cadillac steering wheel to chevy steering column question?

[kustomd]

I put the steering column in my car last week its out of a mid 70's chevy van (looks like one of those Ididit columns but its a stock chevy item) Well last night I decided to change the steering wheel I tried to put my 59 cadillac steering wheel that I have been saving for the car in and it wouldn't fit the splined hole in the caddy wheel is to big for the splined shaft on the column. I tried a 56 chevy steering wheel I had and it fit perfect. Does anyone make any kind of shim or anything that I could put on the chevy column so that I could run my caddy wheel.

If they don't then I will take the steering column out of my 2dr hardtop 57 cadillac and put it in there maybe so I can run the steering wheel I really like the wheel.

[kustomd]

No body know what the hell I'm talking about? I guess since it isn't a 32 ford with black primer and red wheels its to baffling. Or should I have put O/T in the question to get any answers.

Anyone?? Idea's??

[40StudeDude]

Don't get so shook up kustomd...not all of us are into flat blak 32 Fords...it's just that we don't have the solution to your problem...perhaps it's the van column...I've never had ANY problems with adapting any year GM wheel to any early passenger car GM column (I have an '86 Vette wheel on a '57 Chevy column, a Pontiac GTO wheel on a '67 Buick tilt column and a '60 Chevy wheel on a '57 Chev column)...they all fit perfectly...can't imagine why the '59 Caddy won't fit...has to be the van column...and I don't know of an adapter.
R-

[Unkl Ian]

I doubt there is any sort of bushing to adapt these two.
Depending on the exact design,it might be easier to cut
the very center out of a scrap Chevy wheel and weld it into the Caddy wheel.

[Roothawg]

Don, I bought a 60 Caddy wheel for my 50 off a guy on the board, he was getting rid of it for the same reason.
He had a late colunmn and apparently it wouldn't jive. I am gonna keep the stock steering in the 50 for a while.

Kustm52 may have some insight as well.

[Donzie]

Did you check with Grant? They make all kinds of steering wheel adapters. Summit may be able to help, they carry Grant.

[Roothawg]

Don, here's an email I sent Grant. Hope ya don't mind.


Is there a chart available that covers steering wheel interchangability?

I, along with quite a few others, build early model Customs. I have a 1957 Caddy wheel that I would like to adapt to fit the later GM column that I have in my car. Is there a spline chart out there anywhere that I can reference? I have a 56 Chevy pass car wheel that fits these splines but the Caddy wheel appears to be different. Do you make an adapter if so?

Thanks

[Smokin Joe]

Will the center shaft of a 70's Caddy column fit with your Van column outer jacket pieces? I assume you went with a van column to get rid of the automatic gear selector and ignition key. Slipping the shifterless collar onto a wreckingyard caddy column might be the cheapest way if you don't want the key and shifter. Don't know if it'll work or not, but worth a look. I've made a column from part Chevy and part Buick before but I hate all that plastic/nylon junk inside of them.

[Roothawg]

Here's the reply from Grant.

Well, I guess the long and short answer is no. There is no
interchangeability chart.

About the only thing that might pass for one is our application listing,
but it won't be 100% correct as our hubs have a little more universality
in them than many of the OEM wheels. We do not make a kit for the 1957
Caddy, sorry. Don't know of anyone who does either; the shaft was
indeed different and we just don't have it available.

Sorry.

Joey Ferrari
Grant Products International, Inc.
Director Technical Sales
(800) 952-6947 ext. 314
(818) 247-2910 ext. 314
FAX (818) 241-4683

[Unkl Ian]

At least you got an answer back.
Seems like alot of places would rather ignore anything that doesn't guarantee a big sale.

[Smokin Joe]

After reading your reply from Grant I wonder if even a later Caddy column would fit his 57 wheel. Probably not so my idea probably wouldn't work. Look up Caddy in the dictionary and it'll probably say "Caddy=different" They didn't even use the same fuses as the rest of GM in some years.

Can you snap a pic of the wheel and column together so we can see how far apart the size difference between the splines is? Might give someone an idea other than using the chevy center in the caddy wheel.

[Roothawg]

Now I am gonna hafta go and pull the wheel off the 50 to see if my Caddy wheel will fit. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[50mercfan]

it's not the van column. i've got exactly the same problem. i've got a 59 cad wheel and a mid seventys gm tilt column. the whole in the cad wheel is larger than the later steering columns. i havn't come up with a fix yet.

[Smokin Joe]

All I can think of is welding the top of a Cad shaft with the correct splines to the later GM shaft. Or making a spacer with keys to fit grooves fitted in both the shaft and wheel. But I wouldn't actually recommend either one. I'd hate to see you on the freeway with a separated steering wheel. There has to be a better way. There's cool and theres dead. Dead isn't cool.

[Roothawg]

Well, I just went and pulled the wheel on mine. Nope it won't fit either.

I got a feeling that I will have a complete Caddy by the time I quit gathering parts that are Caddilac exclusive. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Lessee I have a pair of 56 Caddy hubcaps...check, a 60 Caddy steering wheel....check.......

