I know, I know, this is a 70s T but the work on it is all old school. I thought a tech thread on making my steering column might be useful to some of you out there who may go this way in the future. I wanted to 'replace' the wheel and column on the T as the original one was not to my taste. Had to be vertical and with a T wheel... decided to build it myself as T wheels are expensive and not around in the size I wanted. This build includes the shifter linkage; detent and the reverse/drive lock out. Also wanted the turn signal lever to be near the wheel for ease of use. Going to start with the wheel. I looked at various flebay ones and they were all either too expensive or not right for the T. Also originals and replicas use a single key for the location and 'drive'. Fraid thats not for me. I like a bit more location. Had to decide what size wheel I wanted. Looked at the 10" ones common on 70s Fads but decided they are really too small for me. Had a 10" wheel in a Nova Kit car once and while it looked really cool it was not good for steering weight. I sort of wanted a 12 or 13" wheels but had no idea how it would look or feel in the T. To get an idea I cut a bit of garden hose and bent it into a circle then joined it with masking tape. Cut a disk out of thick card and propped it on a bit of broom handle. I think the next bit is probably the most important part of the whole project. Sat in the car, with different numbers of cushion under my butt and adjusted the length of the broom handle and diameter of the wheel till it was perfect for me. Also tried different numbers of cushion to raise and lower my body. Its surprising how much difference one cushion made to things. Knee clearance and a comfortable arm position was finally found. My buddy also tried it out and found that it worked for him as well. We are different builds so at least I know other people will fit. Also decided that a 13" (OD) wheel looked right (IMO) and would be comfortable. So I started as always with a sketch of the spider and then had it plasma cut (I know this is not old school, but to hand cut 8mm steel in this shape would have taken hours' (plus it came so rough that it needed a lot of work before I started on the spider itself) out of 8mm thick mild. Center dotted the ends where the screws will be placed to fix the rim. Also left the hole for the boss undersized so I could machine it later. Its easy to get a wheel like this out of true and then they always bug you when they turn and wobble. I took a bit of a gamble here and made the diameter of the spider to center of the end bosses 13" in the hope that the bending later would bring the ends in by enough to fit on the 13" rim. More to come if its OK?
If its alright with you guys I will do a Saturday update.... The other half goes to her old mum on Saturday and I sit with a bottle of Merlot and do my stuff, so if you can bear with me I will post updates every week. I don't want your bones to turn to dust...............
Now the hard work and time starts. As I mentioned before one of the best tools I have is a power file and I used that to rough out the profile of the spokes. A hand file was used to make them as even as possible and finished with the usual wet n dry. Worked from the ends to the boss on each spoke until the looked and felt the same. Onto to the boss and a way of getting splines in it. Did a search for spilned shafts and matching boss and come up with nothing. Then a friend who rebuild auto boxes suggest that an input shaft and converter center from one would be perfect. Took at look at the input shaft from a box, but how to get the matching 'boss' from the converter. A call to Vanmatics in Hayes and they said the input flange inside the converter was around 2" in diameter and would send me one for a look. Perfect. (sorry have nt got a picture). So I turned the flange down to 25 mm OD and then machined the spider to match. I left the boss with with a small flange which the spider would locate on to and also give a place for a small fillet weld. Pic shows it bent but I will cover this as well (the bending that is). I planned to use a thrust race under the boss and luckily auto boxes have loads of small ones with top and bottom running surfaces. With the shaping and center sorted out, now the bending. First thing to do was make up a template out of hardwood. This was 2" thick and shaped to the curves of the spokes using just a jigsaw to follow the pencil line of the bends. I did the first bend on one edge of the block and then a second one which was the full shape on the other edge. No pics but here’s a rough sketch. . I marked the wood and then put a screw in to it for the centre to locate against to do the first bend. The second bend is located by the first bend on the spoke, fitting against the wooden template. Seems a bit rough and ready, but it was amazingly accurate. Now its a case of heating with a Oxy Acetylene torch till its cherry red, and bending the spider over the fist template. Did this 4 times and then eyed it up to make sure they were even. Reheat and clamp the spoke into the second bend. This is good fun, as its a case of get it bent before the fire starts, although hardwood will take a lot of heat before it bruns. Have a wet rag available to cool things down if you need to reheat and re-bend. When thats was all done I put it onto a flat surface to see if the spokes were even and all rested on the bench without any rocking. Lot of this is done by eye. I had a biggish lathe available so I chucked it up and span it by hand to see if there was any wobble. Couple of adjustment (cold) and it was done. Now back to another rub with emery to clean it up. From there to the polishing mop and Its done. You can see where I ran a weld around the splined boss. This was just smoothed enough to take off any high spots for the nut.
