Thread: brookville experience

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Don,
Why in the world do you want to fool around with a beat and battered junkyard Camaro steering wheel. There are just too many choices available - and the most used one in my area is a LeCarra. This is a 14" wheel, flat, the color of my upholstery, though the adapter needs to be painted the color of the column(I had forgotten to do this - thanks for the reminder). Billet Specialties make some very nice, but very pricey wheels. Then there are the tried and true Grant wheels. The The drop is an IDIDIT 6.5" measured from the upper mounting surface to the CL of the column hole - and I don't like it's appearance so will be looking for another or making one that I like the looks of better(another $50-$60 'coulda been a better item' ).

The wheel came from Juliano's, the column adapter, from Wilk-Bilt.

And of course - I don't like the horn button either so that will need an "update"

Just to add another for variety, even though it goes the other direction size wise from what you want, most are 14" like the one Pops showed, this is an option for those wanting 15 or 17", http://www.limeworkspeedshop.com/sto...carwheels.html

They also sell a flat banjo style for variety; http://www.limeworkspeedshop.com/sto...njowheels.html

Thanks all, those are some good leads. IC2, the "junk" Camaro wheel is only for mock up and indeed I have learned from it that I do not want ANY dish! I have a Grant Challenger but it has a 2" dish and is 13 1/2" but it got damaged in storage and the dish is too deep so I am looking for a flat one. Itoldyouso, thanks, that is a reasonable price for a classic Bell style and it is indeed flat as I learned when I called the site. On another thread, Deuce commented that his Bell-type is over 25 years old and was used then so apparently the style is nostalgic as well as available. Bob the one you show looks like it has flames and may be from your collection of parts over the years but it does look flat as well. I now know that I need a flat wheel and maybe I can try a longer drop so it looks like the project will continue until I get this right. Thanks for your help, the contacts/leads are useful.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

The Bell wheel repros are on eBay ... if interested ... made by Mullins now

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mulli...2em118Q2el1247

Originally Posted by Deuce

The Bell wheel repros are on eBay ... if interested ... made by Mullins now

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mulli...2em118Q2el1247

Not exactly priced for the faint of heart - but does look nice - (and not a soul said that street rods are a cheap hobby)

I'm surprised that it isn't leather wrapped instead of urethane/vinyl

The leather wrapped wheels from Lobeck's and Juliano's are $160.00.
These are 14", 3 or 4 spoke style and come in 10 colors.

Mick

Originally Posted by IC2

I'm surprised that it isn't leather wrapped instead of urethane/vinyl

Then it would not be like the original ...

I spent the day researching steering wheels and learned a lot. The Bell type has the zero dish I need but I ordered the cheap "flat" all aluminum 13" with dragons teeth from Speedway ($50) under the IC2 principle of look and maybe return and also found a four-spoke for a lower price at:

http://www.riley-auto.com/STEERING_WHEELS.html

The three spoke has the advantage of a better view of the speedometer I intend to put in front of the wheel but the Mullens is more expensive. Maybe I will end up with the Mullens three spoke after all but I want to use the Grant three hole setup for which I already have the adapter and a "V8" horn button. The Speedway 13" racing wheel is flat and I found that you can use a Grant adapter and horn button with it. I might get it anodized red if I decide to keep it. I also looked at some "drifting D-wheels" but they require a different adapter. At least with a zero dish I should have an inch or more additional clearance to help entry. I chatted with a tech guy at Speedway whose ride is a '29 highboy and he admitted he has to "squirm" his way into his seat so the '29 is tight and needs every bit of clearance possible. DennyW brings up the idea that a 13" wheel will lead to hard steering when parking but maybe the dragon teeth on the back of the aluminum wheel will help with a good grip. All of this just means that whatever extended experience I had working over, under, in and around that MG midget restoration was just replacing parts that bolt in eventually and is very different from adapting and finding aftermarket parts that fit together. It would definitely be easier to just buy resto parts and bolt them in than have to mini-engineer every part, but that is the way it is and that is why it is so helpful to have experienced Forum folks available for questions.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder