Some time ago I bought this 36 caddy steering wheel on line and when it got to me it had broken stainless spokes. I had no way to weld the small, spindly spokes and I'd planned to put a different rim on it anyway. Welp, the other day I was over at my buddy, Larry's shop and I spied this stainless hoop hanging on his wall. I told him I've been looking for a long time for just such a hoop but had zero luck finding one and asked him where he got his. He'd saved it from a broken bar stool ....the part you put your feet on while drinking your favorite beverage. I slapped my forehead with my palm "Of course!" He gave it to me when I told him why I wanted it and tonight Mrs Rocky is outta town so I played in the garage. I welded a stainless backing over the broken spokes and tac'd it all together, cut the extra parts off and welded it up. Its' solid as a rock but I still have a few hours ahead of me making it all Purdy. I haven't decided what to do about the mounting holes in the hoop yet but I did find a perfect spring to go beneath the horn button to hold it all in place. The horn ring is pretty corroded so I have to figure out what to do with it...maybe even delete it, I dunno yet. Was a fun project and I may try it on my 34.
It's gona take a bunch of work to make it pretty and my welding may need some more attention but overall I like it.
Gee, thanks. Aren't you guys the ones that built that award winning 40 coupe that won the Ridler Award?
Looks like its going to turn out good. But reading the title, I thought this was going to be a funny joke or story...
Nice job Rocky, but I was hoping for some funny shit to go along with the story too! Something like you were drunk one night and feel off a bar stool and while laying on the floor looking up you noticed the round foot rest and thought I have been looking for that for a long time...
Great minds think alike. A buddy and I scrapped a couple of similar bar stools last year. When we got the footrests off, it occurred to me that they were the perfect size for a steering wheel, so I saved them. I haven't given much thought about what else I was going to do, but this is a great idea; I'm glad you posted as I now have a direction to go. I'll be haunting the swaps for an appropriate donor wheel. Thanks for the idea.
Looks like old bar stools have just gone up in value. Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Its done now . But it might have been nicer to cut a slot in the rim and let the spokes into it then smooth it off , I think the bumps on the back are going to be a royal pain. We had a 53 Anniversary “K” wheel that was totaly roached on the rim . Found what I presume was an old English steering wheel of some sort for $5 complete with box, it was steel and had finger grips spot welded on all the way around and was only 16” so it still allowed clearance for your fingers and the horn ring.
OK..I spent some quality time sanding, cleaning, polishing this wheel while watching the NASCAR race this afternoon. It looks pretty good so far but those clunky welded spoke-to-rim connectors are still pissing me off. I gotta come up with something better. And I still don't know what to do with those holes in the rim...maybe I'll just leave them so people will believe me when I say it's a barstool footrest ring.
Nah...it got warm here [winter's over, finally] so I've been driving the shit outta my hot rod and doing yard work...The 36 caddy wheel sits for awhile.
The Jalopy Journal
