New C1 Style BILLET Steering wheel

[firstgear]

Got my new steering wheel installed along with the uncovered Wise Guy Seat. Before I embarked on this project I wanted to make sure that I could fit in the car, as I got it, there was not much room in it for me, so I had to see if I could make the room appear. Between the Wise Guy seat and the Budnik Split grip Billet Steering wheel (15.5" diameter versus stock 17")...no problem. I asw the Billet Wheel in a recent ad in Vette Magazine, so I thought I would give it a try....all I can saw is this wheel is a work of art! The polished billet wheel feels really great....the pictures don't do it justice. Along with the wheel comes the necessary 6 socket head cap screws that are tapered to fit just like the original fasteners did but they also included the nuts with the nylon on them for locking. Nice touch all the way around.

Here are some pictures of the wheel......looking at it is not the same as gripping it....very nice solid feel. Because the billet wheel is thicker than the stock wheel , the installation requires that you also put some washers under the horn button clips to make up for the difference in height. I found that a couple of small lock washers back to back did a nice job of "lifting" the clip high enough to engage the horn button so that it stayed attached.

I have the old wheel and the old seats and frames. The frames are in great shape and the wheel is like all the other wheels I have ever seen that came out of a C1 that was not restored. Not sure what to do with the wheel and seat frames....ideas are always appreciated...

[IH2LOSE]

I have the same wheel for m 62 I love it,I think John M was looking into the same one

[IH2LOSE]

if you get a chance can you take another photo of your seat frames from the front and top I have to midify mine and I seem to be playing phone tag from dick from wgs

[firstgear]

left another thread showing what I have....what views are you looking for? Wise guy seats or original seats? mounting brackets? let me know...can get tomorrow...

[IH2LOSE]

The frames are in great shape and the wheel is like all the other wheels I have ever seen that came out of a C1 that was not restored. Not sure what to do with the wheel and seat frames....ideas are always appreciated...

Me personally have a sickness with keeping stuff off of a car,I keep it fr ever untill its no good to any one I am a horder.

Funny thing happened with my 62 I was making a deal on my er a parts old rusty frame and some other take off parts with a corvette used parts dealer,to make a long story short we loaded everything on his trailer and he tried to change the deal on me .I was mad,no actually I was angry that the fellow thought I had stupid across my forehead and he was going to take advantage of me.needless to say he left with NONE of my parts.Anyways he had said as he was leaving more or less the parts would be in my garage forever unless we made a deal and I should settle down.(you see this fellow was in my garage and was wondering why I have so many ford parts still in the garage and I had to explain about my hourding problem) Back to the story so after he had said the parts would be in my garage forever I had to prove him wrong,so I took my frame and sseats and some other stuff to a swap meet.My seats which I thought was garbage sold for 800.00 for the pair.I sold a whole bunch of other parts on ebay I am no longer a parts hourder I will sell every thing I can with a value over 50 on ebay and anything else I will get into the hands of some one who needs it.

My vote is to sell it.

Just be carefull ebay is too much fun to sell parts on,its very very exciteing,the only bad part is having to package the parts so they arrive saftley

I have a freind who makes fun of me for peddling my parts at the swap meetand ebay offering to loan me some money,But I have to tell you I have a lot of fun selling parts on ebay

[cbernhardt]

firstgear:

I have a (somewhat large) friend who has a '60 that he can barely drive because of the closeness of the steering wheel and he is looking to do the same as you did. Do you have any before and after measurements of the steering wheel clearance? Also, do the Wise Guy seats allow you to sit any closer to the floor or any further back from the wheel? Would you mind telling your height and weight?

Thanks,
Charles

[firstgear]

firstgear:

I have a (somewhat large) friend who has a '60 that he can barely drive because of the closeness of the steering wheel and he is looking to do the same as you did. Do you have any before and after measurements of the steering wheel clearance? Also, do the Wise Guy seats allow you to sit any closer to the floor or any further back from the wheel? Would you mind telling your height and weight?

Thanks,
Charles

6'3".....280...thankfully I am tall and that helps to hide some of the weight....but not much I can do about the height.....in terms of height from the floor and back in the seat, I will post some pictures later that will have a side by side comparison of the installed drivers seat and the stock passenger seat.....yes there is a big difference, at least I can now get into the car....before I was a contortionist!

Not sure that I have any before and after measurements, I know that the clearance to the seat has opened up in terms of inches....where before the wheel and seat combination had the wheel in my lap!

[Z28Canuck]

Really glad to hear your ideas worked so well for you and it looks great. Enjoy your more comfortable cruises and it's just in time for spring, perfect!
Cheers

[Matt62]

How much for the old wheel , I could use 1 , my 62 has a small wheel on it and its a pain to turn. Matt

[firstgear]

How much for the old wheel , I could use 1 , my 62 has a small wheel on it and its a pain to turn. Matt

Make me an offer to htmiata99@aol.com

[firstgear]

Obviously the seat needs to be covered, but the clearnace with the old seat/steering wheel combo was REALLY TIGHT.....I could actually like driving it with this combo.......