My modified ‘54 3100 was a mess when I acquired it 3 1/2 years ago. Front stub and drive train are’68 Camaro. 2 years of frame off work erased most of the abominations, I’ve been working on the details for the last 1 1/2 years while racking up good driving miles.
Today was wretched wheel day. The “custom” (read “barn buggered”) steering wheel was the original Camaro wheel shrunk down to 13”. The work quality on that part was typical of the rest of the truck. Is was cut , pasted , booger welded. Not particularly round or flat. Replacement will be a basic black 13” Grant. I like the small wheel, easy turning with power steering. Looks sporty, makes a small cabin seem a bit more roomy.
Enjoy the pictures of automotive modification at it’s best. I’ll post a picture of the upgrade in a day or two.
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Wow, now that's a hack job!! Hey, I think its great that you share your discoveries with us. Anyone who has spent years on a restoration can attest to needing a good laugh once in awhile. Looking forward to seeing the replacement.
Ron - - Dusty53 1954 Chevy 3604 In the Gallery Forum "You can't dance with the Devil and then wonder why you're still in Hell." "They will forget what you've said, and they will forget what you have done but they will never forget the way you made them feel."
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Having owned sailboats all my adult life , the tiller idea is appealing. 2 years ago I sold my last boat, a 60 year old restored (by me) 34 footer; it had a curved laminated wooden tiller of robust proportions and I miss it dearly.
After my experience of today any alternative looks good - in the course of installing my new wheel I found that JEGS supplied me with the wrong mounting kit! After being on hold for over an hour I finally got a tech on the phone who identified the proper hardware kit and agreed to an exchange–- but said that the item is back ordered and it will be LATE APRIL before I can get it! Crappity- crap crap crap - I planned to be out of the shed and driving by then! I’ll probably have to suffer the humiliation of temporarily re-mountain the frankenwheel before then so I can push the truck around to allow for moving boats.
Yeah, don't deep six that barn boogered wheel! IUt has the makings of an excellent award to hand out at the next Great Lakes Bolter event -- Kinda like the ODSS Award we hand out every year. Each awardee has to add something to the award before handing it off to the next year's recipient.
~ John
A kid raised on Hotwheels, Matchbox and Tonka cannot be reasonably expected to own only one vehicle as an adult.
1949 Chevrolet 3804 In the Legacy Gallery | In the Gallery Forum 1973 IH 1310 Dump 1963 Kaiser M38A1 2001 International/AmTran RE3000 "Skoolie" 2014 Ford E-350 4x4 (Quigley)
On this general subject, my new wheel, installation kit and horn button came from JEGS. I doubt I’ll be dealing with them again - hold time for customer service ranges from 40 minutes to 2+ hours… they sold and sent me the wrong installation kit and now I’m stuck eating return shipping plus a restock fee plus a fee for damaged original packaging ( I opened it and got part way into the installation before realizing I had the wrong parts) AND a back order delay till early May.
Ok ok , I don’t want to start an off topic discussion about that ; suffice to say that I will not be posting pictures of the new wheel in place for quite a while yet.
~ Peggy M 1949 Chevrolet 3804 "Charlie" - The Stovebolt Flagship In the Gallery "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." -- Winston Churchill
After waiting five - that’s 5 whole weeks - for the back ordered installation kit as a replacement for the incorrect product sent to me by JEGS , I received a shipping update yesterday. New date - July 22. Yes, July 22 , approximately 3 months from now. The date had been May 2. Bit of a setback. Unacceptable.
Canceled my early morning plans and camped on the JEGS phone queue at 07:55 , got in line early- before the 08:00 start time. I was already #24 in line. 45 minutes later I got a very helpful agent; after hearing my story she transferred me to a very helpful tech. After considerable discussion it was decided that I should send the entire steering wheel back and start over with a new order. Square one.
The upshot of a phone call spanning 1 hour and 17 minutes: I am now awaiting a new , slightly different wheel & installation kit, one they say is in stock.
I placed my order in early February, thinking I had plenty of time to accomplish the steering wheel upgrade prior to spring HotRod season. What was I thinking?
I have had similar issues with Jegs a few times in the last 5 years.
I won't even order from them anymore. The last straw was when I ordered an item they said was in stock and waited 2 weeks for it to ship. It was still listed as in stock, shipping today, but when I called they told me there would be a 13 *month* delay.
I cancelled the order, called Summit instead, and had it 2 days later.
I'm also a bit disappointed in these so called big parts companies lack of current stock. It says it is in 'stock' all the way thru purchasing, only to get an email the day of expected delivery stating "We are very sorry. This item is on back order. Expected delivery in 2 months." I ordered a 'aluminized universal exhaust kit' in mid December. Expected 1st of January. Then delayed into February. Then April. In March cancelled and still looking for a decently priced kit. I don't think it was put back in stock as even now. 2.25" isn't as common, like it's being phased out for 2.5 or 3".
Chip
'Rusto-Mod' '51 Chevy 3600 5 window | C4 Corvette front/rear suspension & drivetrain | everything else looks old and stock '92 GMC Sonoma GT #15 of 806 '91 GMC Sonoma GT Extended cab 1 of 1 Trucks, Trucks.....and more Trucks
After lengthy phone tag with JEGS (1 hr holds…) I sent back everything from my original order and started over. ( booger-welded old Camaro wheel pictured). Wheel installation went ok except for horn mechanism - function was not consistent ; I lost confidence in that part of the product. My solution was to abandon it and install a separate button. I had an opening in the dash that was well located for that function. While I was at it, I ditched the lame horn that had been a sore spot for 2 years. Much searching failed to yield a suitable vintage horn , so I decided to get it over with , bought a new 2 tone Farbin. A bit high pitched but well harmonized and loud. Also pictured is the St Jude magnet from my late mother’s car. I’ve been hanging onto it for over 20 years - now I finally have a metal dashboard !
