When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
the thought just occurred to me; wouldn't the flat 'normally' be at the top?
Bill
No!
Think about it.
There are times when you need to grab center of wheel to turn wheel, or grip center of wheel and steer with one hand. Some people worry about what happens if you need to turn wheel to point you have to grab the flat at bottom doing it... Lock to lock is not a problem if you have rack & pinion steering. Might be for stock steering. That old big wheel allows for less effort to turn wheel without power steering, so you need a round one due to how much farther you need to turn wheel to make same turn radius as rack & pinion steering.
Recently I had posted a thread to ask if anyone knew of a source for a 'D" shaped steering wheel for a C2. No one knew of anything...so I decided to see what I could come up with.
I was looking for one primarily to give some leg room when banging gears and I really like to drive with my arms extended...so having no dish is good too. Getting in and out with racing gear on and the top up can be a little tricky (I'm no little guy)..so everything helps. I also just had my seats re-done by Al Knoch with new foam which makes things even cozier until they settle down in a few years.
Turns out...it wasn't really a big deal at all!
I ordered a Grant #630 wheel from Jeg's. It's 13-3/4" in diameter and essentially flat with very little dish.
Our cars mount to the hub with 6 screws. Most aftermarket wheels have either 3 or 5 bolt holes...so for a true bolt on you have to buy a "Vette specific" wheel.
I took the Grant wheel and flipped it over and put it up against the original wheel. I lined up the center hole (almost identical in diameter) and spokes and used a center punch to mark where I needed to drill new holes in the new wheel. Four of the "new" holes were in flat areas of the new wheel where there is no issue drilling a new hole. The two at the bottom overlap the two mounting holes on the new wheel so it comes down to slightly slotting those two. In addition, there are 3 small slots around the inner diameter hole where the 3 screws for the horn contact assy. need to pass. Another simple matter to drill them and open the slots to replicate the ones in the original wheel. After all the holes were drilled, I used a larger drill bit to chamfer the holes and provide a countersunk area for the Allen screws to sink into and end up with a flush mounting to the wheel.
After that...I just attached the wheel to the hub with the original 6 mounting screws and then attached the horn contact with the original 3 screws and snapped the horn button in place. Horn worked perfectly and everything lined up. Isn't it crazy that we have 9 screws holding the wheel to the hub??
So..whether it's a "D" shaped racing wheel...or any other wheel you happen to like but can't find specifically for a C-2...it's probably not a big deal to adapt it with about a half hour of hole drilling!
JIM
Hey, I like the flat bottom of your steering wheel. My brother-in-law looks 7 months pregnant and likes to drive the Corvette. Each time he drives my Vette he looks a month bigger. I might need to get one of those flat steering wheels soon.
I''m trying an Ididit column in the build I'm working on now. It allowed me option to ditch floor mounted Head light dimmer switch for one on column, plus they offered option to pre-wire column for cruise control vs having to fish wires down column. Have a heavy right foot problem, due to a problem lifting in up a little... Hope the dash match issue want be a problem for me.
The 13.75" wheel is so I can reach the paddle shiftier levers, plus allowing for ease getting in and out of car. Love the fat feel of it too.
The matching brief case has been replaced by console with storage option....
Very nice interior....console is cool. Like the small rocker switches also on center dash. Clean.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane Jim. I put a 13" wheel in mine for leg clearance in my bubba period around 1970. I had to do the same surgery as you; I drilled the 6 holes and also had to open up the center hole for the horn. I had only simple tools to cut the hole so I used a jig saw but in the process managed to get a chip in my eye. The doc had to scrape it out - something about proteins reacting with iron. Not much fun but I did learn a lesson.
BTW the angle mismatch between the drill point and screw heads hasn't been an issue for the last 48 years, they've never been loose.
03-23-2018, 09:06 AM
That's for sure!
Hope the dash match issue want be a problem for me. 
