Best steering wheel for a '69 911?

[sidney67]

So I am finishing up the renovation of my "69 911e and am turning my attention to the steering wheel. The original is long gone and was replaced with this....Other than the turn signals and horn not working I quite like it; but functionality does matter so wondering what suggestions others might have.



Cheers,

Rob

[mepstein]

Early 914 wheel. 380mm. Bolts on without any mods and has the same hub as your stock 911 wheel. Just make sure the model number ends in a 10. They have a flat hub like the 911 hubs. The later ones end in “11” and are not a proper fit.

[HarryD]

Nice looking wheel.

Have you removed the wheel to:

1-Verify the turn signal cancellation part is present and mounted correctly?

2-See the horn ground wire inside the steering shaft and when grounded activates the horn relay?

These may be very simple fixes.

Also, does your steering wheel wobble up and down? If so, you may be missing the upper bushing.

Note the spring, bushing and cancelation ring on the steering wheel spline in this picture of my 1973 wheel which is the same as the one that would have come on your car.

[sidney67]

Thanks for the 914 suggestion, I will take a look at those.

As far as why mine does not work; I am to a degree relaying on my mechanic as I don't have a socket big enough to remove the center nut; but he did apparently look at it. Having said that obviously the horn isn't going to work as-is....I need to investigate further.



Rob

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by sidney67

Thanks for the 914 suggestion, I will take a look at those.

As far as why mine does not work; I am to a degree relaying on my mechanic as I don't have a socket big enough to remove the center nut; but he did apparently look at it. Having said that obviously the horn isn't going to work as-is....I need to investigate further.



Rob

Rob:

There should be a born wire coming out of the hole of the steering shaft. That is the wire to the horn relay and it would connect to the spade lug on the horn button.

You need a 27 mm socket to remove the nut. You can get one at any ordinary autoparts store for not much money.

When you go to remove the nut, DO NOT depend on the steering lock to hold the wheel (if you do it can break and it will be a VERY costly mistake).

You need to reattach the steering wheel to the hub, unlock the steering wheel with your key and hold the steering wheel while you loosen the nut. While the nut is still attached to the steering column, wiggle the hub off the spline. They tend to stick and if you do not have the nut on, you can hit your self or the windshield.

Once the steering wheel is loose, you can remove the nut and take off the hub.

This thread has a picture of what you should find once the hub is off: forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/956638-help-1972-911-steering-wheel-bearing.html

Tell us (photos are great) what you find.

[sidney67]

So I used the US equivalent of a 27mm and it worked; the nut was not very tight and came off easily; as did the hub without any effort.

So I think mine looks a little different than it should, no wire coming from the hub and the spline has only the spring on it.

I suspect some of this is related to this being an after market wheel (Luisi) but obviously the missing horn wire needs is a separate issue.

Rob

[HarryD]

Good progress!

Looks like you need the center bushing (https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/PELMLSTRE.htm?pn=PEL-ML-STR-E&bt=Y&fs=0&SVSVSI=911E ).

The pin at 9 o'clock may be your turn cancellation thingy. The Porsche part is: https://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/pel_search_2016.cgi?command=DWsearch&LastVisited_input=911E&make=POR&description=90161332505 .

You will also need a horn contact button (https://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/PEL_search_2016.cgi?command=DWsearch&description=91434783100 ). It would go in the hole at 5 o'clock.

Lastly, I mislead you, you will need a ground wire that connects the body of the car (inside the hub to the spade on your horn button. Post number 3 in this thread has some nice pictures to see how it is done (https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/138526-idiots-guide-momo-prototipo-install-carrera.html).

This thread may be helpful too: https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/995165-weird-horn-wiring-issue-wire-keeps-breaking-blinker-cancel-tab.html .

[HarryD]

Also, I see you are in Gig Harbor. There is a large population of Pelicans near you. Post your problem in the regional section here and see if someone can get eyes on your problem and help you out.

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/pacific-northwest-us-wa-id-ut-hi-ak/

[HarryD]

You can verify if the rest of your horn circuit is working by grounding the brown/white wire you can see in post 6 to the body. It should cause the horn relay to close and energize the horns.

[sidney67]

Harry, just want to say thanks for all of the help and suggestions; I really appreciate it!

I have limited time to work on this over the week so so the next steps may take a while; but I have checked and found that I don't have a functioning horn; so I need to look into that separately.

Thanks again,

Rob

[sidney67]

Ok, sorted the horn problem so that makes everything easier to troubleshoot.

So I can see a couple of options for making the horn button spade contact the brown/white wire previously mentioned; I can use the hole at 5 o'clock to run a wire through; but if I do that where does the horn contact button go? I could put a horn button contact in (which would reduce the risk of the wire catching when the wheel is turned) do you have a recommendation?


Cheers,

Rob

[spyerx]

2nd the 914 style wheel. Mine is wrapped in thicker leather and has a 1.5” spacer on the back to get it closer to driver.

[sidney67]

Looks nice, thanks for the suggestion.

Rob

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by sidney67

Thanks for the 914 suggestion, I will take a look at those.

As far as why mine does not work; I am to a degree relaying on my mechanic as I don't have a socket big enough to remove the center nut; but he did apparently look at it. Having said that obviously the horn isn't going to work as-is....I need to investigate further.



Rob

Remount the hub without the wheel including tightening the nut. Do a continuity check between the hub and ground. If you have continuity, put a round spade lug between steering wheel and the mounting hole. The other end of the wire with a flat lug that matches the horn button lug. The brown/white wire is attached the to phenolic contact ring.

[sidney67]

Thanks Harry, just waiting for a few parts to come in should be there.

I figured out the turn signal cancellation issue; the pin isn't long enough so I added a 1/2" collar and it works great.


Thanks again,

Rob

[sidney67]

Harry, got back into town yesterday, installed my horn contact button and now have a fully functional steering wheel. Only slightly dodgy part is the connection of the wire from the horn button spade to the horn button contact, not much to grab onto there so I soldered it but not confident how long that will last; any suggestions?

Otherwise just wanted to again say thanks for all of your help.

Rob

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by sidney67

Harry, got back into town yesterday, installed my horn contact button and now have a fully functional steering wheel. Only slightly dodgy part is the connection of the wire from the horn button spade to the horn button contact, not much to grab onto there so I soldered it but not confident how long that will last; any suggestions?

Otherwise just wanted to again say thanks for all of your help.

Rob

Rob:

I would just leave it be and deal with it if/when it fails.

Glad I was able to help.

[fastricky]

Originally Posted by spyerx

2nd the 914 style wheel. Mine is wrapped in thicker leather and has a 1.5” spacer on the back to get it closer to driver.

I love this idea, will this work on a 73.5T? Any help locating this and it's associated parts for the fitment? Cheers - Rich

Edit, found it: https://*********************.com/VDM-Steering-Wheel-911RS-914-6-380mm-p27807.html

[thor66]

not a budget option but a nice one

[mepstein]

Not that expensive to fit a 914 wheel and it’s all Porsche factory parts. No aftermarket hub needed to make it work. It just bolts on.