Technical Converting my Ford/Mercury steering wheel to GM spline

This may have been done before but I thought I’d post this anyways for tech. So I wanted to run a 55 Mercury Montclair wheel in my 46 ford p/u but I have a gm column with 69-94 spline...yes I know.. cheesy chrome tilt but it works for me being 6’3” in a 46 cab. With a local u-pull it nearby and the design of the 55 wheel I figured I could pull something off fairly easy. I picked up an 86 gm van wheel for $12. It had almost the same thickness and diameter hub as the Mercury wheel.

55 wheel


Gm van wheel with center cut



Comparison with mercury wheel


Cut and welded center hub from van. Drilled and tapped holes for the horn ring.





In the end it still looks like a factory wheel. Fixed the cracks and in primer. Paint is next.















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Fantastic tech. I really enjoyed the detail you put into this and showing all the steps, opens some possibilities for wheel swaps I hadn't considered.
What did you use to fill the cracks in your wheel? I've been researching this as I've got a few to repair in the not too distant future.

 

Thank you very much. As far as the cracks I use 3m panel bonding adhesive. In the body shop we use it for bonding steel, aluminum and plastic panel on newer cars. Works very well with these older cracked wheels.


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Good thinking. Easier to “fix” the wheel instead of screwing with the column. You get an A+.

 

Nice job. Mechanically and editorial both.

 

Miss tech posts like this. Thanks!

 

Looks good. That's a new way to get power steering.