Replacing a non 1933 steering wheel - what else fits?

steve hackel

steve hackel

Senior Member
I have a 33 pick up with a something ? Chevy steering wheel currently mounted to the column. Other than a stock 33 wheel, what years will
fit up to the steering shaft without any modifications? In searching the
for sale adds it appears that a 33 wheel is difficult to locate, but I don't
need an original, just something that can take its place. Any suggestions
are welcome. Thanks, Steve :D
 
steve hackel said:
I have a 33 pick up with a something ? Chevy steering wheel currently mounted to the column. Other than a stock 33 wheel, what years will
fit up to the steering shaft without any modifications? In searching the
for sale adds it appears that a 33 wheel is difficult to locate, but I don't
need an original, just something that can take its place. Any suggestions
are welcome. Thanks, Steve :D
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Is the steering wheel on a stock column, or does your pickup have another type of column? A Chevy steering wheel does not fit a stock '33 steering column. More info is needed here before anyone can give an answer.
 
The tapered end on the Ford shaft is the same for many years, 32 thru late 40's or so. Not sure when they went to splines , I do not know much about newer stuff. So lots of wheels will fit, the trick will be if you want to use the 33 light switch and horn button, then you need to get creative. I used a 30 31 A wheel on my 34 coupe because I like the 4 spoke wheel. The A shaft is larger so a shim was made, and the A light switch modified to the 34 length.
 

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cas3 said:
The tapered end on the Ford shaft is the same for many years, 32 thru late 40's or so. Not sure when they went to splines , I do not know much about newer stuff. So lots of wheels will fit, the trick will be if you want to use the 33 light switch and horn button, then you need to get creative. I used a 30 31 A wheel on my 34 coupe because I like the 4 spoke wheel. The A shaft is larger so a shim was made, and the A light switch modified to the 34 length.
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cas3 said:
The tapered end on the Ford shaft is the same for many years, 32 thru late 40's or so. Not sure when they went to splines , I do not know much about newer stuff. So lots of wheels will fit, the trick will be if you want to use the 33 light switch and horn button, then you need to get creative. I used a 30 31 A wheel on my 34 coupe because I like the 4 spoke wheel. The A shaft is larger so a shim was made, and the A light switch modified to the 34 length.
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They went to the splined shaft in 1949. Not sure but it may have started with the '48 F-1 pickup. The '48 passenger cars still had the taper and key.
 
Stock column ? Now that's a good question. Did the 33 pick ups use a passenger
car stock type column drop with the lever and lock? This truck does not have one,
but I have no experience with the trucks I'm flying blind. Can someone post a picture
of the stock column at the dash and a picture of a stock steering box? It's just

going to be one question at a time till I solve these issues. Thanks
 
Post a pic or 2 of what you have. Pickup column drops are slightly different than pass car.Sorry I don't have any pics.
 
steve hackel said:
Stock column ? Now that's a good question. Did the 33 pick ups use a passenger
car stock type column drop with the lever and lock? This truck does not have one,
but I have no experience with the trucks I'm flying blind. Can someone post a picture
of the stock column at the dash and a picture of a stock steering box? It's just

going to be one question at a time till I solve these issues. Thanks
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Your pickup should have a steering column and lock that looks like the passenger car with a few slight differences to the lock and column mount itself. A photo would be helpful, but it sounds like you have a non stock column if you have no lock and a Chevrolet steering wheel. Is the rest of the pickup stock?
 
Yes - stock, 1933 truck, B' 4 cylinder motor and trans, mechanical brakes, modern style tube shocks, front bumper but no rear bumper, I will try for a picture or three this

afternoon - the sun might be out. Thanks
 
I managed to get photos of the steering box ,
the pitman arm, and the column jacket with
a non original bell just below the Chevy wheel.
The pitman arm appears correct, and the bottom of the box is open for a light harness - light switch body and its attachment bail ? If the box and steering shaft are original / correct, then a column jacket and steering wheel are probably all that I will need. I'm not too concerned with having the lights operate through the column, but if I can solve some of these issues then
a stock light harness might work too. Thoughts,?
 

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steve hackel said:
I managed to get photos of the steering box ,
the pitman arm, and the column jacket with
a non original bell just below the Chevy wheel.
The pitman arm appears correct, and the bottom of the box is open for a light harness - light switch body and its attachment bail ? If the box and steering shaft are original / correct, then a column jacket and steering wheel are probably all that I will need. I'm not too concerned with having the lights operate through the column, but if I can solve some of these issues then
a stock light harness might work too. Thoughts,?
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Looking at the photos it's difficult to tell what modifications have been done. It appears the column tube is not stock and hard to say what has been done to the upper part to fit the Chevrolet steering wheel. Have you removed the wheel to see if someone cut a keyway in it to fit the stock shaft? or has someone added another piece (sleeve) to the stock shaft to fit the Chevrolet wheel? In order to tell what has been done all the pieces need to be removed. Somebody wasted a lot of time fitting a Chevrolet wheel to a Ford.
 
I agree with TJ. Why did someone go to this effort to put that steering wheel on? That I suppose is not the point here though.

If it were my truck, I would locate a stock 33 steering column, column drop and steering wheel and make the truck right. That should not be a difficult task.
 
Its likey a welded spline piece ,I modified a spline that was on a 32 he wanted a 39 wheel ,I key way d it and turned a taper on it worked good . there was still a trace of the spline but it didn't matter , Maybe you can do the same ,Ted
 
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Will a '37 mounting plate and steering column fit in a '33?
I drilled the rivets out of my '36 and bolted a '37 mounting plate in and '37 box and column. I used steel lock nuts.
 
So far it appears rhat the upper portion of the shaft has been replaced and us solid with no horn/ light rod hole through it. The jacket is home made from something late.model and has remnants of a column shifter hole . Ugh...
I didn't build it, I just bought it and will make do.
I will need to advertise for a good shaft., tube and column drop, but I've dealt with worse things this over my 65 years of playing with model A's. What years will interchange for the parts I'll be needing here? Thanks again !
 
I would put an ad on the Barn for a '33 steering wheel, column tube, column drop and steering gear box. It would be a really simple install. An added bonus is you can use the Ford light wiring harness and horn button. I think you'll find the V8 Fords more comfortable to drive than the Model A's. I have both and I prefer a V8 Ford.
 
I did some seaarching for you and found a 2016 listing for a '33 switch housing on the HAMB. The listing didn't say passenger or truck.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-1933-ford-column-drop-ignition-w-working-lock-yr-only.1012992/

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Below is a portion of the lock housing for the Green Book but note that the B 3676 indicates that it is good through '34 as shown below. This is not correct for passenger cars. It may be that the pickup trucks 32 to 34, used the 32 passenger part B 3676. Also note that the 40 3676 is for passenger and then 46 3676 for all commercials. This may not be correct either. For some years the pickup and commercials are mounted at a steeper angle with less distance for the lock assembly between the bottom of the dash and the hole for the column, part 3509. From the picture above there is already little distance between the hole and the bottom of dash mounting. Need some help from truck owners here to clarify.

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My research and others answers indicate that the 1932 column drop will work on the 33-34 pick up truck dash due to the angle on the bottom side. The passenger style would work if I make a tapered shim to compensate for the truck dash angle versus the nearly straight passenger dash. The information is coming together nicely with the aid of everyone's collective knowledge. Looking like I'll need a steering shaft or an entire box. I will probably run a want add later tonight for the box and column.
Where is everyone buying the upper and lower cones and races for their boxes? I looked at several major dealers catalogs and they are discontinued?
 
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