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Reclaiming A Stock Steering Wheel - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!From the August, 2012 issue of Custom Classic Trucks By Ryan Manson
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Here’s the stock steering... Here’s the stock steering wheel and column on my ’68. The wheel, not only too large, has definitely been spun ’round and ’round many times over the years. Also note the rather lackluster stock Chevy horn button. If you’re building a classic truck with a certain period in mind, it’s hard to argue the styling cues of a stock steering wheel. Back before they contained airbags shod in a giant rubber box, steering wheels had a sort of “je ne sais quoi” about them. If you’re drinking a Molson and swinging a hockey stick as you’re reading this on a frozen lake, chances are you know what that means. If, like me, you skipped French class altogether in high school, that translates loosely to, “I don’t know what” in English. Allow me to use it in a sentence. “That girl over there with the flat feet and overbite sure is cute. She just has a certain je ne sais quoi about her.” But enough with the French lesson. The point is OEM steering wheels are cool. However, oftentimes their styling suits our purpose, but the size does not. Most of the truck wheels were designed back when power steering meant you had forearms like a lumberjack and a 17-inch steering wheel to give you a little added “umph.” Today, with most of us adding power steering to our haulers, that giant steering wheel is not just unnecessary; it’s just plain in the way. But what of those cool, old wheels that would look great, but perhaps reduced by an inch or so? That’s where I found myself as I started to drive my ’68 Chevy around a few months back. The suspension was now dialed, thanks to Classic Performance Products, but I still had the stock steering wheel bolted up to the original column. It worked, but when we swung the truck through the slalom a few weeks back (see my editorial in the June issue for a pic), it was obvious that the larger diameter 17-inch steering wheel and manual steering box needed some lovin’. It took a full half sweep of the wheel to get the truck to move enough to dodge the cones, which I have to say was a bit comical watching from the sidelines! This is the eBay score ’68 Chevy CST steering wheel. Although it’s still a 17-inch wheel, it’s in better shape than my original wheel and has the much sought-after custom horn button. That’s when I knew something needed to be done. I dug the original steering wheel design of the ’67-68 trucks, but my only option was to replace it with a reproduction wheel of the same size or to install an aftermarket wheel with a reduced diameter. Not wanting to change the OEM look of my interior, I opted to do the next best thing; reduce and restore the stock wheel. I did a little detective work and found that most original steering wheels have a steel core with a cast plastic exterior. What I pass as common sense said that I could cut the wheel apart, weld up the steel cores, and remold the wheel back to stock guise, reducing the diameter in the process. It sounded like a good challenge, so I called up our buddies at Eastwood to see if this was something that was even possible, and as it turns out, I wasn’t the only guy who wanted to retain his stock steering wheel. As you could imagine, it’s fairly common in the restoration business to refurb an original wheel and Eastwood had just the kit to do so.  While known as a 17-inch wheel,...  While known as a 17-inch wheel, it actually measures out to 16� inches. I have to admit that a simple 1-inch reduction doesn’t seem like much, but it will be all the difference between a wheel that’s too large and one that’s just right.  The first step in making the...  The first step in making the reduction is to remove the center three-spoke hub from the rim. I used an angle grinder to cut the spokes apart as close as possible to the rim.  Here’s what you’re left with...  Here’s what you’re left with after the separation. Also, note that I split the rim at the very bottom as well.  To ensure that the new rim...  To ensure that the new rim stays round, I made a jig using plywood and glue blocks laid out in a 15�-inch diameter. Here you can see the difference as the finished wheel will actually fit inside the diameter of the stock wheel.  Calculating the height of...  Calculating the height of the stock steering wheel’s hub in relation to the rim, I was able to space the hub appropriately. This ensures that the stock depth does not get altered.  Bent to the 15 1/2-inch spec,...  Bent to the 15 1/2-inch spec, the difference in rim circumference is noticeable.  With the rim in the jig, it’s...  With the rim in the jig, it’s possible to establish the amount that needs to be removed to reduce its diameter.  Here, the rim’s been cut to...  Here, the rim’s been cut to size. To weld up the rim, it’s necessary... To weld up the rim, it’s necessary to remove the plastic in the immediate vicinity and clean the metal as much as possible. What they recommended was their complete steering wheel restoration kit which consists of two cans of PC-7 epoxy, plastic adhesion promoter, and a can of PRE paint prep. Not having the slightest clue how to go forward, I also had them send along their Steering Wheel Restoration Handbook, which handed down some pretty good tech tips. With a decent plan in hand, I then decided that I wanted to crank it up a notch and replace my original standard wheel with a Deluxe CST steering wheel that I found on eBay. It had the usual cracks in the plastic, but overall was in pretty good shape. More importantly, the CST horn button was in really good shape. I was never really excited about the standard Chevy horn button that my truck came with and it was pretty thrashed, so making the swap simply made that much more sense. Next month, we’ll tackle installing the newly restored and reduced wheel on a new tilt column from ididit, as well as mating the whole shebang up to a CPP power steering box, but until then, check out how I went from an oversized, crusty steering wheel to one that not only matches the rest of my truck, but works even better. CCT Once both ends of the core were well chamfered to provide utmost weld penetration, I used my Lincoln MIG welder to fuse the rim back together.  Once welded, the spoked hub...  