Topic: 1967 Steering wheel collar height

[Angela]

Please see the attached pdf for photos of two different all *original* wood-grain steering wheels. I started an earlier thread on the topic of assembling these wheels and suspect that part of my confusion and frustration is that there appears to be two distinctly different collars used with these wheels. I don't know if one is for 1967 and the other for a different year???

My specific question is stated on each page of the attached four-page pdf. Help requested.

[CharlesTurner]

I thought one was for standard steering column and the shorter one for tilt column?

[67gta289]

The collar is part number 3491.  I have five deluxe wheels and they are all the short ones you show in your diagram.

According to the January 67 MPC, the Mustang specific part is C5ZZ-3491-A.  It could be (based on part number) that this is the same for 65-66 also.  There is no separate part number for tilt vs. non tilt applications.

Also note that the Fairlane (B) calls for part C7OZ-3491-A.  It could be that the deeper collar is for the Fairlane.  I would not be surprised to find Fairlane wheels making their way into Mustangs.

Of course for my "it could be" statements, that is just speculation.  The MPC has been wrong or misleading before.  If you look at the MPC diagram in the "other" post, you will see that the center pad is carry over 66, and does not reflect the changes for 67.

I'll bo back to my first line, I have five deluxe wheels from 67 Mustangs and they are all the shorter variety.

[67gtasanjose]

The collar is part number 3491.  I have five deluxe wheels and they are all the short ones you show in your diagram.

According to the January 67 MPC, the Mustang specific part is C5ZZ-3491-A.  It could be (based on part number) that this is the same for 65-66 also.  There is no separate part number for tilt vs. non tilt applications.

Also note that the Fairlane (B) calls for part C7OZ-3491-A.  It could be that the deeper collar is for the Fairlane.  I would not be surprised to find Fairlane wheels making their way into Mustangs.

Of course for my "it could be" statements, that is just speculation.  The MPC has been wrong or misleading before.  If you look at the MPC diagram in the "other" post, you will see that the center pad is carry over 66, and does not reflect the changes for 67.

I'll bo back to my first line, I have five deluxe wheels from 67 Mustangs and they are all the shorter variety.

I can accept a correction on this subject, but I tend to lean towards what John's (67gta289) school of thought on this, that is no difference in Tilt or Non-tilt lower collars. I cannot actually take sides because I can only vouch for the Tilt applications at this time.  I have never noticed a different wheel for the STANDARD, Plastic, colored-matched wheels and tilt columns (to my understanding) are not REQUIRED to have the deluxe wheel.

If this is true that there really ARE two collars, maybe we can see more example posted here in this thread to set the records straight once and for all. This (two collars thing) has come up before time and time again, let's put it to sleep here please.

Richard

[WT8095]

One Fairlane (Ranchero) data point. This photo was posted at:

http://fairlaneforums.easyphpbb.com/viewtopic.php?t=3672

Per the Marti report, this vehicle came with the deluxe wheel, so presumably (with caution) these are original parts. If you zoom in, the lower collar appears to be slightly thinner than the upper, which would match condition "X" in Angela's document. His actual build date was Jan 30, 1967 in case date is a factor.

It's hard to find photos of this detail. Why don't more people post close-up shots of their steering columns? 

[67gtasanjose]

 IMHO, That thicker collar does NOT LOOK TO BE FROM A 67 MUSTANG TO ME, what it is from, I will not guess but if Angela is trying to use parts from out of that (unclassified) wheel to match up with parts to fit a 67 Mustang wood wheel, it might explain the difficulties being had...Just saying.

[Angela]

For what it's worth, the images in the document I uploaded represent the two and only two wood-grain wheels I own. One of the two (the thinner one marked "X") was installed in my '67 June 30 SanJose-built fastback when I bought it 15 yrs ago.

The other collar (marked ~2X) was installed into a complete original wood-grain wheel which I purchased, which the previous owner claimed was removed from a SanJose-built '67 mustang. Obviously the two are different.

The sense I'm getting from responses thus far is that the Mustang application should have used the thinner lower collar (that which I marked as "X' in my attached pdf).

FYI: Since I took apart my original wheel with the thinner lower collar, I have never, ever been able to get it back together. The lower and upper collars won't mate together without a gap of ~1/8". I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

[Deuce]

This photo taken today is from my 1967 C-code coupe with non-tilt Deluxe woodgrain Steering Wheel (SJ December 1966).  This suggests the "X" thickness is the correct one for the '67 Mustang.

My father was original owner of this one-family car and to my knowledge the wheel has never been removed from the steering column.

(Btw, the Deluxe Steering Wheel option, from original window sticker, was $31.52).

[WT8095]

OK, I'm going out on a limb here... 

Scott Drake has repros for two different lower collars. P/N, for the 65-66 deluxe wheel, C5ZZ-3491-A appears to be the "2X" thickness. P/N C7OZ-3491-A, for 67, looks like the "X" thickness. As it has a Fairlane p/n, I believe the 67 was used for both Fairlane and Mustang. The '75 MPC lists the C7OZ part for both, with the application reading "For woodgrain wheel & P/S". Oddly, it lists the C5ZZ part for Mustang for 65-67. Could this be an error (maybe they meant 65-66), or was there a mid-year change?