The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - Steering wheel restoration/67 wheel install on 69-72. How to, with pics

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Steering wheel restoration/67 wheel install on 69-72. How to, with pics

I have a '69 that was sporting the typical stock steering wheel full of cracks and huge gaps. I noticed the older 67/68 wheels seem to be less prone to cracking, so I decided to look for a 67/68 wheel.

I found this one on eBay for about 50 bucks
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...01b5fb52f7.jpg

It had a few cracks, but nothing too bad. I sanded it down, and used Bondo to fill the cracks. There are other types of epoxy that might be better and more flexible, especially if your wheel has huge cracks. Anyway, I sanded that down, then painted with primer, followed by multiple coats of blue spray paint, followed by multiple coats of clearcoat. The wheel looks and feels beautiful and smooth, yet durable to the touch.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...3473d1f02d.jpg

Now it was time to remove the old steering wheel, and install the new one. I was unable to remove the old wheel, so I had to buy a steering wheel puller. Found one at Harbor freight for like $10.

Here's where the not so fun part started, and where I'm hoping to save you a lot of frustration.

Notice how I painted inside the steering wheel? Don't do that! More on that later
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...128cb9002d.jpg

While I was replacing the steering wheel, I decided to replace my rusty turn signal and gear selector levers. I found them off a very nice '70 from the junk yard, shown below. The gear selector can be replaced with the steering wheel on, but not the turn signal lever
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...a616311cfd.jpg

Remember how I said not to paint inside the steering wheel? I had a hell of a time figuring out why my horn wouldn't honk. Turns out, the paint was blocking the electrical current to the horn mount parts. I removed the paint from the inside(and I mean really removed it. You have to get it down to bare metal. Another hint here. Unplug the wire that connects to the horn under the hood. Your neighbors will thank you, and so will your nerves, from not hearing it honk every few seconds as you try to install everything.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...188fa611e6.jpg

Now, a couple more things. The 67/68 horn mount parts that go inside the steering wheel are specific to 67/68 steering wheels, and to complicate matters, NONE of the typical parts vendors like Brothers, LMC, etc. carry them. You have to find it at a junk yard, or like I did on eBay for $10. The part looks from what I can tell, to be identical to the '69 horn mounts, but the inner cup piece sticks out longer to accommodate the horn button. The other thing... They don't make original looking 67/68 horn buttons anymore. Can't find them at the typical parts places. So, eBay, junk yard, or the parts board here are your best bet. I go one from a fellow on the board for $35 shipped. They can be expensive on eBay. I got in to a bidding war with a guy. It got up to almost $50, and I bailed.

The horn button is a work of art on these 67/68 trucks. Very heavy, shiny metal. The button is bigger then you might expect. I shined it up, and painted the black areas with black paint and a tiny paint brush.

And...here's the final result. I'm pleased
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...bc2086423a.jpg
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