New Steering Wheel

Sometimes I seriously wonder how stupid people are. The previous owner of my 1952 3100 pickup had installed a cheap, billet wheel that was only held on by five tiny horn cap screws....yeah, that's what was holding the steering wheel on to the truck! 

It also did not fit the column, and there was this hideous gap from the side. I looked at a few replacements at the swap meet, but they were expensive, and not very stylish. The stock steering wheel for these trucks was as bland as they could make it.

So, I went on to eBay and picked up a used 1955 Chevy Bel Air steering wheel. It is not perfect, but the design does fit the truck pretty well. It was so easy to install, and the ugly gap from the side view is completely gone. The wheel is also held on by the large steering nut attached to the steering shaft... like it was designed to.

In the future, I plan on restoring the wheel with new paint, a new chrome horn ring, and either filling the two small holes for the horn cap emblem or buying a new emblem.

Now thanks to the larger 18" diameter wheel, it feels like the truck has power steering... and I'm not worried that the steering wheel will come off in my hands while I'm driving it.