[HAULIN' IT]

Finally got the photobucket mess figured out & thought I'd update this one. On here, many of my photos were showing up REAL BIG!

So here is the wheel from my friend's Studebaker I had mentioned working on. He is using a GM column & the original wheel had a small (old ford) size hole. Note, the steering wheel is NOT round...more of an oval for leg clearance while going straight & longer sideways for the "hand over hand" leverage turning the manual steering. Crazy! Some Dodge products were similar in the same era I believe.




I found that this "modular" design wheel that was used by GM in the late '80's-early'90's had a real nice "hub" for the job

I gutted out the original splined hub & fit the GM one in



Welded up to the original rods

Followed by a pour of Fusor 100EZ, top & bottom



Some minor crack repair. note the "feathered" look of the plastic repair material

I notched the bottom of the wheel to fit inside the shroud of the column so a gap wouldn't be seen. The placement of the hub was factored to allow the correct depth

A while back I had asked for some measurements of the various horn caps to try to find something that would work. We had the domed emblem, but the chrome trim was gone & finding one that wasn't pitted proved not happening. Ironically I found the answer INSIDE a headlamp for a '13 Dodge Dart...it's the reflector trim for the "cat eye" lens. ABSOLUTELY the ideal size! The base matched the 'baker wheel & the hole matched the original emblem, Crazy!

I had made the wheel on a spare column I had laying around. When I went to put it on his column, the notch I so carefully figured didn't work. The column is a knock-off ididit type unit that has a tin housing that had a rolled over top edge unlike the original pot metal straight one. My friend had also knocked it over during the build phase...making the housing "less than perfectly round" which didn't help either. I cut the top 1 1/2" off & attached a slice of 4" exhaust pipe top make it all work.

A little bit of primer followed by some basecoat on the wheel

Second color application

Done!


I also made some knobs for the turn signal & tilt levers mimicking the original parts. The inside of the tip from a silicone sealer tip did the trick. I poured them with the same Fusor 100 EZ. Popped them out & carfully chucked them in a lathe to drill & tap the center hole. They got painted the Aqua as well. I don't seem to have any pictures of the finished product though.


Hopefully this will help someone in some way in the future. Lorne