VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1931 Steering Wheel Spoke Position straight ahead

What is the correct spoke position when going straight ahead. With the rotation of the wheel centered the top spoke is in the 12 o'clock position. Is this correct or should it be in the 6 o'clock? I just got mine back together and now its in the 12 o'clock position and I can't find any information as which it should be. Chuick

Hello chuick,
I don't have any information to go by, but in my opinion, I would want the steering wheel spoke at the 6 o'clock position. I just think that the 12 o'clock spoke would get in the way while trying to steer.

The 1931 steeing wheel has a keyway. Unless it has a second keyway cut into the steering wheel hub , it has to go exactly where it is.( I can't get to mine to check at the moment.)

On my '32, the spokes are at 10, 2 and 6 o'clock. Trouble is that due to wear and tear over the years, spokes are more like 11, 3 and 7. The steering is otherwise tight. I've been tempted to try separating sector from pitman and moving it over one spline to see if I can get back in index. Will this work?

Proper alignment places a steering wheel spoke at 12 o'clock. The steering box has 3.5 turns lock to lock, so steering wheel turns 1&3/4 turns either way from dead center. There is a key on shaft to lock steering wheel with one spoke in 12 position.

There are 2 adjustments to get alignment correct, 1. fit of pitman arm to sector shaft, and 2. tie rod adjustment.

To determine just what to do (assuming there is not a lot of slop in the steering box), jack front end of car and turn steering wheel full right or left. Return steering wheel 1&3/4 turns and 1 spoke should now be in 12 position. Look at alignment of front wheels. There are alignment marks/grooves on the pitman shaft and pitman arm which if installed properly preset that position (you may need to back pitman nut/washer off to see the mark on arm). If arm is off a spline or 2, adjust. Retighten bolt. Then adjust tie rod to get final straight ahead alignment. Before you do this adjustment to tierod, you may want to check toe-in to see it meets specs.

Did this recently on my '31, took a bit of time, and mine had about 1" play in steering wheel, more than ideal, but tolerable. All of my components had been restored so adjusting the tierod was a bit easier. If these parts are rusted together or have not been moved for a long time, it may take some effort to get things properly set. I plan to see this summer if I can get rest of 1" play/slop out of steering box, using the adjustment directions in the manual.

On my 32 Chevy, I have a spoke at 12, one at 4 and one at 8 as the car is moving straight down the road.

Mac

Ok, if the wheel is splined, then that is what it is.

Harry , i think you mean keyed. The splined steering wheels started in 1938.They could be positioned in any position.

The spline I was referring to in my notes was the one on the sector gear in the steering box. There is just a single key in the upper end of steering shaft, and if I recall, it faces the floor

You should find alignment marks on the arm and sector that look like the letter L (for LHD?). Moving it over one spline could limit the end travel and turning radius and probably still will not give you the steering wheel position you want.

Hello jack39rdstr,
Thank you for the heads-up on the keyed steering wheel hub. That is what I meant. For what it's worth, on the VCCA home page where the pictures are scrolling, number 7 shows a steering wheel spoke at 6 o'clock. My 31 Coach is in storage and I won't see it till mid-May. When I find out it's spoke position I'll post the results. If it turns out to be 12 o'clock then I'll have egg on my face but I'm used to that. Make a Good Day.

With the steering wheel correctly on the keyway, depending upon how much backlash there is at the steering wheel, the steering wheel spoke can be in both positions (6 o'clock and 12 o'clock) with the wheels still facing forward.

When the '31 steering wheel shaft is dead-on half way between lock to lock, the woodruff key faces the floor and the corresponding notch on the steering wheel hub is 180 degrees from a spoke, thereby placing a spoke at 12. I see no setup which could get it at 6 and still have shaft centered lock to lock, which is what is specified for proper adjustment of steering box backlash etc. Spokes are 120 degrees apart, so slop of 60 degrees would be needed to get a spoke at 6 o'clock.

I suppose someone could ignore the markings on the sector shaft and pitman arm, place a spoke at 6 O'Clock (effectively rotating steering wheel about 60 degrees), then put pitman arm on ignoring proper fitment marks. This I think would result in 1&1/2 turns to lock one way, and 2 turns in other direction. Manual stresses the importance of having steering wheel and box perfectly centered up to spec for ease of steering as well as alignment. Don't see how this can be accomplished with a 6 O'Clock spoke position!

Thanks for all of your replies to my question. I just got back from a 10 mile test run and the car drove better than it has in the last 45 years that I owned it. The steering wheel ended up in the 6 o'clock position. I found all the markings and they look the way they were explained. My biggest problem was that the play could not be adjusted from the sector shaft. I found that some one had replaced the sector shaft bushings and when they reamed the they were not straight so they also added a shim to try and adjust it. Lucky I had another housing and matching sector to repair it the way it was from the factory. I even enjoyed the drive today as it drove good. Thanks again, Chuick

Glad to hear it's working better. Just think how much even better it might be if spoke was at 12 as specified by Chevrolet! Personally, I can't get my head around how a 6 position is possible except for the compromises I mention above.