Track Roadster little things

[Charlie Chops 1940]

After a season with the Firestone dirt track bias ply tires I decided to do a set of radials on Halibrand sprints. So, I reached into the collection and did a set with K/O assemblies.

The knock-offs look OK but I wanted a less generic look so I had some 18ga s/s discs with bolt circles burned out on a laser cutter so that I could cover the 2nd bolt circle on the wheels when not running the k/o's. I had to clean up all the cut edges on the s/s discs and the polish them. I like them better without the k/o's.

A couple years ago I started to build a banjo wheel for my '32 using the outer band of a Grant wood rim wheel, a junk splined center of a Chevy steering wheel from Enjenjo's scrap pile and s/s bars out of some scrap oven racks I had. I disassembled the Grant wheel and cut it's spokes out leaving the steel part of the rim sandwich. I designed the spread and location of the bars on a chunk of plywood and cut small notches in the I.D. of the steel rim and drilled holes in the Chevy wheel center (the part that's left when you strip all the molded plastic stuff off) and fastened the part onto the plywood. I whittled three frets out of aluminum and drilled holes for the spokes to slip through (and another set of holes on the back side of the fret to intersect the spokes and when it was assembled I JB welded the frets to the spokes through those holes). Once I got all the parts clamped down I welded the spokes to the rim and the center section, dressed the welds and reassembled the wood while making some repairs. It hung in the back room for a couple years. Last week I took another look and discovered the the center had a 3 bolt circle that matched a Grant and all the other generic 3 bolt steering wheels. So I drilled the three holes out to 1/4"in the center so I could attach the banjo wheel to the quick disconnect that was on the cut down sprint car wheel I had been using and used the Grant horn button. I painted the adaptor, the bango rim and the horn button orange, put it all together and urethaned the wood in place. I countersunk the wheel face for 10-32 flat head allen screws and turned some s/s nuts round and drilled a little counter bore on the back side of the wood grip and then screwed it all together. Now I can see all the gauges and it's a $20 custom made piece.

Sorry I didn't do progress pics but I think the description and the finish pics tell the tale well enough.

Charlie

[Fuzzy]

Wow,that looks great,Charlie.Excellent work on the steering wheel.

Fuzz

[purplepickup]

The wheels look unique and very right with those discs.  And the steering wheel looks great.  More very nice examples of your creative mind and craftsmanship.

[WZ JUNK]

Looks very nice Charlie.  You are very handy.  When you get caught up, come and help me some.

John

[C9]

Just for the heck of it, a couple pics of a GM steering hub after you strip all the plastic off, remove the spokes and clean the factory welds up.
The holes you see are all factory.






Plenty of room left to drill three 1/4" holes for aftermarket wheels.


If you machined a metal ring that shrunk-fit - or welded or JB'd - to the outside of the factory hub and finished it off with chrome or paint it would look simple and very clean.

Alumnum would work here as well although JB would be the way I'd combine the two,


Well done Charlie, I especially like the stainless discs on the wheels.

[Flipper]

Looks good.

[EMSjunkie]

Looks great Charlie  

I like the way the wheels look, unique.

[Charlie Chops 1940]

In the early days of the track roadster build I used a working name of the "Flyer" after the mythical Flyer in the movie Radio Flyer. Eventually though it got named after the long defunct local race track - Whiskey Ridge.

For a while now I wanted to put something on the car to remind me of the  Flyer. Just a cheap glider pilot wings off eBay.

Charlie

[Crosley.In.AZ]

looks good...   really like the steering wheel