I then looked at brass plating but cost were silly so after a browse and some research on brush plating I went for a brush plating kit. I coated the spider and initially it looked great. But as time has gone by,the finish has turned to a Bronze colour and due to some light cleaning, already worn through. I will have it powder coated the same as the fuel tank at some point in the future. Needed to find a nut for the wheel. Could nt find a brass one that was right (same old story) so I made one by turning up some brass and then milling the flats on. Put a 10mm thread in it ready to screw on the shaft. The rim. Someone asked about the rim but here’s my confession. I got some thick hardwood, cut it and glued it in a square that would include the rim size I wanted. Then screwed this to a thick bit of plywood so that the screws were no where near the finished rim. This was going in the lathe and then cut to a rim profile using a home made profile tool. (profile tool is made from a bit 0f 8mm thick steel with a half round ground in to the end.) But as my forte is metal, NOT wood so I searched for a wood turner and got a quote of £35 including the material. So I left it to an expert and it came out really well. Went for a thickish rim for comfort. They are joined with brass wood screws, simple as that. Also in shot are the holes and countersinks for the screws. I centred the spider to the rim with measurement (digital caliper) and then centre dotted one spoke and the rim right next to it. I gave the rim a light sand and brushed on some semi matt lacquer Next the column. Moving on to the column. I had a rack from a Formula Ford racing car which is based on a Herald one. Tried for ages to find the company that made them but apparently they had gone years ago. I needed a UJ with the herald splines and a column to suit. Eventually found a guy who had them so paid and up get the parts shipped. I did have a rack from a Rascal van. Its only about 8" long and very compact, but it needed reversing. problem was after reversing it the whole thing became a little notchy, so i binned it. Really should have found a LH drive one cause these racks are really small and neat. As mentioned the top half of the column uses an input shaft from an auto box coupled to the converter center used in the wheel, so now to join them together. Chucked up the input shaft and drilled the end. The outer skin of this is hardened so facing it off mean a tip tool designed for that kind of material (30 quid each and they chip if you look at them). Luckily the inside was softer so I just used a normal drill. Next I cut and turned down the Herald column to a diameter that is a PUSH fit into the top shaft. To make sure it would be strong it was cross drilled. pegged and countersunk at the ends of the pin ready for a couple of plug welds. So I have 3 methods of location at the joint. Push fit, pin and finally a weld around the joint. Of course I 'accurately' measured the length using a broom handle so I knew how long to make it. Next was the outer tube which I wanted in S Steel and the same size as the headers. I turned up a couple of bushes out of Teflon that would fit the tube. Teflon is funny stuff as it is temperature and humidity sensitive. Took a few goes to get the bore just right so it was not too tight or too loose. Ok with the column bits decided on I had to find a way to mount it to the chassis. Had a couple of plates cut for a base and column bottom plate. These are basically the same except the bottom plate for the chassis has a slot in it. The plate for the chassis was welded on (with the column in its bush and the correct position) to mate with the rack UJ. Once welded and a at a later stage it was webbed to the inner chassis rail surface to give extra support and strength. Worth mentioning that I could still trim the outer tube, if needed so that the inner column had the right length of splines in both the UJ and the wheel. I also left enough room to add a shim under the wheel if needed to remove any up and down slack.
Next I needed a couple of controls. One for the shifter and one for the indicators. Decided to put the shifter on the column to free up floor space, although I did consider for a long time putting this in between the seats and 'molding it into the interior leather. That is so no handle was in view. As I am used to the indicators on the right, thats where they went. The shifter was going to need to be fully forward when in Drive, so it is away from my knee. Just as a side note, I decided that with a small car like the T and a healthy does of BHP I really would never need to go to 2 or 1 on the box. This way all I had to do was configure the shifter to do P R N D. That cut down on the amount of movement needed, which was helpful due to the length of the handle to get it to the outside of the rim and easily in reach. Next step the controls. This is where a lot of time went. I looked at the original lever and quadrant set up but decided that the quadrant would take up a lot of room and was not really needed. Thought I would just go for two levers, in brass to look something like the original ones. Levers were turned from stock brass rod between centers and with a taper running most of the length. The 'balls' on the end were turned by hand; that is by moving the cross slide and compound slide together. I was shown this trick many years ago by an old guy. Takes a bit of practice but you can get very close to a ball this way. Finish it off with emery to get a final shape. Once they were done I then cold bent them to give enough knuckle clearance between them and the rim. The indicator lever is closer to the rim than the shifter. This is because i wanted to be able to reach it by dropping a finger down and not having to let go of the wheel to move it. Just like the modern cars. Heres pics of all the bits that make up the top of the column The alloy parts is a spacer between the top bush of the column and the wheel, to allow room for the levers. Also you can see the thrust bearing that goes between the alloy part and the underside of the wheel spider. Each lever had a hole put in the end. For the shifter I went for a square one to give a positive location. The other side (The indicators) is not so crucial as its only moving a rod that hits a micro switch. The rods that go down to the bottom of the column are just off the shelf 6mm stainless bar and are kept in place by going through the top and bottom Teflon bush. Just a drilled hole, on the big side, is all that was needed. The top bezel assembly had to be made in 2 parts. One that is screwed to the column (the larger bit) and one thats screwed to the first part as a top. Drilling the holes through the top part was a bit of a pain as there was not too much material and if the drill went off center it would have broken through the side. Both these parts were turned up by eye, with no drawing or plan, and kept as small as possible. Finished off with a knurl, just like the original. Then had to mill some slots in the freshly polished bezel (ughhh) for the levers to come through. Did this little by little to keep the slots as small as possible. I have though about a couple of gators for them but kinda like the open look. Not a lot of interest it seems for this thread, but Im going to finish it anyway.
