35 banjo steering wheel

[quickchange]

Who is the best place to buy a 35 banjo steering wheel from , & does anyone repo the horn button or light rod , your help appreciated , thanks,

[oldandtired]

I do not believe Ford made a 35 banjo steering wheel. You see them on redone 35's quite a bit, but I do not think the banjo came out until 1936. I am certain others will weigh in on the subject.

[weemark]

agree with oldandtired, banjo wheels were not brought out until '36 however that's not to say a banjo wheel doesn't look good on a '35. I don't know of anyone replicating horn buttons or the light rod though.

[flatheadfan]

The banjo steering wheel was at one time repo by Drake but that was sometime ago. They were a fairly good copy but not as strong as an original. I believe the '39 repo is still available and will fit your '35. You will need the '38-'39 horn rod if you go this route. As for the the '35-'36 horn rod, it was also reproduced years ago but it is also long gone from circulation. However, both items frequently come up on eBay.

Tom

[JM 35 Sedan]

A '36 banjo steering wheel will fit and work perfectly on a '35 and most likely the earlier Ford's as well. Bob Drake once repro'd the '36 banjo wheel and I see them sometimes on eBay and several of the old Ford website classifieds. I bought one that had never been used years ago, plus have purchased several nice '36 originals in the last ten years.
The first picture is the Drake repro. You can tell the Drake wheels by the differences in the inside center hub, the way the banjo strings are welded inside the hub, and on this sample by plastic molding flash on the strings/spokes at the ring end.

[Scott754]

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I have a '35 Fordor with a '36 Banjo wheel. It was on the car when I purchased it, so I don't know the manufacturer of the wheel. The paint on the wheel is chipping off (no cracks in the wheel) and the spokes are a little loose. Is there a relatively easy way to tighten the spokes, either re-welding or something else?
From posts in this thread, it sounds like if I don't repair mine, and replace it with a '39 wheel I would also need to replace the horn rod? Do the '39 wheels also accommodate the light switch and horn that are in the center of my wheel?

[TJ]

Lately the 39 repo banjo wheels have been very hard to find and the price has risen dramatically. If you buy an original banjo be sure to look for cracks in the keyway. I have a couple of V-8 friends who have encountered that problem and repair is difficult if not impossible.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Scott754

I have a '35 Fordor with a '36 Banjo wheel. It was on the car when I purchased it, so I don't know the manufacturer of the wheel. The paint on the wheel is chipping off (no cracks in the wheel) and the spokes are a little loose. Is there a relatively easy way to tighten the spokes, either re-welding or something else?
From posts in this thread, it sounds like if I don't repair mine, and replace it with a '39 wheel I would also need to replace the horn rod? Do the '39 wheels also accommodate the light switch and horn that are in the center of my wheel?

Not sure how easy/difficult it might be to tighten those banjo strings/spokes at their hub mounting. The ones I show in pictures above (one Drake repro & three originals) are all welded to a steel ring in the center hub. Maybe they could be tig welded without destroying something else in the surrounding area??

While the '38-'39 banjo wheels will fit and look good in the earlier cars, using a '35-'36 horn button/light switch rod looks funky to me in the center of later banjo wheel, IMHO. I would suggest using the horn button/light switch rod that's correct for the year banjo wheel that's used.

[deuce lover]

FordBarn member ( alv ) in NJ sells restored ones here.I had him do mine a few yrs ago and he did a great job.Here is what Alan did for me.I chose that color to match the interior uph.

[Scott754]

Originally Posted by deuce lover

FordBarn member ( alv ) in NJ sells restored ones here.I had him do mine a few yrs ago and he did a great job.

Thanks, I've sent Alv a message

[Scott754]

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

Not sure how easy/difficult it might be to tighten those banjo strings/spokes at their hub mounting. The ones I show in pictures above (one Drake repro & three originals) are all welded to a steel ring in the center hub. Maybe they could be tig welded without destroying something else in the surrounding area??

While the '38-'39 banjo wheels will fit and look good in the earlier cars, using a '35-'36 horn button/light switch rod looks funky to me in the center of later banjo wheel, IMHO. I would suggest using the horn button/light switch rod that's correct for the year banjo wheel that's used.

Thanks; if I changed to the horn/light switch correct for the year of the wheel, would that involve a lot of rewiring, since the lighting/horn wiring currently goes down through the steering column? (I'm not sure where the light switch is on '38-39's or how complicated a change that would be?

[TJ]

Just use the 35 light switch. and wiring. It will work with the later horn rod.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Scott754

Thanks; if I changed to the horn/light switch correct for the year of the wheel, would that involve a lot of rewiring, since the lighting/horn wiring currently goes down through the steering column? (I'm not sure where the light switch is on '38-39's or how complicated a change that would be?

As TJ said, no rewiring necessary if you use horn button/light switch rod that's correct for the banjo wheel. The end of the rods have the same features, parts, and pieces that will interchange to work with the light switch that's attached to the bottom of the steering box. All you need to do is get all the pieces assembled to the end of the rod correctly so the horn button and switch tabs are in their correct location as per the photo posted by deuce lover.

[Scott754]

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

As TJ said, no rewiring necessary if you use horn button/light switch rod that's correct for the banjo wheel. The end of the rods have the same features, parts, and pieces that will interchange to work with the light switch that's attached to the bottom of the steering box. All you need to do is get all the pieces assembled to the end of the rod correctly so the horn button and switch tabs are in their correct location as per the photo posted by deuce lover.

Thanks to you & TJ for that advice. Now if I can find a replacement wheel I'll make sure to get the horn/light rod to match

[Moesby]

Help !! I need a 35-36 Ford horn button. With or without the long rod?!? Thanks text at 361-275-1193

[Don Rogers]

Look in the swap section. There is a 35/36 horn rod for sale.

[gtrhotrod]

It's still in parts for sale.