Correct steering wheels by year

[EBSTANG]

I have come across a steering wheel that is the same as the deluxe 2 spoke but without the wood grain insert. What year is this one from? It was offered to me(in blue) as a temporary fix to get my car roadworthy(had a horn pad & the horn was working) However, the horn pads were slightly different in size due to not having the wood grain insert. The one without wood grain is slightly bigger and has squarer corners

Without seeing your wheel, my guess - it would be off a Torino, possibly Galaxie 500 or LTD????

This is why I mentioned not going too deep in the other steering wheel offerings...

Personally unless you are going for concourse or ultra original I would be happy to run the wheel you mentioned. Some are very similar and it can get very confusing! The info I posted just hits the 'tip of the iceberg'. If you are willing to dig they can get very different for looking so very similar!!!!!!

Ray

What is amazing to me is the cost of restoring, or building from scratch, a deluxe 3 spoke with rim blow. I have a deluxe 3 spoke from a 71 Cougar on the shelf. Perhaps I should list it on eBay to get it off of my shelf.

I have a BLACK, Mustang "deluxe 3-spoke" center pad in real good condition...PM me if you or anyone else is interested in buying it.

 

[imusa76]

Ray,

Thanks for the great info as usual!!.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Great pics of a standard 71 NOS steering wheel for sale on ebay by Bob Perkins.

Don't have the ebay link (used a ebay hosting site from from UK to grab pics)

http://picclick.co.uk/

Maybe someone can hook me up and post US eBay link?













Ray

 

[secluff]

Like TommyK said, I really appreciate Ray "Steering" :whistling: us in the right direction on steering wheels. As Ray said you could lose your mind if you tried to figure out what was used on all the car lines. The standard 2 spoke wheel that was used only one year in the 71 Mustang was actually a Pinto sourced part. It was also used in base Mavericks. Since base Pinto's and Maverick's were considered throw away cars when they were used up, a lot of those wheels were tossed since nobody wanted them. Since the sister Mercury cars were considered more upscale, they received different versions of the deluxe 2 spoke. So no chance to snag a standard 2 spoke from a Cougar or Comet. The Mercury version of the Pinto (Bobcat) didn't appear until 1974 and also used the deluxe 2 spoke. And not to hurt anyone's feelings, but the optional leather wrapped 2 spoke deluxe wheel in the 73 Mustang was another Pinto sourced part! Like Ray said there were 3 wheels offered for the 73 Mustang. Cougar got 4. The 73 Gran Torino had two, the Montego had six! There were 2 and 3 spoke rim blow wheels in the T-Bird's and Lincoln's, with and without cruise control, and the list of possibilities and combinations goes on and on!! Sorting out the wheels used on the Mustang alone was quite a task and I appreciate Ray undertaking it and having the illustrations to go along. ::thumb::

 

[Pastel Blue]

Great pics of a standard 71 NOS steering wheel for sale on ebay by Bob Perkins.

Don't have the ebay link (used a ebay hosting site from from UK to grab pics)

http://picclick.co.uk/

Maybe someone can hook me up and post US eBay link?

Ray

>>>>

 

[1mach1]

^^^ Amen to that, PB. I was lucky to have a nice standard wheel from a junkyard back in the day. Who would have thought that a crappy steering wheel would be so coveted? [emoji14]

Ray, thanks for the continued posting and research, buddy.

 

[secluff]

Ray I'm sure you would be shocked speechless to know that the E-Bay listed steering wheel ($1650.00) and the horn button ($175.00) are from the same place the $8,500.00 Boss 351 carburetor calls home! In the mid 80's when there was still availability from Ford, you probably could of bought both of these for $100.-$125. Really makes it tough on folks like Pastel Blue who are trying to concourse restore a vehicle and are held hostage on these type of parts!

 

[Mister 4x4]

Yeah - I believe we all pretty much feel the same way about that guy.

Whatever.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Ray I'm sure you would be shocked speechless to know that the E-Bay listed steering wheel ($1650.00) and the horn button ($175.00) are from the same place the $8,500.00 Boss 351 carburetor calls home! In the mid 80's when there was still availability from Ford, you probably could of bought both of these for $100.-$125. Really makes it tough on folks like Pastel Blue who are trying to concourse restore a vehicle and are held hostage on these type of parts!

Thanks everyone. I love the research and discovery!

