Rim-Blow Steering Wheel Build

1 The main pieces of a '69 deluxe wheel buildup are shown here, including the woodgrain wheel, center pad, center pad insert, and Rim-Blow horn switch. Not shown is the center pad emblem and center pad mounting hardware kit.

2 The Mustang emblem for the center pad insert is keyed to install one way. You can melt the tips of the retaining pins to secure the emblem, but it isn't completely necessary as long as you use the stack of foam inserts behind the emblem. These will act as a filler to hold the insert in place.

3 Before melting the pin's tops, or securing the pad insert to the center pad, double check the emblem to ensure it is fully seated and not sitting in the pad insert crooked.

4 Secure the pad insert to the steering wheel's center pad using one screw for each spoke of the pad. Set the assembled center pad aside for now.

5 The Rim-Blow horn switch is a long strip of formed rubber with two horn contact strips embedded into the rubber. This is an expensive part at over $150, and it is very fragile. You do not want to fold or make any sharp bends with it. The bare contacts at the ends need to be kept separated.

6 The NPD reproduction deluxe wheel is truly a work of automotive art, with the proper grain structure and color, a rich black painted surface, and the correct chrome inlay. The inside diameter of the wheel is just like the original deluxe wheel with the correct space and groove to lock the horn switch into.

7 Patience is needed for the Rim-Blow horn switch installation. The rubber switch body needs to be carefully squeezed and pushed into the receiving groove in the wheel. The end of the horn switch should be positioned at the

8 Once the Rim-Blow horn switch has been carefully pressed into place, the two horn switch wires need to be secured to the face of the lower wheel spoke in four places. We used the end of a ball point pen to push the wiring into the retaining notches, as seen here.

9a You can check your work a couple of ways before actually installing your deluxe wheel in the car. If you own a digital volt/ohm meter (DVOM), you can simply hook the two horn switch wires to your meter, set on ohm scale or continuity/diode tester (which usually has a

9b The switch should go from an open circuit to one that is closed--ours showed .2-ohms--or should beep if on the continuity/diode tester setting. Alternatively, you can find the nearest 12-volt battery and fashion a jumper wire from the battery's positive terminal to one of the horn switch wires, then connect a test light to the other horn switch wire and the battery's (or chassis) ground. When you squeeze the Rim-Blow horn switch, the test light should light up.

10 Once you've verified the horn switch is installed properly and in good working order with no breaks or shorts, attach the two horn switch wires to the mounting terminals at the center of the steering wheel. We scraped away a little of the black paint and added small washers to ensure good contact.

11aWhile tightening the screws, be sure to keep an eye on the pad's edge and, if needed, "help" it into place with the use of a small pick tool or pocket screwdriver.

11b With the Rim-Blow horn switch installed and tested, the center pad assembly can be mounted to the steering wheel. Normally, you'd install the pad after the wheel has been mounted to the steering column, but we're doing a full bench assembly here for this story. We used the concours screw kit from NPD to get the job done.

12 Don't forget to remove the protective film from the chrome inlay when you're done assembling your wheel.

13 We made a trip over to see our friends at Classic Creations of Central Florida (www.classiccreationsfl.com; (863) 665-2322) because we heard they had a '69 Mustang with deluxe interior on site and wanted to test fit the reproduction wheel/parts to the car. When we opened the driver's door, we were immediately greeted with a severely worn deluxe wheel, with the majority of the wood pattern worn away.

14 Like most original Rim-Blow wheels, the horn contact switch was a sticky mess of aged rubber. Removing the center pad showed even bigger issues with completely shorted out horn wiring.

15 It is apparent that at some point someone tried to repair the horn switch wiring in a failed effort to get the horn working again. Notice as well the large crack in the plastic wheel body.

16 To remove the original deluxe wheel, the retaining nut is removed first. The steering wheel retaining nut is a mechanical lock nut and will take some effort to remove, just watch where your ratchet is moving when it breaks free or you'll have some sore fingers!

17 Once in a while, we get lucky and can remove a vintage Mustang steering wheel with a little wiggling and a couple of smacks with an open palm on the back of the rim. Naturally, we had to break out the steering wheel puller to get this mess off of the steering column. Be sure to use the correct bolts in your puller kit, otherwise you'll risk pulling the threads out of the steering wheel and will have a heck of a time getting the wheel off.

18 The new NPD reproduction wheel slid right into place and looks undeniably at home in a vintage Mustang. Not only does the wheel make the interior, but it will certainly be nice to have a functioning horn once again.