History BILL….SMITH’S....ROADSTER

Here's a quote from your first page, I'm thinking this is the Oldsmobile steering shaft with GM spline that was just added to the Ford steering box.

A 1940 Ford steering box was turned on its side in order to integrate the 1940 Ford front end with a 1949 Oldsmobile shaft.

 

Lol it’s about hot rodding you could see how some could get confused without taking the steering wheel off


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Use that olds wheel you have like the one that was in it?

 

Wish I had an olds wheel


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Oh! For some reason I thought you had posted earlier that you had one! I was very confused when you bought the Crestliner wheel , ha! My apologies! Put an ad in the wanted section? Someone has one I'm sure??!!

 

@Austinrod , you bought a crestliner wheel that fit on that splined column? If so you could PM me some pics and and price, I may be able to help you out of it.

 

Here’s a quote from Bills brother John on FB
Wm Kelly Young Bill thinks that he graphed on a Chevy shaft on the 40 box. The car originally had a 55 Chevy wheel then a Corvette wheel and then the the wood wheel from he believes a Chevelle. That wheel might be quite desirable for Chevelle guy


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Awesome!

 

Chopped down 55/56 Chevy steering wheel installed
Horn button won’t work it was coming in contact with the steering shaft will order that part later





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Wheel looks good, and I like the hole better than I liked the old tape deck. A radio delete plate from some 50's car would bolt over the old radio hole to cover it up if need be.

 

Every step pulls it back into a better place...love the illusion of the padded Dash...

Stupid Question time......can you paint Vinyl/Leather?

 

I know you can dye carpet for interior
Dying the interior darker might work but I would want white accents so I don’t think it would work for all of it


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Blue and White? Coordinating with the shifter knob? I was thinking they could prime and paint light or dark...I know they paint vinyl siding...and many other things these days...

 

If I don’t find the radio delete
I might do a brass plaque for Bill Smith and the years it was in the National Roadster Show
UPDATE
Just ordered 3 50’s radio delete plates hopefully one works



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Hopefully that first Packard one will fit, that would look really nice there. I like the idea of a plaque with Bill's name on it too but it'd have to be awfully big to cover that hole with the knob holes, maybe a business card sized one would go between the gauges and the blanked out radio hole.

 

Fenders or fenderless




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From the 1957 Oakland show





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Looks like a Bill Smith sighting caught in the wild back then
LoL





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Fendered...​

 

Since the color of the 34 is still red
I got a vintage 55/56 painted steering wheel I couldn’t pass up




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Looks beautiful!

Just curious: Which steering wheel(s) did it wear while it was pink? Do you plan to coordinate that, as well?

 

Got a red 8 ball too



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It had a white 55 Chevy wheel 58/59 no down bar on that one just straight across

But I got also a 55/56 Chevy black one ( aftermarket 15”)
that will work once the color gets too black&white interior .



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The two spoke wheels are specific to 210 models, the 3 spoke is a Belair only part. The pic above seems to indicate the center cap was chrome plated instead of painted like factory. I never noticed the first aid kit mounted to the floor, that'd be another neat item to recreate. Could just velcro it to the carpet for shows even, if it was in the way.

 

Never noticed that I looked under the dash and there is a fire extinguisher under it


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From the 1961 Oakland show




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First color 35mm slide of the 34 in turquoise


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Here’s the 35mm slide of the turquoise color

 

The Crestliner wheel I have fits 40-48 ford
Don’t know if that works for you

 

Oh, my bad, I thought it was for the GM splined column in the pics a page back. I cant use the tapered key wheel.
Great car and thread!