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Great to hear. I know the feeling. I was the final after a string of ‘quiters’. Had to sneak a couple short test drives while waiting 5 months for title. Did you have a title to start ? Vicki got titled as a ’52 MG TD with no emission necessary either. It’s a Chevette power plant. It would be great to see some photos of your work on the roads ,especially in fall.
Steve
If you get the urge to go Banjo let me know. I can give you lots of tips on adapting something (with a little work though). Mine is Chevy stock however. I am not that versed on VW components.If, by any chance, you should decide to ever sell your creation you may need a title. I bought the pieces to mine from a fellow in Illinois who gave up after starting 20 % of the job. I know now never proceed without the proper docs. I think it could be bought from someone out of state like I did, (unless you plan on keeping it to the end). Good luck and enjoy the build.
Took the time while waiting for a title to build a banjo steering wheel so I could see the gauges. Found a 16 inch banjo on e-bay for 50$. Found out it came of a Harvester tractor circa 1960. A little grinding and filling and viola’..I can read the dash, not that it will keep me from speeding.
It finally happened..Got amnesty for Vicki. She is now a legal resident. Title came after 5 months . Had to put a lien sale on it to obtain REAL ownership. Nevada DMV gave me registration and full citizenship. Course I had to pay the fine (60$ fee) and she has to learn to drive American. She will not need to have her tailpipe probed (smoged) due to her titled age. I think she will assimilate quickly, though she may prefer to hang out with others from her own country. Victory is ours !
That’s a beautiful look John. Is it a 15 inch wheel ? Fortunately you have a VW based TDr . Mine is a GM steering column. I take it adapting it was straight forward?
There seems to be plenty of room above my knees for a 15-16 inch wheel but the dish factor is an important consideration. Don’t want to have the wheel in my chest. I went through an adjustment to the steering shaft length when I first built this. Would really like to take that Chevette cover and turn signal assembly and turn it into a more compact package while still maintaining it on the column. It’s just habit now to reach over with the left hand and flip the signal. Isn’t using a remotely located switch a bit awkward ? I guess that’s a topic for another post though.
Thanks,Your right, that is pricy . Will have to get the wife to put in some overtime. It shows a 15.5 diameter but that should work. Thanks again. Will post progress.
It’s a good thought, to just raise the steering column. I my case that’s a difficult chore. The cowl about the steering shaft is butted up against the dash where I already cut some out. That was a job getting it cut clean. They call me a wood butcher. Would rather have a go building an adapter for a better looking wheel.I wonder if they make translucent steering wheels ? But thanks for the idea.
If there is a Bluemels replacement wheel, do you have any reference for the model or number ? I would like to check it out for looks. You say it bolted up like your Grant. I have a Grant now and it is too small in diameter . The banjo picture shown in the first post is just what I was able to find online. It fits 68 MGBs and would be tough to adapt. It’s what I like but it is not for sale. Some are on ebay for about 1-200$ Thanks
The slim look of the steering shaft is definitely better. Just one question, where did you put the t/signal switch ?
I also have a Chevette based kit. The Grant 14 inch wheel pictured is the same one I use. It’s screw holes line up pretty well with the hub from the Chevette. No adapter necessary. Can’t remember if I ordered it to fit or it is universal. However, I am looking for a 15 inch maybe a little more like the banjo types I have seen on originals. The 14 inch tends to block your line of sight to the tach and speedo. I can only imagine the fun of getting an original MG steering wheel to adapt to a Chevette hub. Has anyone attempted this ?
I put ground straps everywhere. Can you have too many when there is rust at work under every car ?
It is a little time consuming removing the chrome surround ring. The good part is when remounted the wrinkled backside of the ring is not noticeable. Take you time to gently curl backside of the ring and it will curl back more smoothly. I never thought the tach or speedo were supposed to be right or left mounted. Any other reasons for this ? Maybe this could be the next hashed out discussion .
Changed the faceplate on the speedometer with a photo – shopped one.Although the odo reads in kph the gauge is reading mph.
Had the same issues with my speedo. The outer (large numerals ) are in kph. Inner small ones were mph. After much thinking came up with a novel approach to solving this. As the saying goes, don’t raise the bridge, lower the river. To get the speedo to display mph without going through thee trouble of rebuilding the speedo head, I simply carefully removed the face plate from the gauge. It being flat, I placed it on my copyer/scanner and made an image of it to my pc. From there I photoshopped it and used the photopaper copy faceplate with the new large mph numbers pasted it over the kph faceplate. You can not tell the difference, and no need to recalibrate. Will post picture.
I still like the added support, and besides, it does make a good place to attach turn signal lamp wires so they are not flopping around under the fender.]
I am glad this topic came up. The PO who had mine trimmed the hood and side panels wrong and uneven. It took three months of head scratching and trial fitting to get both left and right sides even and level. Almost my break point. The fender heights are within 1/2 inch of each other. The hood took at least 5 or 6 trimmings to match up to the grill and cowl sides evenly. I started with a 47 inch hood and ended up with a 45 inch hood, which meant trimming the side panels to match. Cut-test fit -cut again- etc.
Braces sounded like a good idea to me in case some @3$!!* leans on the fender. It was easy to bend a tubular piece of steel and mount one end under the outer lower head light support were it attaches to the fender. The other end reaches down to the frame right about where the top of the front shock mounts . I got the idea from pictures of original TDs having such a brace.
Just put my park lights on a few weeks ago. Just the same. I found it best to slide the striped wire end between the two ‘duck bills’ and crimp. The serrations you see on the inside of the flange holds the bare wire and for good measure add a touch of solder.
Thanks for the ideas. I will try all the avenues. Some one suggested having a mechanics lien put on it as though it were left at the shop with a big rebuild bill. That way ,regardless of past ownership issues, the state grants a lien title to the shop to cover expenses. With no one to object to the bill the state would issue a new title and avoid the hassles of confirming ownership. Worth a try. But like you say , DMV can arbitrarily follow a different set of rules as it sees fit. Maybe shop DMVs on different days. It’s like doing your income taxes, Ask five tax experts and get six different answers to the same request.
