The Ford Barn

REByar · 06-30-2013, 06:07 PM

I have a 1928 Tudor Sedan. It is made up of approx. 80% 1928 parts. The biggest items that are not from the 1928 production year are the motor and the steering box and steering wheel and horn/light switch. Since the motor and steering box work just fine I am interested in changing the steering wheel and horn/light switch. Can this be done?

Any help our thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Randy

BRENT in 10-uh-C · 06-30-2013, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REByar

I have a 1928 Tudor Sedan. It is made up of approx. 80% 1928 parts. The biggest items that are not from the 1928 production year are the motor and the steering box and steering wheel and horn/light switch. Since the motor and steering box work just fine I am interested in changing the steering wheel and horn/light switch. Can this be done?

Any help our thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Randy

Well, yes you can, but it is not a direct swap per se'. The steering wheel you have now is likely a tapered shaft with a woodruff key. For the 1928, you probably want a Brown colored wheel that actually uses a splined shaft in lieu of the tapered shaft. Therefore someone needs to mate the two shafts together which requires a sleeve placed over the outside of the two shafts if you plan to use the horn rod. If you have it apart, then you probably want to find a 1929 Gemmer column to use too. I hope all of this has made sense. If not, ask again and I'll try to reword it.

Joe K · 06-30-2013, 07:30 PM

Probably the best way to change this out would be to get a new steering box, column, steering wheel, horn/light switch rod, spark & accell rods.

Despite being a 1928 and probably the original recipient of a 7 tooth steering box at the factory, you may want to go with the gemmer two tooth box. The 7 tooth box is notoriously more challenging to rebuild and difficult to get AND KEEP it in operable condition.

IIRC the 1929 two tooth boxes have a keyed 1929 wheel and a specific steering shaft to match. Meanwhile 1930 and 1931 used a 1930ish wheel and there were two different shafts used in those model years. Thus you will be unlikely to be able to use much of what you have to get close to what you might want.

It is possible to remove the top sector portion of the steering column on a 1930-31 and replace it with a 1928-29 and thus use everything below the sector over. But this is not advised and may create problems with matching the advance/retard rods and horn/light switch rods.

Thus my first advice to get a matched functional setup with 1929 concurrent parts. It may not be that much more expensive and you may take this opportunity to rebuild the two tooth box and bring it to best condition before putting it in the car. Meanwhile keep driving.

And then after replacement sell the other stuff off to someone who needs to do the opposite of what you want to do.

Given enough time we'll all eventually end up with only correct parts for our cars.

Joe K

Keith True · 06-30-2013, 07:44 PM

If you just want to use an earlier style wheel,and you aren't stuck on using the brown,(red) one,you can buy an early style wheel with the keyed hub to use on the later column.The quadrants for the spark/throttle levers will be different,so you can trim them down to look like the early ones,look around for a late 29 column with the early style quadrants,or learn to live with the look of the later style.I know at one time you could buy the red early style wheel with a keyed hub,but somebody told me it was now only available in black.I haven't had need of one for a couple of years so I've had no reason to look into it.

Joe K · 06-30-2013, 07:58 PM

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I just looked and Snyders DOES have the red wheel with a keyed center.

I like the look of the red wheel but technically not correct for my 1929 truck.

Although I have a red distributor - just because I like the look of that too.

Joe K

06-30-2013, 06:07 PM	#1
REByar Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Ft.Mill, south carolina Posts: 52	Change a 1930 steering wheel to 1928/29 I have a 1928 Tudor Sedan. It is made up of approx. 80% 1928 parts. The biggest items that are not from the 1928 production year are the motor and the steering box and steering wheel and horn/light switch. Since the motor and steering box work just fine I am interested in changing the steering wheel and horn/light switch. Can this be done? Any help our thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Randy

06-30-2013, 07:30 PM	#3
Joe K Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cow Hampshire Posts: 4,188	Re: Change a 1930 steering wheel to 1928/29 Probably the best way to change this out would be to get a new steering box, column, steering wheel, horn/light switch rod, spark & accell rods. Despite being a 1928 and probably the original recipient of a 7 tooth steering box at the factory, you may want to go with the gemmer two tooth box. The 7 tooth box is notoriously more challenging to rebuild and difficult to get AND KEEP it in operable condition. IIRC the 1929 two tooth boxes have a keyed 1929 wheel and a specific steering shaft to match. Meanwhile 1930 and 1931 used a 1930ish wheel and there were two different shafts used in those model years. Thus you will be unlikely to be able to use much of what you have to get close to what you might want. It is possible to remove the top sector portion of the steering column on a 1930-31 and replace it with a 1928-29 and thus use everything below the sector over. But this is not advised and may create problems with matching the advance/retard rods and horn/light switch rods. Thus my first advice to get a matched functional setup with 1929 concurrent parts. It may not be that much more expensive and you may take this opportunity to rebuild the two tooth box and bring it to best condition before putting it in the car. Meanwhile keep driving. And then after replacement sell the other stuff off to someone who needs to do the opposite of what you want to do. Given enough time we'll all eventually end up with only correct parts for our cars. Joe K __________________ Shudda kept the horse.

06-30-2013, 07:44 PM	#4
Keith True Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Epping N.H. Posts: 2,989	Re: Change a 1930 steering wheel to 1928/29 If you just want to use an earlier style wheel,and you aren't stuck on using the brown,(red) one,you can buy an early style wheel with the keyed hub to use on the later column.The quadrants for the spark/throttle levers will be different,so you can trim them down to look like the early ones,look around for a late 29 column with the early style quadrants,or learn to live with the look of the later style.I know at one time you could buy the red early style wheel with a keyed hub,but somebody told me it was now only available in black.I haven't had need of one for a couple of years so I've had no reason to look into it.

06-30-2013, 07:58 PM	#5
Joe K Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cow Hampshire Posts: 4,188	Re: Change a 1930 steering wheel to 1928/29 Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I just looked and Snyders DOES have the red wheel with a keyed center. I like the look of the red wheel but technically not correct for my 1929 truck. Although I have a red distributor - just because I like the look of that too. Joe K __________________ Shudda kept the horse.