Wheel of Fortune?

[See Both Updates at End...] I had planned to purchase the aftermarket Ford Racing steering wheel (M-3601-B) for the 2001 Bullitt. I liked that the wheel had a much thicker rim, is the proper Dark Charcoal color, is OE quality, and is pretty reasonably priced at $200-$240. But I hadn't been able to find one in stock the past couple months at the less expensive places, although this modification has been around for many years.

Here's the Ford Racing M-3601-B steering rim installed
with factory Cobra wheel horn, airbag, and cruise switches.

I then saw Wheelskins leather steering wheel covers being advertised online. I remember these from the 1980's personally, and they've been around longer than that. These days the covers are not just slick genuine leather, but come in multiple colors and even have perforated leather available as well. The good news is they are only $43 shipped and come in Charcoal leather (or better yet) Black for a Bullitt.

Here's the charcoal Wheelskin, size AXX, in charcoal leather
with perforated leather on the sides only. Some other colors are shown at right.
They have a light grey, and red too, not shown. Black ended up being the right
color for a Bullitt.

The best deal on these is on eBay from a reseller. But the Wheelskin company will send you an extra needle and more thread for free if you want to try a fancy stitch. (I recommend requesting these for spares.) It's best to research a little online before starting, but using a regular stitch the job is about as difficult as tying a shoe. :-)

The Charcoal color is too light by two shades in sunlight
for the Bullitt's Dark Charcoal interior.

Some tips for a 2001 Mustang: (1) don't bother stitching around the four steering wheel spokes with "dummy stitches", they don't look that good anyway; (2) use a standard stitch, the waxy lacing is too obtrusive on fancier stitches and doesn't pull as tight; (3) stitch in four separate sections between the spokes, not the entire wheel at once like most folks do, you can get the lacing tighter and even rest mid-job if needed; (4) do a double stitch as the last stitch before each spoke for strength; and (5) start lacing in the middle of the rim between the spokes and work out to each spoke. Although I didn't use this tip for my install, if you use multiple color leather, you can get multiple color lacing too.

Overall, I think a Wheelskin is a really good addition with much better feel when driving. It was much less expensive than a complete steering wheel swap, and probably takes about the same time to complete (60 minutes). I also like how the lacing bunches the leather a bit, giving a consistent ridge to grab onto, unlike the smooth aftermarket wheel rim. I'd give my first install a solid B, some folks will try the fancier stitches and make them look good too.

I'm planning to do this one over—I'll use the Black leather instead to try it out—but neither would be an exact match for a Dark Charcoal interior. Other Mustang interior colors might be easier to match.

[Updated January 28, 2011] Ok, I just bought the Wheelskin in Black with perforated leather on the sides only to match the Ford Racing wheel. I installed it as described above, but with black thread to match the cover. The color is very close to the Dark Charcoal of the Bullitt interior, and recommended instead of the Charcoal Wheelskin.

Here's the Black Wheelskin draped over the Charcoal Wheelskin
on the Dark Charcoal Bullitt interior. I took the photo in direct
and indirect sunlight to show the color differences.

The finished product in Black looks really good! I see that the airbag cover is now not quite the right shade so I'll be tending to that next. :-)

The installed Wheelskin looks really good in Black, and is a huge
improvement over the stock plastic-feeling rim. And a great
deal for only $43 and a hour's time.

[Updated October 8, 2011] As part of Project Executive Hot Rod, I installed a custom-made steering wheel in the Bullitt. For the money, the Wheelskin is a good deal. The custom wheel was more than ten times the cost of a Wheelskin...