a REAL 356 steering wheel

Can someone tell me if a REAL 356 steering wheel will fit the vw column????? happy motoring!!

The early 356 wheel (Petri, I believe) has the same spline as the early Beetle. Just replace your steering shaft with the earlier one. There is a little extra work to it, but the results are worth it. The original steering wheel is just so charming that it's almost irresistible isn't?

Luck, TC

I think that you'll need to get an adapter made. I have a wooden one, gorgeous wheel that has a different hole pattern than the stock column. It came with a new column that if I want to install requires new holes to be drilled. So I have opted to only use the wheel but this will require that I get an adapter made with the stock hole pattern.

The spline is OK it's the bolts to the column...

Hope this helps?

Yep! They fit early beetle splines up to 1959. I use to have a vw batwing steering wheel, and the original was a perfect fit on the old shaft.

I however bought the repro horn button from Stoddard, which looks OK, but doesnt work (cheap plastic).

Does anyone know a better reproduction?

You can try Louis Paras, he's always got great stuff on Ebay, but you can just contact him directly through his ads/auctions.

By the way, your wheel looks just wonderful. You can see in the pic how perfectly and beautifully it frames the instrument cluster.

Got to go stock whenever possible with a 356.

TC

The OEM supplier to Porsche in the 50's was VDM, not Petri. Though Petri was the official manufacturer for the horn button itself. Petri also made several different banjo wheel designs.

If you're looking to convert your current VW column to use a VDM banjo wheel, you'll need the outer column tube, steering column & the turn signal switch from a 1953-59 VW beetle. It's a very basic, straight foward switch.

Glenn,

Thanks for the real scoop! Where did you get the horn ring(?) for your banjo wheel? Did they come stock that way, or is that an accessory? It really make the wheel look like a luxury item, adds a perfect extra touch.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR RESPONSES!
I JUST BOUGHT A 58 WHEEL WITH COLUMN AND BLINKER ON EBAY(not cheap but very restorable) Judson

Team Evil--The full horn ring (also available as a half ring) was a customer accessory. It allows the steering wheel to be multi functional. Pressing the outer horn ring will activate the horn, whereas the center button will now pulse the hi-beams on/off. Very useful when passing slower traffic.

THIS SOUNDS GREAT!
No pun....please give more details..