Very cool, neat bit of machining. Not too many of us would go that route, looks almost steam punk! Thanks for posting
I have to say that I do not like Fad Ts at all and am happy that very few of them are being built now. They are a thing of the past for the most part and to me that's a good thing. That is IMO. With that being said, you are taking the style to a whole new level with the quality of your craftsmanship. Very nice work. Not many ( if any at all ) previously built Fad Ts back in the era they were created ever reached the level you are building to. Great fab skills.
I am making a column/steering shaft combo for my ride too. I like the way you did the signal lever. Will be borrowing some things from this thread. Thanx, Bruce
Hey, FadT; I'm watching also, & thanks for posting the how-to. May not be 'traditional', but info is really good. Hell'v a lot better than: "Here is this column I bought from XXX, & bolted it in". Those who don't like brass, SS, etc; could use mild steel, & maybe aluminum, & it'd look old - if they don't want to adapt (if they can be found) OEM teens-20's Ford/Dodge/etc, columns & steering wheels. It's the build how-to info that's important. I do like some fad Ts, but a whole lot of them are missing proper proportion(s). Marcus...
Been watching to see where this went. Great job like the ingenuity. Looking forward to seeing the finished car
Fantastic work, but (there's always a "but", isn't there?) I worry about the rim. Wooden steering wheels are generally finger jointed together so there is no weak, short grain. The wheel blank would be a hexagon or an octagon. Then the finished wheel would be cut from the blank. Hell. I would have made it for you for cost of materials because it would be a fun project
Very nice project. I recently made a simple column for a Model A, adapting reduced diameter Studebaker banjo wheel/shaft; much less complex, but still a job. ...you are doing Beautiful work!
And you are the kind of person that makes this Hobby worth every cold night, bruised knuckle and cursing move worthwhile.
The next bit is about the linkages and detent at the bottom of the column. Going to cover the indicator (turn signal) thingy today. So I've got the lever sorted out and a rod running to the bottom of the column. Decided I would solder the lever to the rod at the top. I have made some LED tail/stop/indicator light for the rear and also using a LED motorcycle unit inside the headlight. The company I bought the LEDs from also do a fully adjustable flasher unit, but as they need their own feed I has to buy 2. Never mind they are only a tenner each and I can tweak them to get the right flash rate. Made the wring a bit more complicated but hey ho. So to bring the flasher unit in all I needed was a feed and that means just a simple micro switch for each side. To activate the switch I would need a bar that moves with the lever. Now comes the bit that had me going for a while. I need a 'detent' or a rolling catch for the system that will keep the lever against the switch, but feels right when you use it. Started experimenting with sprung roller, ramps, return springs etc. It was all starting to get too complicated so I did my 'sit n think' thing. Dont know what brought it into my mind but a simple shaped piece of sprung steel that the actuator rod would run over seemed like a good idea. Started looking in my junk box for some spring steel (like from and an old fashion clock) and just by chance picked up a S Steel strip that’s used inside wiper blades. I always saved these strips as they are handy for all sorts of things. Whats more its a grade of SS thats springy, to keep the wiper blades against the screen. Also to keep the rods against the sprung strip I added a small spring between the lever and the bottom bush of the column. You can just see it in the pics inside the slot, if you look carefully and squint your eyes. Had a few try's at bending it to a shape that would work. I needed a hump that the lever went over and then held it against the switch, but would also return without having to tugg at it. After a few try’s got it right and to boot I could clamp it by bending the ends over the plate on the bottom of the column. I added a couple of roll pins to limit the movement of the actuator rod and stop it from bottoming out against the switch. Just drilled a couple of holes and bashed them in. Gave it a try and it feels just like a 'real' indicator stalk. Job done. So heres some pics. With that done all I need to finish it off is a couple of micro switched mounted where the floor drops down over the chassis rail. Sounds like a few hours work but it took a lot longer than that. Worth it though.
My next bit is about the shifter detent and levers. For the shifter I have a rod sticking out of the bottom of the column in the same was as the one for the indicators. Now you can see why I left a gap in one of the base plates. I also left the rod long so that I could find the best place to pick up the linkage and get the movement I needed. More on that later on. With the steering on the RH side and the trans selector lever on the left time to make some linkage. Started with a lever for the trans in S Steel. I had a couple of header flanges left over so decided to use parts of them. Right shape and with a curved cut out in them already it did nt take too long. Cut a slotted hole by drilling and filing. Then polished it. This will bring it back to a point at the trans mount where i can put a cross bar in. Over the years I have run in to many people who haven't bothered with a shifter detent and watched their rides truck off when its accidentally been knocked into D. Not me. Set about making a detent for the bottom of the column so it would never happen to me. Also needed an inhibitor switch. Had an idea of what’s was needed so I started with a base and pivot for a bar that would do the locking. Base is cut from a bit of alloy angle.
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