,
I used my finger nails a bit, and for sure this 18” MKV steering wheel was originally white.
Cheers!
This stuff is always interesting. So is it white paint over a black base, or black paint over a white base?
Mine is black plastic (bakelite?) with a very thick layer of white on top. It’s got to be 3 or 4 coats if it’s paint. See also the OP pics. There is a faint white overspray in the center hub (where the nut is fitted). If I was hell-bent on reproducing this white wheel, I’d have no problem spaying a black wheel white and calling it ‘correct’.
`
Hi,
The white stuff feels smooth and slippery, it is the original coating. It has a few places where it’s been damaged, cracked through.
Thus instead of restoring it, someone had done as the Rolling Stoned suggested and ”Paint It Black”.
Later the black paint started wearing off a bit and a PO fitted a black leather cover onto the rim.
Three or four decades later when I got the car and finally was able to drive the thing, the leather started to fall apart. So I took it off. Then the black paint started to peel and here we are.
I would like to have it restored some day, anyone know (in the UK?) a restorer who would know how to do the original (plastic?) white coating?
Cheers!
Ps. I have not seen the white steering wheel as an option for the MKV or MKVII (same 18” steering wheel) only the 17” one for XK120, but obviously they exist.
Hi Rob,
I have been pursuing fitting a Bluemel’s Brooklands wheel to my FHC and have been trying to find the history of those wheels, with little success. What SPC was the Brooklands wheel mentioned in? I really like the look of the wheel and have secured an original, although pretty well beat up. It measures slightly under 17", just like the original black Bluemel’s wheel.
Tom Brady
