37 steering wheel on a GM column

1

1937sedandelivery

Senior Member
Hello,
Does anyone know how to "adapt" a stock 37 steering wheel (tapered shaft) to a 70's GM column (splined shaft)? I replaced the stock steering column with a GM one and now want to use a bone stock banjo steering wheel. I know Yogi's has a banjo wheel that will fit the GM column but I don't want an aftermarket one and won't pay $850 bucks for one either.
Thanks for any help.
Gregg
 
there is a guy with a 38 convertible , with a newer Gm column in his car, every time i look into it i want to throw up... sorry
 
There is an old saying... "Nothing is impossible, some things just take longer and cost more".
From my experience, I would say that it is close to impossible to fit a stock Ford banjo steering wheel onto a late model GM column.. The tapered base and keyed shaft is not friendly to the GM flat base and splined shaft, of course given enough time and money anything is possible.
I have a '39 Plymouth conv coupe which came with a banjo type of steering wheel which would not fit on the '70's GM tilt column I used in the car..
None of the main-stream aftermarket steering wheels looked right in the car, wood-grained dash, stock radio, etc..
At the time that I was looking for a steering wheel, LaCarrea was making the '39 Ford and '30/40 GM type of banjo wheels. I bought a brown leather covered GM banjo wheel which fit onto my GM column.
I opted for a smooth horn button in lieu of a GM. With a little bit of skill I was able to adapt a '39 Plymouth horn button with the typical Plymouth ship onto the smooth horn button.
The steering wheel looks great in my car. An added bonus is that most of the Plymouth people think that the steering wheel is a stock steering wheel.
One additional factor to keep in mind is the size of the steering wheel, (s). A '36-37 banjo wheel is 17" OD, a '70's GM wheel is 14" OD. If the vehicle in question has altered front suspension, ie; rack-pinion, power, etc., a 17" wheel will cause over-steer..
 

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blucar said:
If the vehicle in question has altered front suspension, ie; rack-pinion, power, etc., a 17" wheel will cause over-steer..
Click to expand...

I would have guessed under-steer, as more arm motion is required to produce the same column movement.
 
A bones said:
I would have guessed under-steer, as more arm motion is required to produce the same column movement.
Click to expand...

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X2......... A small steering wheel will cause very quick steering (over steer). ;)








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Thanks to all with constructive feedback. I will look into the GM banjo wheel and experiment with a welding transplant to allow a stock Ford Banjo wheel.
Gregg
 
Why not get a Grant brand adapter for the GM column and machine it down to bolt to the bottom of the banjo wheel. You will need to drill and tap the steering wheel.The adapter comes with a metal cover that can be used to close the gap between the wheel and the column.
You might also investigate the banjo wheels that are made for big rigs. They are 17" in diameter and may have the correct splines for the GM column. I see them on e-Bay for sale.
 
If it is a tilt column take the upper shaft and machine it to hold the taper and keyway piece and weld it together.You can get the tapered piece from Speedway.I machined mine to have a hole in Chevy shaft and the tapered piece had the pin part to slid in the shaft then weld it.Did this on my Model A with a tilt Chevy column
 
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