Anyone have any good research links for steering wheel to column compatability? I know the mfgs don't tend to match up well themselves across years but hoping someone has compiled a listing.

I have an 85 Caddy steering column but I'd love to fit an 60's style wheel on it with a chrome horn ring such as this:

 

I'll do my best! What you can do is take a steering wheel that fits the cadi column, and cut out the "hub" that has the correct splines to fit that column. Then take your Ford steering wheel, and do the same, then you have to weld the cadi hub into the Ford steering wheel. Of course you'll have to get some epoxy and repair the Ford steering wheel where it will be burnt off by the welding and cutting process.


Or you could take that small shaft that goes up and down in the cadi column out of the column, cut off however much you need to and weld a Ford steering shaft to it, and then drill a hole in the center of it and thread it for the rod to tighten up the telescopic part. That will work, I've done it before, it's pretty involving, but very possible. It depends on how much you REALLY want to have that wheel on your column?


The one thing you want to nail down is getting the right distance from the dash to the steering wheel so you can use the telescopic mechanism. Otherwise it's wasted effort.
Later dude

 

Well, Ford Motor products will not fit any other mfr. The GM products share the shaft spline pattern with Ididit and Flaming River. Most after market hubs and wheels are made to fit the GM patttern. The horn buttons are made to fit most aftermarket wheels as are the column drops. All the aftermarket wiring panel are wired to fit the GM codes that are wired into the aftermarket columns. Most aftermarket hubs fit the GM columns to allow the use of most aftermarket wheels. There are no known adapters that allow a safe fit to a different shaft than what is on the wheel. Grant (like the old CalCustom line) still makes adaptors to allow fit of an aftermarket wheel on a Ford column. I have seen only 1 wheel that was changed to the GM spline so he could keep the Ford wheel on a new tilt column and a new wire panel. The cost was near a grand from over the pond. You really gotta love the wheel to do that. The supplier can also reduce the diameter of an orig wheel. The only way that I have ever seen used a grant adaptor which allows a hub to be bolted to your column. The the original wheel was then redrilled with 3 holes to bolt to the hub. The center hole (splined) of the wheel must be drilled out so the nut on the end of the shaft can clear. The problem is that there is not enough slpine length to allow the nut to holt the wheel, only the adaptor, so you would have only the three small bolts holding the wheel to the adaptor.
Jon

 

I have the IDIDIT (GM) clolumn, bought an old "Superior" walnut\chrome 3-spoke steering wheel from an Ebay'er in Canada. It was a 3 bolt mount pattern. Then bought an IDIDIT 3-bolt adaptor hub so I could mount the old steering wheel to the new column. worked great...expensive hub, but worked and looked nice.

Is the Caddy column splined shaft and center nut? ....maybe there is a gm-type aftermarket adaptor for the steering wheel you want to use....or like TRUXX said...
cutting wheel and welder, the sky is the limit!

 

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'm not tied to the wheel having to be a Ford wheel. I'd be happy with any GM wheel as long as it has the 60's look I'm looking for and bolts up. For example the column is an 85 Caddy, if a 62 Caddy wheel would bolt up that would probably work for me or a 61 Impala etc.

So I was really just looking to see what wheels/years/model share the same spline/bolt pattern etc. Hoping someone had run across a web site somewhere along the line.

Sounds like Terry's idea is do able so that may be where I end up.