Thread: Mounting a 38 banjo on a 92 suburban ??

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Here is my newest problem, although I still haven't exactly figured out my last few problems. I have a gorgeous original banjo steering wheel from a 1938 Buick. I had sincerely hoped that despite more than 50 years of time passing that the splines would be the same on the 38 steering wheel and the 92 Suburban steering column I now have mounted in my wife's 37 LaSalle.

Is there any kind of an adaptor to make this installation possible? The steering wheel hub actually comes apart into a lower half, a top half, and the wheel and banjo "strings". I have contemplated having a new lower section fabricated with the right splines, but this option doesn't likely jive with my cheap tendencies.

Any ideas?

Thanks

I'm going to be facing a similar situation because I have a nice mid-'40's Chevy wheel that I want to use on a '56 Ford truck column for my Dodge pickup. I think I am going to have to go junkyard hunting to try to find a shaft in something that matches the wheel, then cut off the existing Ford splines and weld a piece of new shaft to it.

You somehow need to get the two to mate, both in correct diameter and spine count. You can do it the way I just mentioned...........find some shaft that goes into your wheel and weld it to your later column, or, have a new hub made to match the column.

Start by looking at the spines in the steering wheel that came off of the suburban and see how it differs from the banjo hub. Then determine what needs done to make the banjo exactly the same as the suburban. Perhaps you can cut up the suburban wheel to render you just the portion where the spines are and have this welded onto the banjo hub, or modified to actually become the banjo hub.

You will want to make sure the wheel registers correctly onto the steering shaft, not only in diameter and spine count, but in taper also.

Don

It appears as if I may have only scratched the surface of this problem.

Who would I turn to if I determined the need to have an adaptor fabricated?

I guess a machine shop could fab up something, but I don't know what the exact process is to cut the correct tapered splines into a hub. My experience with machine shops has not been good locally. I have paid ridiculous sums for seemingly simple tasks........almost like they don't want to bother.

I would start by eyeballing the two wheels and see what makes them different dimensionally. Then maybe take those two parts to a machine shop and asking what needs done to make them mesh.

Don

old post. did you find a solution?

not sure without a picture what you need but have an idea maybe to solve it

I will post some pictures. I am always up for some new ideas.

I there anyway you can adapt a adapter from a Grant kit...I put a 54 chevy wheel on a 94 caprice column....