I had my steering wheel recasted in 2004 and I am still very satisfied with the result. It did cost a lot of money but it was well worth it. Most of the money was spent on our trip to Colorado Springs to pick it up 
BTW I bought a steering wheel to have it restored and sold my own steering wheel when it was done.
For details you can look at another thread on this forum Steering wheel recasting
If Big M doesn’t have a steering wheel for you, maybe you should try http://www.fremansauto.com/ he is supposed to have 17 1959 Plymouth’s for parts.
Ron
P.S. Please show us some pictures of your friends car!