[Roothawg]

I don't have a problem with cutting the shaft and rewelding it. I would just make a sleeve and weld it after welding the shaft back together. That would be stronger than the original shaft.

[Roothawg]

bttt

[ESnacky6]

you can get different sized inner bearings that go between
the column's inner splined-ended shaft and the outer 'tube'
column housing...

if you need to, just replace the inner shaft with a Caddy-
steering-wheel-matching-splined one, and get the bearings
to fit between that and the outer housing...(If you have to
adapt it to a steering box anyway...)

either that, OR you could mix/match the bottom/top halves
of the inner shafts/bearings to get the same result...(if
you are keeping the lower half connected to the steering
box...) you can get steering shaft splice couplers(double D
type, or splined...), not to mention the shafts themselves
(in just about any length...), from places like Borgeson...
(it works just fine Smokin' Joe...no worries...)

www.borgeson.com (http://www.borgeson.com)


That help at all..??

[Roothawg]

I want to keep the wheel 60 Caddy and put it on my 50 Chevy steering shaft. The caddy wheel has a hole that is approx .030" bigger than the shaft.

[Brock49Ford]

Got the same issues on my 49 Ford column with a 1961 Caddy steering wheel. I have not found any solution other than to get a junk 49 Ford wheel and get the center out of it and weld into the Cad wheel. There has got to be a easier way to do this. If I find anything I'll post it.

[randy]

I'm putting a 60 Cad wheel on my '56 column so luckily I haven't run into any major problems with fit. I picked the wheel up for free from a friend of mine & wasn't sure it would fit, so I got thinking about how one could adapt a wheel to a different column w/out changing major components in the column itself. My solution (although never implimented) was that you could find a wheel that fits your column in a wrecking yard & cut the center splined connection out of it. Once you have that, all that's neccessary is to cut the same section from the original wheel that you intend to use, weld the correct splined/female section to it & install.

I'm not to hip on posting pics or drawings, but I hope I wasn't too hard to follow.

Just a thought anyway...
-Randy

[Roothawg]

bttt........ waiting...hoping for a solution.

[kustomd]

I might have a solution but I don't know how much it is going to cost me tho. There is a machine shop here in town that alot of my drag racing friends use to make they're parts for race cars. Like narrowed 9" rearends etc.. I'm going to see about making a coupling that would slip over the chevy column and that the caddy wheel will slip over that then when you put the nut and washer back on the column it will squeeze it all together. It'll have to be some kind of hardened steel or have the steel that they use hardened harder to make it stronger. I will figure this out. Oh yea sorry for getting shitty.

[Roothawg]

I don't think there is enough space there for a bushing. Splined parts are expensive...

[ESnacky6]

[ QUOTE ]
My solution (although never implimented) was that you could find a wheel that fits your column in a wrecking yard & cut the center splined connection out of it. Once you have that, all that's neccessary is to cut the same section from the original wheel that you intend to use, weld the correct splined/female section to it & install.


[/ QUOTE ]


I've thought about that option as well...
I think that with very careful and precise machining,
you could match the two pieces perfectly,
the steering wheel outer, and splined inner,
and either press fit it, and/or epoxy it as well...

[Roothawg]

Randy, have you tried to install it? I bet money it won't fit. Mine was a 60 and it is too big for the 50 model column.

[fishtank]

perhaps you could run a couple of set screws through the wheel. You would have to drill into the wheel, but if you do it on the bottom it should not look to bad. it would be alot cheaper and easier.

you could even drill a small divot into the shaft to insure that it locks together.

[randy]

Yep. The '60 wheel fits the column with only a small amount of tweaking. I had to basically bevel the edge off of the center section because it was too fat & getting mixed up with the turn signal stuff. Other than that, the splines match.

-Randy

[Roothawg]

Ya see, my 60 wheel is so big that the splines don't match at all. It spins and never touches em. I am thinking maybe I should just cut the center out and install a different one.

[Donzie]

Hang the damn Caddy wheel on the wall and buy a Moon 'flaked one! This sounds like way too much work. I'm worn out just reading all of this.
Seriously, this is some good info....I know now not to buy a Caddy wheel for my '50 Chevy. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[kustomd]

Randy is your 56 a chevy or a cadillac because if its a 56 cadillac the wheel will fit but if its a 56 chevy you must have some kind of special column or something cause I have a 56 wheel that is out of my girlfriends 56 chevy and its different then the caddy wheel because it fits my later model column. But my caddy wheel just spins on the shaft like roothawgs does.

[53chevy]

For what it's worth...I just recently Had a guy up in Northridge Calif (machinist)remove the center from a late GM truck steering column and drill out the center in a 49 Buck steering wheel to accept the late GM steering wheel center. alot of measuring and such for dead center. Took the 49 steering wheel and had it welded. Perfect fit, and I'm using a late GM van steering column. Which looks in tone to the mid 50's columns. I also have two Ididit steering clumn adapters, they screw on to your exitings column (three blots), but I'm not sure of the studiness...later.

Ken

[kustomd]

53 chevy do you have any pics of how it looks and of what all the machinist did to it?