I agree. As you know - what this all boils down to is simple economics. If premium restorers like Pastel Blue (total respect) were willing and able to wait and search for many years accumulating the required parts to do this high-level build at very reasonable prices, they too could relish in the savings realized at time of use. BUT - most willing to invest at that level of their money and TIME are driven to complete their project. To work so hard to make something happen (again referencing a high-level accomplishment) people must see results just to stay focused. If not they find other life experiences tend to over-rule their efforts. This is why we see SO MANY projects with a garage full of NOS, new repro or salvaged parts. Sometimes the parts are worth more than the car being advertised!

Sorry for the rant but I see this a LOT. Now if I can just learn something from my very own advice/observations!!!! :whistling:

Ray

 

[Pastel Blue]

Peace out...

 

[secluff]

Pastel Blue, as with others on this site, I have nothing but respect for you and your restoration project. It just about mirrors a project a very good friend of mine undertook on his GT 500 Shelby. He was instrumental in getting me involved in the MCA in 1976, ran a Mustang/Ford restoration shop, and was a very good parts customer of mine (resulting in some fantastic commission checks)! He needed a very rare, all wood, made for Shelby steering wheel (made in Italy). After months of searching he found one and ended up paying $2,500.00. He too was focused on what he wanted this car to be and the level of restoration it deserved. Yes, he heard some "Comments" about what he was spending on certain unique Shelby parts (the steering wheel, two 4bl carburetors for a 428, etc). But at the end of the day, it was still his car, his money, and his vision on what he wanted HIS car to be. And while he really hated spending what he had to on certain parts, he really enjoyed working on his personal car and visioning what it would look like when completed.

Understand how time consuming actually working on your car and trying to keep up with online activities can be. Hopefully a weekly update would be possible, as there are many of us that have followed your build from the start.

And Ray, so as not to be a total highjack of your thread, you'll notice there was a mention of a steering wheel in my post!! :whistling:

This is a illustration of the wheel (presently on E-Bay for $3495.00) that was purchased for the GT500.

 

[Boss1Ray]

I've been seeing quite a few new pics with non-original steering wheels. And unfortunately many are thinking the wheels are correct. For those that care, the following thread addresses the different steering wheels offered on the 71-73 Mustangs.

Ray

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Ray,

It is amazing how some aftermarket items get moved into the Stock status.

I just spent  my first day tearing down a 72 vert to part out. Should have the whole car apart in a couple more days.

I will have a couple of steering wheels I will offer up to the forum and then put on ebay. I have a three spoke for Mustang and 3 spoke for Cougar.

It is like therapy to tear a car apart. Great 70's rock playing and the smell of WD-40 and the air ratchet going.

It is like an archeology dig you see where repairs were made parts replaced and how the car progressed through it's life. This particular car was a one owner beautiful Gold Glow vert that got hit in rear and then front end crushed. It had a NOS rubber front bumper on it with the stickers from Ford still on it. I hope to save that.

maybe we should go to the sales brochures and scan the interior shots to ad to your thread for the steering wheels.

BTW this car spent it's entire life in Grand Rapids Michigan and there is not a spot of rust in the floors. The trunk drop offs were solid but now crushed. I will save the floor section for future build. It was a Ziebart car and is more rust free than my California car is. The rain gutter for the conv. top has NO rust at all amazing.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Ray,

It is amazing how some aftermarket items get moved into the Stock status.

I just spent  my first day tearing down a 72 vert to part out. Should have the whole car apart in a couple more days.

I will have a couple of steering wheels I will offer up to the forum and then put on ebay. I have a three spoke for Mustang and 3 spoke for Cougar.

It is like therapy to tear a car apart. Great 70's rock playing and the smell of WD-40 and the air ratchet going.

It is like an archeology dig you see where repairs were made parts replaced and how the car progressed through it's life. This particular car was a one owner beautiful Gold Glow vert that got hit in rear and then front end crushed. It had a NOS rubber front bumper on it with the stickers from Ford still on it. I hope to save that.

maybe we should go to the sales brochures and scan the interior shots to ad to your thread for the steering wheels.

BTW this car spent it's entire life in Grand Rapids Michigan and there is not a spot of rust in the floors. The trunk drop offs were solid but now crushed. I will save the floor section for future build. It was a Ziebart car and is more rust free than my California car is. The rain gutter for the conv. top has NO rust at all amazing.

Interesting thought to scan the brochures. But I think the pics we have in this thread help everyone who wants to know. Yeah - I have a 64 Comet and a 73 Mach 1 that need to be torn down for parts among others...

 

[BigBlue]

Back in the early 2000s when I first bought my coupe, I dumped the original standard wheel (in good shape, mind you) to put one of those stupid Grant wheels. Oh what a dumb kid I was. I regret that every time I see a picture of a standard wheel  :classic_sad:  which IMO are so simple they're pretty.