The subject vehicle of this tech feature is our '86 Dodge pickup known to loyal CCT readers as the "High School Custom," but the information it contains is applicable to any classic truck with a steering wheel.
When Grant Products recently announced the arrival of their Classic Series of steering wheels, we knew immediately that the Dodge Charger wheel available with either a black foam or genuine imitation wood rim would be the perfect custom touch to keep that Mopar feel to our Dodge.
The first step to any tech procedure on a truck is to disconnect the battery, but even before that, when it comes to installing a new steering wheel, you will have to consider the dish (depth) as well as the diameter.
If you decide to go with a shallower dish like we did on our Dodge, there might be clearance problems with the turn signal stalk or the column shift lever. We resolved this with a cutoff wheel, and the end result was a one-off set of cooler-looking sticks. Removing and replacing a steering wheel can be an easy snap or a real bear-it depends on how careful you are.
Always disconnect the battery...
Always disconnect the battery at the ground post. It is marked with a minus sign on negative ground systems and a plus sign on positive ground systems. No matter what, the ground cable will always lead (connect) to the frame or engine block.
Next, we figured out how to...
Next, we figured out how to remove the horn button to reach the nut that holds the steering wheel on, then removed the nut.
By careful experimentation...
By careful experimentation we determined which size bolts we would need to use with our steering-wheel puller. Be very careful not to cross-thread the bolts!
After perfectly aligning the...
After perfectly aligning the steering wheel puller and snugging the bolts down just enough to create pull (load), we tapped the steering wheel puller with a brass hammer.
With the stock steering wheel...
With the stock steering wheel removed, our first step was to install a sleeve required for our application (yours may vary).
Then we removed the turn-signal...
Then we removed the turn-signal cancellation cam from the stock wheel and fit it to the back of the Grant steering wheel adapter.
There is a mark that indicates...
There is a mark that indicates "top" on the Grant steering wheel adapter that was placed at top-dead-center with the truck's front wheels turned straight ahead.
The horn-button ground wire...
The horn-button ground wire was pulled through the post cover (column) and aligned with the holes on the Grant steering-wheel adapter.
Completion was obtained by...
Completion was obtained by installing the steering wheel on with the steering shaft nut snug but loose enough to rotate the steering wheel and screw in the three 1/4-20 threaded bolts after the horn-button contact/retainer ring was installed. The last step was to press on the horn button and hook up the battery.