1936 Banjo steering Wheel

Richard E.

A completely restored 1936 Hudson or Terraplane Banjo Steering Wheel just sold on Ebay for $800. Unfortunately it was mistakenly IDed as a 1937. I emailed the guy about the discrepancy but he never corrected it. They are not interchangeable. That is about what it costs to have one restored. The place in Australia charges about $600 to redo the plastic coating and I am sure that you could have $200 in the chrome. I would have preferred one of the original molted colors of the wheel if I were going to pay that much for it.



I have a '36T Banjo wheel that I am going to restore for my '36T sedan at some point. I will have the metal work done here and then send it to Australia for the coating. It is down a ways on the list at this point.

Rocket

I to emailed him and told him that it was not from a 37 he emailed me back and told me he knew the car it came off of anyway I myself am looking for a banjo wheel for my 36 hudson 8 anyone out there know were I might find one.

bent metal

Richard, can you post some pictures so we can see what it looks like?

Richard E.

Here is the listing from ebay, you can probably still access it, it has some good pictures. Two big differences are that the '36 has 3 spokes and a keyway and the '37 has 4 spokes and does not use a keyway, it is also larger diameter.



Vintage 1937 Hudson Terraplane Brougham Steering Wheel



Item Id: 170409416568

End time: Nov-26-09 22:38:48 PST

Seller:

jimink (5)



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Member since Aug-17-99 in United States

Location: WA, United States

Browniepetersen

Just a thought... My 1936 Eight (the English Hudson) has 5 banjo strings in each section that goes to a stainless or chrome center with yellow'ish plastic ring with a circle the Hudson diamond and a H in the center. My wheel is also black. Not wanting to muddy the water but I have seen banjos with 3, 4 and 5 banjo strings...

Richard E.

No telling what the Limeys did to it? Does it slide on with a keyway? The 1936 steering wheel, like most stuff on the 1936 is one year only. I wish the '37 wheel did fit, there are more of them around!

Unknown

HAVEING MORE TIME/TALENT THAN MONEY , ON MY 37 I made a jig to shape things and with a router and some hand work I put curly maple on mine. Stained it to match the dash and altho not for the gotta have it original guys {nothin wrong with that either } it looks like it belongs there and I like it better than the original . Being a nut on pretty wood gotta be a big influence there .--- BUD

RL Chilton

Yeah, Bud! That's awesome. I'd like to see a pic, as well. I'm sure if you still have your jig, you could probably sell a few of those. Even better than the faux wood-graining, I think folks would really like to have real bird's-eye, or tiger-stripe (curly) maple. Strong, beautiful, and one-of -a-kind! What could be better?

Browniepetersen

Met a man at a local swap meet that builds "one-off" custom Deep Dish Banjo wheels. He had about ten on his display and told me that he could build anything that someone wanted. I fell in love with one "5 string" that I thought would look great on my 39 Martz Custom Roadster. After thinking about the wood dash that I am going to have laid up for the Country Club gages, I think a wood banjo to match the dash might be just the thing. The gentleman who makes the wheels is Grant Jenkins and you can reach him at chevyskin45@yahoo.com or give him a call at 435.749.0800. As I recall his price was high ($300 to $1200) depending on what you wanted. But it might not hurt to send him an email and post some of what he has here for those interested.

Browniepetersen

I knew if I looked hard enough I would be able to find a photo of my Banjo Steering Wheel. Sad part is that it is without dash and any interior and it is from behind the "B" pillar. However, you can still see it. And, it could also be one of those "English Things" but I doubt not? It is unrestored....

terraplane8

Nice looking wheel Brownie, I see it uses the original Hudson 8 horn button and surrround too.

Unknown

Yeah ,. I got pics ,{ and Glenn Reeves saw it first hand when he picked up a rear end he needed from me , he can tell you about it } but sawdust I can handle , this tube got one button to turn it off and on, I can handle that too ! post a pic ? ho-ho ! Somebody send me an email that can get it done and I think ? I can can email one . By the way , I have no intention or want to get into a bussines makeing/selling these things { got that dissease listed below } but my guinee pig was a 38 Chev wheel , had to do something with it, Only bow tie around here is one I use for funerals and weddings, If it ain't too danged hot , so I put it on Ebay , went for almost $800 to some guy in Calif , even had an Aussie biding on it and it wasn't as nice as mine , didn't use as good a quality of wood . BUD

ESSX28-1

Browniepetersen wrote:

I knew if I looked hard enough I would be able to find a photo of my Banjo Steering Wheel. Sad part is that it is without dash and any interior and it is from behind the "B" pillar. However, you can still see it. And, it could also be one of those "English Things" but I doubt not? It is unrestored....

Brownie,

Your wheel looks familiar!! I'm sure I remember it from British cars of the era. What's its approx diameter?

I'll check with a knowledgeable friend & report back.

Browniepetersen

I was of the impression that Hudson 8's had this type of Banjo Steering Wheel. And yes it has the same key-way as defined in previous posts. I have an extra steering column that was purchased from a 36 Hudson 8 coupe. It is an exact match. I know that I have seen them on some of the Railton's. When I had it apart it did not have any of the Coachcraft markings so I expected that it came with the materials supplied by Hudson. However, I could be wrong...

Jon B

I believe that the "factory" banjo wheel for 1936 was a 3-spoke wheel, as shown in this photo I swiped from the good folks at the Allpar website. I'm assuming that Brownie's 4-spoke wheel is probably Railton's authentic version, modified to accept the Hudson shaft, hub and horn button.

terraplane8

Jon B wrote:

I believe that the "factory" banjo wheel for 1936 was a 3-spoke wheel, as shown in this photo I swiped from the good folks at the Allpar website. I'm assuming that Brownie's 4-spoke wheel is probably Railton's authentic version, modified to accept the Hudson shaft, hub and horn button.

Hudson would not have wanted to waste weight or money on 4 spokes when three would suffice!!!!!!! Definitely looks English that one, a nice wheel too. Wouldn't mind it myself.

Unknown

Thanks to HUDSON 308 for showing me how to do this . My camera skills are about like the computer skills [ entry level } but should show you what can be done. The wheel came from a 38 , don't know or care if that's right , it fits my 37 and I like it . The button I got from Carl Webber , same deal . If it isn't too difficult to do I could try to show the jig I made and how I did this .

---

OK,HIT THE BUTTON AND SEE IF I CAN FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS !!

oldhudsons

my '35 Railton came to me with a 5-spoke wheel. Some Railtons came from the factory with Hudson steering wheels.

I do have pics of it, it's outer rim is cracked, there is no horn stuff at all, and I got a very nice "Bluenel" steering wheel with it which was standard equip. on Railtons. so will be putting that on when the time comes.

oldhudsons

R. E. - just e-mail attached pic of my 5 spoked "banjo" steering wheel to you; not sure if you want to put it in here.

I will be removing it & will have no use for it as have a correct "Bluenel" wheel as posted above.

Pete