Once welded, the spoked hub center can then be fitted.  Note that it’s too big due...  Note that it’s too big due to the reduction of the rim’s diameter.  Trimming the hub center is...  Trimming the hub center is then necessary before it can be welded to the rim. Beforehand, I made sure that it’s level.  Here’s the reduced wheel after...  Here’s the reduced wheel after welding—so far, so good. Now it’s time to start the restoration process.  Most of the damage on our...  Most of the damage on our wheel was in the shape of small cracks that ran through the plastic.  To ensure these cracks don’t...  To ensure these cracks don’t come back, it’s necessary to file them out completely, from one end to the other. For this, I used a hacksaw blade to cut out the crack and then chamfered the slot with a file to ensure that the epoxy has a nice, deep section to adhere to.  With all the cracks filed...  With all the cracks filed out, it’s time to start mixing up epoxy for our repairs.  Eastwood’s steering wheel...  Eastwood’s steering wheel restoration kit consists of PC-7 two-part epoxy, PRE painting prep, and plastic adhesion promoter.  This is where things start...  This is where things start to get, well, interesting. After cleaning the wheel with PRE, I sprayed it with the plastic adhesion promoter. This will help the epoxy mate to the plastic steering wheel surface. Next, I mixed up a test batch of the PC-7 epoxy in a 1:1 manner before applying it to the steering wheel. A little acetone on a gloved finger works good to smooth out the epoxy, but as you can see, it’s not exactly a graceful process as the epoxy has the consistency of cold molasses.  More concerned with whether...  More concerned with whether or not I had built up the area than making it pretty at this point is an understatement. Once the epoxy is molded to the wheel, it maintains the shape and consistency very well, making it possible to fill large voids such as where the spokes meet the rim.  The PC-7 requires three days...  The PC-7 requires three days to cure, but I opted to give it a full week before I started sanding on the wheel. Once I did however, a contour gauge was used to ensure that the wheel was staying round.  For the tighter radii, I used...  For the tighter radii, I used a barrel sander on the end of my Dremel combined with a file to shape it quickly, while the final contour was done by hand.  A 1/2-inch socket extension...  A 1/2-inch socket extension shod in 120-grit sandpaper worked out great for getting in between the finger knurls on the rim.  Here’s the wheel after the...  Here’s the wheel after the initial epoxy work was completed. Now it’s time to bodywork it to perfection.  Glazing and spot putty works...  Glazing and spot putty works great for filling small pin holes and little imperfections…  …which, as seen by the numerous...  …which, as seen by the numerous orange sections on the steering wheel, there were a few. Once the putty was sanded smooth, it was time for the first coat of high-build primer.  After the initial coat of...  After the initial coat of primer, there were still a few pinholes and imperfections to be found throughout the wheel that needed to be sorted out.  For this end, I’ll be using...  For this end, I’ll be using a combination of spot putty as well as Bondo professional gold body filler.  The spot putty is super easy...  The spot putty is super easy to sand, so I applied it pretty liberally to any imperfection I could find. The center spokes looked a little wavy, so I skimmed them in filler as well before block sanding the entire length to get them nice and straight. I also noticed that the rim was a little wavy in the areas where I built it up with epoxy, so I applied some filler there as well. I knock off the excess filler with a file to reduce the amount of sanding needed to smooth everything out. A cheese grater type file works great as well.  I’ve got a variety of different...  I’ve got a variety of different sanding blocks that always come in handy for these types of projects.  I hit the entire wheel with...  I hit the entire wheel with 120-grit before it was ready for another coat of high-build primer.  The sandpaper graveyard gives...  The sandpaper graveyard gives you an idea how much sanding is involved to get to this point.  Sanded down and almost perfect,...  Sanded down and almost perfect, our reduced wheel is now ready for another coat of high-build primer.  To coat the wheel, I initially...  To coat the wheel, I initially used Eastwood’s self-etching primer, though I found that I really needed more of a high-build type primer. Luckily, I had some of their Epoxy 1:1 primer left over from a previous project. Also pictured here are their Huggin’ Orange basecoat and 2.1 VOC Urethane clearcoat, both of which use the same urethane activator.  I shot all three different...  I shot all three different coatings (primer, base, and clear) using Eastwood’s Concours HVLP detail gun. With a 1.0 needle standard, it worked great and made it easy to go from one coating to the next without changing guns.  The first primer application...  The first primer application consisted of three to four coats applied in 10-15 minute intervals. Once it flashed dry, I wet sanded it using 400-grit sandpaper thoroughly before applying a second series of primer coats. I wet sanded the entire wheel again before it was smooth as glass and ready for color. Applying multiple coats between sanding sessions ensures that there is plenty of primer built up on the surface, keeping “burn through” to a minimum when it came to sanding things smooth.  Now it’s time to spray some...  Now it’s time to spray some color! A light to medium coat went down first with a 10-15 minute flash interval before I applied multiple wet coats of the urethane base. A similar process was used to apply the clear, allowing each coat to flash before applying the next. This reduces sagging and runs by allowing the paint to flash or dry a little bit before another wet coat is applied.  And there you have it! Stock...  And there you have it! Stock styling in a more compact package. We’ll cover the column install next month as well as the power steering conversion.
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The Thinker??? - Haul Monitor
Ryan talks about the friendly badgering that goes on around the shop and overcoming obstacles that seemly pop up out of nowhere during a project....
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