Help me track down this steering wheel and/or column

I have to admit I do like the look of that wheel/column, along with the VS shifter. Glancing through all your posts to date (click on a member's name and then "Display all Posts" on the page to the right) I'm not sure- do you have a Speedster already, are you in the market for 1 or are you (thinking of) having a car built?  Greg at Vintage Motorcars would probably be the place to start your enquiries.  @Michael McKelvey (a member here, hopefully he will chime in since I've mentioned his name) would be someone to talk to as well, as he has a similar looking column (in black, but it looks the same).  Hope this helps.  Al

PS- if no one else has- Welcome To The Madness we call Speedster ownership!

Hey Al, I have a car on order, but I'm always looking for new designs and options for later projects.  Also, the folks at @Vintage Motorcars Inc are crazy busy, so I thought I'd try here first.

Looks like this one -

VDM Steering Wheel Replica | SpeedsterOwners.com - 356 Speedsters, 550 Spyders, Replicas and more

I used an early Beetle steering column.  I wanted to be able to control the high beams so I used a '67 bus turn signal switch.  I used the bus switch housing on the left side. Because the bus steering column tube is a smaller diameter, I use a drum sander to enlarge to opening for the Beetle tube. On the right side of the tube, I used a Beetle housing.  On the left side of the tube is a Beetle piece that conceals the wires.

I used a Grant steering wheel adapter with the black piece reoriented.  It has some added spacers inside.  These parts are available from CIP1.

Here you go,

https://www.facebook.com/3spokesteeringwheelbyme/

   https://www.mswsteeringwheel.com  

Since 2015 I have had two… last one in 2018-2019… both sold to Porsche club guys who did not want to wait and were willing to pay a premium for what they knew to be a reproduction… ( a vey solid and well made reproduction).    They just didn’t  want to be bothered dealing with an non-US retailer and also paid for the shop time to pull it out of my car, including steering shaft/column, and reinstall my 60-74 column. .. ;-).

they make models to fit the early VW steering shaft ( which VMC uses in many of their builds, AND for the ‘60-‘74 shaft if you don’t want to update your already existing car.  They also sell the full kit including shaft/column and all related tied bits… which I purchased & sold to the Porsche guys.

The owner is awesome to deal with ( my experience is pre-COVID).  Great communication, speaks decent English.

the horn ring is something I liked… but you can select not to buy it.  it allowed me to wire my high beams to the ring… which I liked.  It can operate separately to the horn mutton if wired appropriately.

happy shopping!

@Lfepardo  I wonder if this guy would make it to fit a Nardi 6 hole hub and in 420mm.

The ability to flash to pass with the horn ring to me is an awesome feature that I would love to have.

Any ideas.  Thanks in Advance.

Hi Ray,  you may want to send him an email.   It seems that during COVID he has expanded his catalog quite a bit.

a 420mm wheel may be a hard ask… but worth asking,  he seemed to really focus on the 400mm size after crashing and burning trying to sell the 420mm in the 2015-2017m  time frame.  ( and the Porsche club guys that purchased mine like the fact these replicas were 400mm… smaller than the original ones on their cars. May have been a leg room/comfort driving issue,).

  I was just cruising the his site and he now makes  several models, including the P replica, to fit a 6 bolt hub ( he also sells).   He does not specify momo or nardi… but I imagine he makes his to bled nicely with the diameter of the wheel.  He also makes them to fit the banjo three bolt hub, which he also sells.

ref pictures I just got from his Facebook/ website.  

I'm intrigued now… I may send him a note.

if I can purchase a wheel/hub only  to fit a 60-74 shaft/ splines, and not have to go through a third swap-out of the steering column/shaft… I may buy #3.    I really liked the feel.

- I don’t know why I like wheels so much… probably because as the driver it’s the prime sensory point of contact with the car, other than the shifter, pedals, and seat!

Cheers,

luis

Well, Chung responded quickly… see below.  Total ~1,246 USD today’s exchange rate.  Cheaper than also buying the early shaft / steering tube and bits purchased before…. But with the early chart it looks so good!

——- his email response———

Hi

@Lfepardo I’ll definitely be in touch once I get a few things sorted. Thanks for sharing the info.

Love the bat wing steering wheel. I was told by VMC they can't install this, not sure why though....

I can vouch for Chung at MSW. He was great to deal with and the steering wheel arrived well packaged in short time. I have a pre-1971 VW steering column (40 splines at 21.5mm diameter) and his adaptor (as shown in the photo Lfepardo supplied) fitted perfectly.  Nice and tight, unlike the Flat-4 one it replaced.  The steering wheel is stiff too, with very little/no flex.  

Choose your horn button wisely though, as the 'Porsche' one he supplied is understandably not very Porsche like. I ended up taking out a mortgage and buying a 'genuine' copy from SMC!

When I bought my MSW (a 420 mm) around 2018 I swapped the steering column for an earlier '57 model and still had to modify the splines. I would say if an adapter is not available it's better to get the whole steering column from him. At the time I bought mine there were no adapters available. I bought the horn button from Sierra Madre Collection. In retrospect the 400 mm would've made the car more easy to get in and out of; the 420 mm is a tighter fit for the driver.

@DW Thanks for the pictures; your setup looks great. Does the adapter significantly increase the distance between the steering wheel and the turn signal arm?

I don’t think it made much difference. I don’t have a measurement for the Flat-4 hub and banjo as I’ve since sold it, but the MSW measures about 90mm from the centre of the steering wheel to the back face of the adaptor-

I really like these 'speedster' steering wheels. Banjos are nice, but I've never seen a Speedster with one in my reference books.  Wood wheels are nice too; but my preferene is 'as original'. 

