New steering wheel (long)
11-30-2006, 08:33 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
New steering wheel (long)
So, a few months back I was looking to see why my turn signals wouldn't cancel ( a big shout out goes to Jim Shea for his advice and parts), and in the course of things I pulled the steering wheel.
A number of things conspired to influence me to change the wheel. The old hub was cracked and needed replacing, the new fiero seats I was running sat higher than stock and with no tilt the 15" wheel was a killer to slide in under, and I just didn't like the feel of the old wheel.
In the course of looking for a hub on fleabay, I started looking at steering wheels.
I had looked at the traditional replacements, even ordered one from Grant, but I was not satisfied with them. The Grant one was kinda cheesy looking (plus they recommended the wrong adapter) and the nice looking ones were way out of my price range.
Anyhow, I noticed that the wheel on my '69 was held onto the hub with 6 machine screws and most of the steering wheels on ebay had 6 holes, spaced the same distance apart.
Could it be that easy? I decided to buy one and find out.
It turns out that it was not that easy. The old wheel has 6 holes with one located at twelve and six oclock and the new one had six holes with one located at the three and nine oclock positions.
Clear as mud, right?
Simply, the new wheel was cocked when the tires were pointed straight.
I know that I could have fixed that a couple of different ways, but I also had a problem in that the new wheel had no "dish". It was flat while the old wheel was concave. This meant it would not bolt on without hitting the turn signal lever.
I thought a bit and decided I could make an adapter.
A friend of mine who runs a machine shop cut me a piece of aluminum on the lathe to my measurements.
I then drilled and tapped it, bought some new screws and installed it.
And it didn't work.
It cleared the turn signal lever by about 1/4 of an inch, so everytime I turned the wheel I turned the signals on or off with my knuckles.
I submitted some new measurements, got a new piece, drilled and tapped it and installed it. Worked great! I was even able to install the old horn button.
Here is a pic of the first adapter:
and here is a pic of the finished wheel:
The wheel cost $30 plus shipping and the cost of screws. The adapter itself was made out of a tailing, so I wasn't charged for it.
I'm very happy with it and it is much more enjoyable to drive.
A number of things conspired to influence me to change the wheel. The old hub was cracked and needed replacing, the new fiero seats I was running sat higher than stock and with no tilt the 15" wheel was a killer to slide in under, and I just didn't like the feel of the old wheel.
In the course of looking for a hub on fleabay, I started looking at steering wheels.
I had looked at the traditional replacements, even ordered one from Grant, but I was not satisfied with them. The Grant one was kinda cheesy looking (plus they recommended the wrong adapter) and the nice looking ones were way out of my price range.
Anyhow, I noticed that the wheel on my '69 was held onto the hub with 6 machine screws and most of the steering wheels on ebay had 6 holes, spaced the same distance apart.
Could it be that easy? I decided to buy one and find out.
It turns out that it was not that easy. The old wheel has 6 holes with one located at twelve and six oclock and the new one had six holes with one located at the three and nine oclock positions.
Clear as mud, right?
Simply, the new wheel was cocked when the tires were pointed straight.
I know that I could have fixed that a couple of different ways, but I also had a problem in that the new wheel had no "dish". It was flat while the old wheel was concave. This meant it would not bolt on without hitting the turn signal lever.
I thought a bit and decided I could make an adapter.
A friend of mine who runs a machine shop cut me a piece of aluminum on the lathe to my measurements.
I then drilled and tapped it, bought some new screws and installed it.
And it didn't work.
It cleared the turn signal lever by about 1/4 of an inch, so everytime I turned the wheel I turned the signals on or off with my knuckles.
I submitted some new measurements, got a new piece, drilled and tapped it and installed it. Worked great! I was even able to install the old horn button.
Here is a pic of the first adapter:
and here is a pic of the finished wheel:
The wheel cost $30 plus shipping and the cost of screws. The adapter itself was made out of a tailing, so I wasn't charged for it.
I'm very happy with it and it is much more enjoyable to drive.
12-01-2006, 09:37 AM
#5
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by I'm Batman
I checked my stock 77 T/T wheel...the screw pattern is on the same 3/9 orientation as my new wheel. All is well. 
12-01-2006, 10:02 AM
#6
I had the same problem with the blinker control. However, using the smaller wheel made driving and getting in/out a helluv alot better. I cut down the blinker shaft about 3 inches,never hit it again. Your idea turned out real clean, might want to sell them.
12-01-2006, 02:35 PM
#7
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by 68RATVT
I had the same problem with the blinker control. However, using the smaller wheel made driving and getting in/out a helluv alot better. I cut down the blinker shaft about 3 inches,never hit it again. Your idea turned out real clean, might want to sell them.
Seriously tho, I just got the "donut" from the machine shop and drilled the holes with a benchtop drill press and tapped them by hand. Nothing very precision about it. I'd be happy to supply the measurements to anyone who wanted them.
LittleJake- me too! The guy who runs it used to be my brothers boss and he is very friendly. He didn't charge cause the material was a piece of scrap and it only took him, literally, about 10 minutes to turn it on the lathe to the size I wanted.