Steering wheel help needed

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Ok, hope this photo worked this time. Here's a shot of the mounting plate for my steering wheel on my 1973 Cj5. It's pressed on and I believe is after market. Does anyone recognize this type of mount? Can anyone advise where I can find a steering wheel to fit it?

M

 

It is aftermarket of some sort. I'd look at the Summit and Jeg's catalogs (they have them on line if you like) and see if they have something to fit. If you need to remove that adapter I'd use a socket or something similar to "straddle" the center part and use a puller to push against the socket to remove the adapter. Nickmil

 

Definitely an aftermarket hub of some sort. I've just gone through the replacement steering wheel fiasco with my '75 cj5 (same column and all as your '73).

Here's the deal:
As long as your seats are in their factory locations, and as long as you're using the factory column, you're pretty limited in aftermarket steering wheels that will fit comfortably. The problem with most, while they will install correctly, is the amount of 'dish' built into the wheel. This is the 'depth' of the wheel, and you want as little or as flat as possible. The original factory 'bus' wheel is almost flat with hardly any 'dish', but it's diameter is out of control.

I found that Grant Products (Model #650 aluminum model with foam grip) is the flattest wheel out there that will fit (13" diameter / 1-1/2" dish). This is what I recently installed and it is real nice and isn't up in your face too bad while driving. You'll need an installation kit also from Grant (Model #4405) and a horn button kit. There are several horn button kits that will work, but I suggest the billet aluminum kit with the jeep logo, since the wheel is aluminum and a chrome button is way shinier.

Now, if you're seats are NOT located per the factory, you've got more of a problem, since the factory column is not adjustable in any way. This is how I started, and I decided to find some factory seat brackets (another fiasco) to get the seating position correct. Here's a link to the seat bracket story if you're interested:

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68625&highlight=factory+seat+brackets

You can see the three-spoke racing wheel in one of the photos. This did not work after correcting the seat mounting locations, as I had about 4 inches (exaggerating a bit) between my chest and the wheel. This wheel had about 4" of 'dish'.

 

P.S. if anyone is looking for a 3-spoke racing wheel, I've got one that I'm willing to part with - $10 plus shipping cost.

 

Did you have any problems with the installation kit? I have heard they don't always fit that great. I looked at the kit online and it looks like the horn parts are included, what horn kit are you speaking of? Does the auto cancelling of the turn signal work with this kit?

 

No problems with the installation kit. The picture of the kit that you will find online is not representative of the actual parts included in the 4405 kit, it is just an example of a 'typical' ('76-up I think) kit.

The horn parts are included, except for the horn button itself. The horn buttons are largely universal, so you can pick the style you like. What's included in the 4405 kit is as follows:

1. The aluminum hub that adapts the wheel to the splined shaft of the steering column.
2. A fiberglass plate with metal contact on the back that is essentialy the 'switch' for the horn.
3. Three hex head bolts that attach the wheel to the aluminum hub.
4. A short length of wire that connects the fiberglass plate to the existing black 'horn' wire that runs up the center of the steering shaft.
5. A spring that gives the horn button it's 'spring loading'.

The self-cancelling function of the original spartan turn signal is retained, as the back of the aluminum hub is shaped to contact the rubber wheel on the turn signal switch.

From the looks of your photo, you may or may not have the original horn switch that fits in the hole in the center of the steering shaft. There should at least be a wire that runs down the hole in the shaft and is terminated to a copper sleeve on the steering shaft within the column tube. This copper sleeve is isolated from the steering shaft via an inner plastic sleeve. There should be a plastic cover on the outside of the column that has a copper spring on the underside that contacts the copper sleeve. There should be a wire from this plastic cover that routes to the horn, through the same plastic sheath that holds the turn signal wiring.

Basically, depressing the horn button completes the horn circuit by shorting it to chassis ground.

Without the factory horn wiring intact, you have two options. First is to track down used parts, which is difficult as they are obselete and not supported by aftermarket. The other option is to wire your horn to a switch someplace else, and just use the parts included in the wheel install kit as 'dummy' parts.

 

Thanks for the reply. Here's what I've come up with. The aftermarket mount appears to be a Lecarra kit. It includes a hub that sets the wheel down the column about 3". The hub then has the bolt pattern of the Lecarra wheels. I've found a Lecarra 14.5 steering wheel with a dish of about 1.5". Hopefully this size wheel allows me to turn the non-power steering with more control and still have decent room between me and the wheel. I'm gonna try that and I'll post what happens.
As far as the seats...I'm leaning towards the Corbeau Baja jp, and I'll make some mounts. Btw, I like your mounts!
M