How hard is it to find orig. steering wheel?

[AbileneThomas]

I am looking to buy a bump and the one I am currently interested in has some :bs: piece of crap steering wheel. How hard are orig. equip. wheels with half moon horn to find? How much are they in general?

[sargentrs]

Steering wheel without horn rings can be purchased aftermarket for around $200 or used for a lot less. If you don't mind a few cracks they're pretty cheap. The horn ring is pretty scarce but still can usually be found on eBay. There's videos on YouTube on how to repair cracks in the wheels. Post in the parts wanted section and you might get a bite from a member.

[HIO Silver]

This is the cheapest repro I could find at $150 : http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon- ... 18p532.htm

Excerpt: "This is an excellent reproduction BLACK ONLY steering wheel for all models of the 1960 - 1963 Ford Falcon & Mercury Comet. This steering wheel is also correct for the 1961 - 1970 Ford trucks.

Dennis Carpenter repros go for $225.

I recently picked up a correct-appearing 71-72 (D4TZ) off of Ebay for $160. Dennis Carpenter repros go for $250. : http://dennis-carpenter.com/steering-wh ... TZ-3600-A/

[chicof100]

I sent you a PM, if you want one, you need to reply. What color are you looking for?

[AbileneThomas]

Thanks guys. That really helped, now I can buy one without worrying that I won't be able to find the steering wheel for it. Are there any parts that I should watch out for that could be deal breakers on a '68 or '69?

[HIO Silver]

Thanks guys. That really helped, now I can buy one without worrying that I won't be able to find the steering wheel for it. Are there any parts that I should watch out for that could be deal breakers on a '68 or '69?

I'm not clear on what you mean by body parts that are "deal breakers". Just know that there are a few parts that are relatively expensive - namely grill shells. Repros are about $600.

I suggest ordering catalogs from Dennis Carpenter Restoration, Mac's Antique Auto Parts, National Parts Depot, and LMC Truck to get a better overall picture of what is available in NOS, repro, and aftermarket. Prices vary as does the quality and shipping costs. Shop and compare.

[alphawave7]

Yeah..it's a lot like a woman: Beautiful to look at, fun to ride, but to play you have to service her sometimes, and that can get very expensive, but every dollar you put into her, you nearly always get back in pleasure.

[sargentrs]

In a word...RUST. If the cab mounts are shot, firewall seams are crumbling, drip rail is eaten away and the bed side seams are rotting, back away slowly, turn and run. Not that is unrepairable but your in for a lot of work, heartache and that'll just be the rust you see. Floor pans are no big deal but bad cab mounts mean cab removal to repair.

[hillcountryflt]

Makes me wished I had looked at the cab mounts now. Too late.
I took was searching for the steering wheel for my 1971. $2xx gets you the wheel, but another $90 gets you the rubber horn button/middle section.

[HIO Silver]

Makes me wished I had looked at the cab mounts now. Too late.
I took was searching for the steering wheel for my 1971. $2xx gets you the wheel, but another $90 gets you the rubber horn button/middle section.

Got my 71-77 wheel complete with the horn pad, screws, and contact plunger.

[One_F250]

I know this post isn't exactly new, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents in case you're still working the steering wheel thing. My original wheel was cracked, so I looked at the factory repros as well. As stated, they all come in shiny piano key black, which would not match my maroon interior.

So I bought one, and it looks just like the original one. It took a few hours of prep, 3 days of painting, and 9 coats. It looked great, and was a really close match, paint wise. Then I put it on, and was quite happy with all the work. Then, I took it for a test drive.

I instantly hated the feel of the wheel, which was made recently by someone in Taiwan. It felt like I had a piece of balsa wood in my hands, then told my truck that this was only temporary. While I had a replacement wheel, I restored the original one with a Master Steering Wheel Repair Kit, found here http://www.eastwood.com/

[sykanr0ng]

I first learned that steering wheels could be restored from some old school mechanics over 30 years ago, they used PC-7 epoxy, which I have read is the same as in the Eastwood kit.
Those mechanics told me that they had once started with just the steel ring core of an old semi truck steering wheel and rebuilt it.