35ford,
You have not told us what wheel and horn assembly you are trying to use. Comparing your pictures to my Grant installation, the assembly in your top picture is the "retainer contactor ring" and the wire with the spring and brass piece at the bottom feeds down through the wheel and plugs into the horn contact housting which is adjacent to the splined shaft that holds the wheel. The parts that come with a Grant wheel are 1) Horn wire, 2) hub that fits over the splined steering shaft, 3) post cover to fill the gap between the top of the column and the wheel, 4) wheel, 5) retaining nut, 6) retainer/contactor ring, 7) three shoulder bolts, 8) horn button spring, and 9) horn button. It goes together like this:
1. with negative battery cable unhooked, plug the horn wire into the plastic horn contact housing, beside the splined steering shaft, and secure it with the plastic sleeve that has a 1/4 turn lock; 2. wheels pointed straight and steering box centered, thread the horn wire through the hub, align the hub with "TOP" notation up and install hub on the splined shaft; 3) feed horn wire through the post cover, align the three bolt holes with the threaded holes in the hub; 4) feed horn wire through hole in wheel, and install wheel on splined shaft, threading the retaining nut on loose and aligning the three small holes with those in the post cover and hub; 5) feed the horn wire through the phenolic retainer/contactor ring, connect it to the male terminal on the ring, and using three shoulder bolts, align the phenolic retainer/contactor ring with the three holes in wheel, cover and hub and thread the shoulder bolts into place; 6) torque wheel retainer nut; 7) torque shoulder bolts; using a piece of masking tape to hold the spring centered around the wheel retainer nut, install the horn button over the outside of the phenolic retainer/contactor ring, and rotate it to lock in position. Hook up your battery. When you press the horn button the retainer/contactor ring grounds against the wheel, completing the ground circuit and sounding your horn. If your wheel is coated or non-conductive, then there will be a mylar "washer" with a copper/brass ring on top, and it provides the circuit to the steering shaft via the retainer nut. Here's a link to the info on the Grant site which includes a diagram. http://www.grantproducts.com/files/i...7508-00-01.pdf

Sorry if this is more than you want to know.