I bought a moto-lita steering wheel at the Classic Car Show today; I had one on “Black Bess” and have missed it so much since I purchased my Mk2. The chap on the stand was very dubious that the boss will fit on a Mk2, but I can’t believe that the steering column changed that much. Can anybody advise whether the Mk1 boss will fit on a Mk2 please? I am aware of the issues surrounding the removal of the air bag. Many thanks, in anticipation.
Ken Stanbury. Northampton Area Coordinator.
Are you aware that from January, cars that are supposed to have an airbag, will now fail the MOT if it has been removed or disabled? Proposed MOT testers manual is on the VOSA website.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/MOT%20Inspection%20Manual.pdf
From fitting a Nardi wheel to a 1996 Mk1, I made the following observations:
1996 cars, with the bent control stalks, have a lot of features of airbagged cars, irrespective of whether the airbag was fitted.
The steering column has a spacer fitted that is exactly the same as for airbagged equipped Mk1 Miatas. I think this is designed to provide a momentary delay in the collapse of a steering column following an impact, to allow an airbag to deploy correctly.
The non-airbagged Momo steering wheel that I removed from the car had an eccentric (non-centred) boss fitted. The effect of the spacer is to lower a steering wheel by about half an inch or so. Hence, the need for an eccentric boss, to provide clearance with your legs.
The spacer can be removed; I needed to do this in order to fit the Nardi Classico, which used a centric boss from an early MX5.
The clock spring assembly on these non-airbagged cars looks different from airbagged cars.
With the original factory wheel fitted, there was more thread visible than with the Nardi wheel; I think the column is a bit different. There was sufficient thread though to secure the Nardi properly.
The Momo factory wheel was spaced further away from the control stalks than the Nardi; it took a little getting used to at first to avoid hitting the indicator accidently.
The plastic column cowling needed sanding to avoid fouling on the Nardi boss.
Brilliant, helpful, informative reply, AT. Many thanks 
Shame about the new MOT regs - anybody want to buy a Moto-lita steering wheel and boss, suitable for a non-airbagged Mk1? £182.45 no offers.
Ken Stanbury - Northampton Area Coordinator
Hi Ken,
As you are aware I know nothing about technical things (I just clean, polish and drive 
)
Would it not be possible to swap the steering wheels back at MOT time, or is the fitting of the Moto-Lita irreversible?
Removal/refitting the airbag wheel would be possible, but to make it a routine annual process would increase the risk of an accidental detonation (risk = hazard x likelihood)… You’d have to be a bit of an idiot to cause it, but accidents do happen. I would also wonder if removal of the steering wheel airbag would impact on deployment (or non-deployment) of the passenger airbag. And then there are issues regarding insurance.
I haven’t examined closely the seatbelts on a UK spec Mk2, but Mk2 Miatas apparently have “collapsible spools”; earlier cars had stitched tearaway looped sections, which could be easily modified. In the end, its personal preference whether to change the seatbelts, but you might need to weigh up the fact that probably a Mk2 with the airbag removed might be less safe (not as safe) as a non-airbagged Mk1 with respect to seatbelts. You could fit harnesses to the car.