Steering Wheel Fit

CaceyB

CaceyB

Member
I am having trouble fitting a steering wheel to the shaft. It is a reproduction wheel that has "DRAKE" printed on the underside near the base. I don't know if this particular wheel is a bad fit, maybe someone out there has some experience. The splines on the shaft appear to have some burrs (or something similar) and I filed them a bit, but I don't want to spend all my time filing if the wheel will not fit anyway.

Cacey
 
CaceyB said:
I am having trouble fitting a steering wheel to the shaft. It is a reproduction wheel that has "DRAKE" printed on the underside near the base. I don't know if this particular wheel is a bad fit, maybe someone out there has some experience. The splines on the shaft appear to have some burrs (or something similar) and I filed them a bit, but I don't want to spend all my time filing if the wheel will not fit anyway.

Cacey
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If it has a DRAKE on the back it is obviously a
repop. Call Bob Drakes and ask questions.
 
It is my understanding that Drake did the original tool work for the USA made wheels sold by most of the current parts houses today....that would be back about 20 years. Since the dies were still relatively new at that time, they are generally thought to be a better quality reproduciton. If you recently purchased a wheel you know how much clean-up is needed to make it look near original.
 
I have a Model A Drake wheel in the original box and was hoping to use it on the car currently under restoration. There is some slag at the mold parting lines that will have to be sanded off. I guess I better check the fit on the steering shaft!

I recall about 20 years back seeing a Drake wheel on somebody's "A" and thought it looked nice for a repop. The owner told me that Drake himself made only one or two manufacturing runs of the wheels and had a number of rejects, with minor flaws. He and some of his club members bought the rejects for a low price, fixed the flaws, and installed them on their own cars. He didn't say what was flawed. This is in Oregon, where Drake is located.
 
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