What old cars/trucks came with 15" steering wheel?

[theastronaut]

I'm wanting to swap the steering wheel rim for a smaller 15" OD rim on my '66 deluxe wheel. I know it's not common but I want to cut the two rims apart where the spokes meets the rims, then weld the smaller rim on the original '66 wheel. The area where the spokes meet will be filled in with epoxy and shaped to match the original profile. I'll post a detailed how-to once I find a donor wheel. My question is, what old car or truck had a 15" outside diameter steering wheel with grips that are similar to the original '66 truck wheel? Thanks in advance!
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[theastronaut]

Btw, I'll have power steering and a quicker ratio steering box so I won't need the extra leverage of the larger factory wheel. The '66 deluxe wheel measures 16 3/8" OD.
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[jonzcustomshop]

camaro/chevelle I think had a smaller wheel 69-72
how about an early corvair?

[1963c-10]

Maybe nova II's

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

camaro/chevelle I think had a smaller wheel 69-72
how about an early corvair?

I had wondered about a Corvair wheel since they didn't have much weight on the front. I pulled out one of my extra mid-60's VW Bug wheels and it was just barely smaller. I thought it funny that a rear engine 1,600 pound VW had basicly the same size wheel as a 3500+ front engine, non-power steering truck.

[MalibuKasey]

Ill ask my Corvair buddy... he should know...

[duallyjams]

Interesting to see.

[theastronaut]

I had some time today to spend on the wheel. I decided to go ahead and try shrinking the original rim down to 15" instead of swapping rims. There was going to be alot of cutting, fitting, welding, epoxying, sanding, and shaping anyways, so why not do it the hard way? Beats waiting on finding a 15" rim...

Here's the short version, I'll start a how-to thread if you guys are interested in seeing the whole process.


The original '66 deluxe wheel.




Cut marks.




After cutting.




Marking the spokes for the cut. I've got a plan in mind that I think will make remaking the tapered end of the dimpled indention pretty simple when it's time to start epoxying and reshaping the wheel.




Spokes shortened, super glued in place temporarily for mock up purposes.




First mock up (after also shorting the two pieces of the rim). To get the hub centered, the edges of the rim and spokes on one side didn't meet up. I shortened one edge and will have to lengthen the other.




After getting everything roughly in the right position and the center hub centered in the rim, using one of the cut pieces to fill in the gap.






Roughed in and ready to start grinding back the plastic to weld the rim in place. It measures 15 inches now. I'll grind the edges back and glass bead the old paint and grime off, then use the steering shaft with a level and make sure the hub is level and centered, and 90* to the rim before welding the rim back together. I'll post pics once I get all that done.

[MalibuKasey]

Nice!
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[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by MalibuKasey

Nice!
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Thanks!!


Worked on it some more tonight. I got the plastic stripped back and the steel rim ends cleaned, aligned and welded. Then the cracks in the plastic were ground out all the way to the steel core to prevent them from showing up later. I also blasted around the cracked area so the epoxy would have a clean and textured surface to bond to. I'll start building up the epoxy tomorrow.









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[theastronaut]

Ok, so I won't be doing a "how-to" thread on this. I don't want anybody to go out and do this, because they think its a great idea- because it isn't! There's a reason guys do rim swaps instead of using the existing rim; its a ton more work! With that said, here are the progress pics to keep you guys up to date. I'll post the pics to show what has went into this, and hopefully the amount of work involved will scare you guys away from attempting this yourself!


Epoxy applied in the cracks and joints.









Overall shape compared to an original wheel.





Sanding the epoxy smooth. Sanding isn't really the right word, it's more like sculpting with sandpaper. My fingertips hate me...

[MalibuKasey]

Awesome!

[theastronaut]

Update for anyone following along. I finished shaping the wheel repairs and sprayed it with a couple thick coats of Slick Sand. I did spray a light coat of Bull Dog adhesion promoter over the wheel first to help make sure the primer sticks. The textured recessed area was masked off so the primer didn't smooth out the grain.

[vin63]

Very cool! Nice work...that was a lot of sanding.

[Nothinghead]

Impressive!

[Alan's Classic]

Very impressive!!

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by vin63

Very cool! Nice work...that was a lot of sanding.

Originally Posted by Nothinghead

Impressive!

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Very impressive!!

Thanks dudes! vin63, I did use an extended nose die grinder with an oval shape carbide burr to do the rough shaping on the places where I gooped on too much epoxy. Still was a ton of sanding though, and I've still gotta sand the Slick Sand.

[1963c-10]

Early 60's Impala's also had 15" wheels.

[GeorgeLeonard]

Could you tell me what kind of epoxy you used? Does it have a brand name? Thanks

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by GeorgeLeonard

Could you tell me what kind of epoxy you used? Does it have a brand name? Thanks

The name/brand of the epoxy is PC-7 and I bought it at our ACE hardware store. I have a book on steering wheel restorations and it reccomends it. It's a good match for the hardness of the original plastic, it bonds well, and it sands pretty easy without clogging the sandpaper. Once you get it applied and roughed in, you can wet the tip of your finger in thinner and smooth it out for alot less sanding.
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[elf w/capital T]

awesome write up! thanks!! looks great!!

[Kenfuzed]

Originally Posted by elf w/capital T

awesome write up! thanks!! looks great!!

You realize this thread had gone silent over 4 years ago, right?

[elf w/capital T]

...I hear that alot...but when you use the forum for help using the search feature, the date and time aren't any of my priority concerns... I'm happy to see these dinosaur threads still hang around! If it offends anyone that I bring them back from the dead...please pm me

[theastronaut]

It's better than starting a new one, then someone posting the link to the old one, and both of them ending up at the top. Nothing wrong with searching and replying to old threads.

[special-K]

It's not like it's an old for sale thread. Old threads remain as a permanent resource, which is what makes this site so great. I keep old magazines for the same reason, not just for the cover picture. Think of this website as a library for our trucks and you will understand