MSW seems to offer a package:

I bought mine from him around 2018. Very good guy to work with. He has a wealth of info; message him and send him photos of what you have; he'll steer you right (no pun intended ;-P).

@swan4356
A picture of your hub would help, as VM uses several columns.

for you to know what steering shaft is on the car, the best approach is to take the steering wheel off and take a peek at the splines:

-  The 60-74 is the most common... but there are three possible shaft which could have been used. pre 60, yr-74 1/2, and post 74 1/2:

== 25mm diameter course spline on 1949 to 59 cars. (24 splines)- these fit original 356 hubs and steering wheels. Chung also sells the hub and wheels for these shafts which don’t require a hub adaptor).

== 21mm diameter fine spline on 1960 to 74 1/2 cars with 27mm nut. ( 40 splines) - will fit the adaptor referenced above in my post,  sold by Chung)

== 18mm diameter fine spline on 1974 1/2 on cars with 24mm nut.  (40 splines small)

Pictured below:

- Right is a ‘60-74 1/2

- left is  post 1974 1/2.

You may be able to call VM to check if they have a record of what shafts was specifically installed in your car, but taking the wheel of is relatively simple and something I would suggest you confirm before placing a big $$ order from an international retailer.  

sample picture of assembly:

- remove horn button

- remove steering wheel, Unplug horn cable

- undo big nut ( could be a 24, 25, or 27mm).. you will need a long socket.

- hold firmly and pull out the hub/ adapter… you can then see the splines/ head of the steering shaft,

I tried to get Chung to make one to fit an ididit column but no way jose san

I'd like to take a minute to thank @Lfepardo for his many contributions to this site. He's a savant when it comes to anything related to steering wheels, badges, etc. He's forgotten more than I'll ever know about this specialty stuff, and I'm super-grateful he keeps posting.

Thanks! You sir, are the man.

He will steer you right, and to the source.

@Stan Galat thank you sir.  It’s my pleasure to share what little I know.    In truth I have learned 50x more about these cars, and enjoyed the camaraderie,  from the gentlemen on this site… hard to believe I first joined in 2013.  How time flyes!!   Thank you for allowing me to keep lurking  and learning.  

finally got my car back on the road after a long winter… had a couple knee surgeries after a soccer accident… feels awesome to get it back in the road.  First time it  has spent so many months stored.

happy driving!!!

If your horn works without the ignition being on, you might pull the fuse for the horn or disconnect the battery. When you remove the  24, 25, or 27mm nut, you have to shove the horn wire into the long socket which will complete the horn circuit.

Just a tidbit of information I learned when I adjusted my wheel.

Thanks guys, I have some somework to do before making the buy...

@swan4356 I was reading Porsche: The Classic Era, and these pictures stood out. The first two show banjo steering wheels on the 1952 Porsche America (predecessor to the Speedster) and a banjo on a 1956 Porsche Spyder. Id at pages 86-7 and 107, respectively.

Ah yes, many photos of America Roadster & 550s with the banjo wheel, but I haven't seen a Speedster historical photo with one.

In the book, Speedster 50th anniversary, celebration of an icon (Dryer, Edwards, Heinrichs, Nelson, Thomas), there are several American Roadsters with a banjo wheel, and even Porsche 001 had one.  But no Speedsters including protoypes in the book are shown with a banjo.

I just haven't found a photo of a Speedster with banjo yet...

I think I had a ride in an America in 1960.  There were 3 of us in the car sitting side-by-side.

I don't remember the steering wheel.

@swan4356 Just saw this on this on a 55 Speedster.

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auct...eutter/175221/photos

Interesting... looks real nice.  Any skeptics out there?

@swan4356 posted:

Interesting... looks real nice.  Any skeptics out there?

Never say never but from what I’d read before, which matches all the earlier posts, that steering wheel in that particular car doesn’t seem to be factory original.

NLA Porsche Parts has 'correct' speedster wheel at $2125.  Horn button extra.

Cheers,

@swan4356 posted:

NLA Porsche Parts has 'correct' speedster wheel at $2125.  Horn button extra.

Cheers,

NLA = No Longer Affordable I guess.

I've decided to order from MSW.  VM confirmed steering shaft, postive reviews about MSW, budget approved. 

After a few emails back & forth with Mr Nial (MSW), the steering wheel I decided on sold.  He will make me one within the next week or so...

He’s pretty good; I had to wait for mine as well.

My wheel is ready to be shipped.  I decided plain horn button for now. May change to SMC 'authentic' one later as DW described earlier in this thread.   That's the final look I'm after.   

Very nice!

The new wheel has arrived -- at least it has passed customs and should be at my place Monday.

I wanted to get ahead start by removing the current wheel.

Battery disconnected, horn botton removed, steering wheel removed.  But the big nut (as described by Lfepardo) won't budge.  As I try to loosen it, the whole steering system moves as I'd expect.

I've applied opposite (clockwise) force but no success.

Suggestions appreciated,

Exciting times… send pics of the new wheel and hardware when you get it.  Would love to read your impressions.

on the  binding nut topic:  I’ve had great success using PB Blaster (penetrating oil) to break rusted bolts loose.  You can pick it up at Home Depot/ most hardware stores. Let it soak in for a couple hours/ over night and typically it does the trick.  Be generous, event treat a couple of times if needed before you try breaking the nut loose.  

I also have a cheap Harbour Freight 25” , 1/2” drive, breaker bar which helps me increase loads/ reduce effort on pesky binding parts around my car.  (~15$).

https://www.harborfreight.com/...eaker-bar-60819.html

PB works great,,think u need a ratchet gun(maybe rent/borrow one) that inital hit or two usually loosen most anything,,not sure if nut is CW or CCW