Moto-Lita is the established UK brand for period-sporting steering wheels, with a heritage stretching back to the 1950s when the company first started making wood-rim wheels for the competition cars of the day. Moto-Lita wheels have appeared on Aston Martins, Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs and the wider British sporting fleet for over six decades, and remain the wheel of choice for owners who want a period-correct sporting wheel that combines genuine quality with the visual character that period demands.
Wheel Construction
The Moto-Lita wheel is built around a polished alloy spoke frame, typically three or four spokes depending on the pattern, with the spokes themselves drilled, slotted, or solid depending on the specific design. The drilled and slotted patterns echo the competition-derived character that defines the brand. The rim is either hardwood (mahogany being the standard, with walnut and other premium woods available for specific patterns) or leather-wrapped over an alloy core. The wood is sealed and polished to a deep gloss finish that resists moisture, hand-oil staining and the wear of years of regular use.
The leather is fine-grain bonded leather, stitched along the inner face of the wheel where the stitching does not interrupt the driver's normal grip area.
Pattern Range and Application
Moto-Lita produces several principal patterns suited to classic-MG applications. The classic three-spoke pattern with drilled spokes and a wood rim is the most popular choice, the visual reference is unmistakably 1960s competition, and the pattern suits the chrome-bumper MGB, the Midget, and the MGA particularly well. The four-spoke pattern (with the spokes arranged at the cardinal points) gives a slightly more traditional appearance and suits the larger-saloon MG applications. The flat-spoke and dished-spoke variations cover different offset requirements, flat for cars where the column-end space allows a flush mounting, dished where the wheel needs to be brought back towards the driver for ergonomic reasons.
Each pattern is available in 13-inch, 14-inch and 15-inch diameters, allowing the wheel to be matched to the driver's preference and the car's specific layout.
Fitting and Long-Term Service
Moto-Lita wheels require a matched boss kit for fitting to a specific classic-MG steering column. The boss kit adapts the Moto-Lita's standard splined fitting to the spline pattern on the column-end of the specific car, with the appropriate boss covering the column end and providing the visual finish where the wheel meets the column. The dedicated Moto-Lita Boss Kits section (under Boss Kits, parent 3815) covers the matched boss kits for the wheel range. Long-term service is straightforward: the wood rim benefits from occasional polishing with a high-quality furniture wax to maintain the finish; the leather rim benefits from periodic application of a leather conditioner to prevent the leather drying out over years of service.
With this minor attention, a Moto-Lita wheel outlasts most other components on the car and ages gracefully as the patina builds across many years of use.