68 sport wheel swap

Discussion in 'The whoa and the sway.' started by David G, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Horn contact tube? You mean the cancel cam tube?

    By "retainer", you mean the little plastic fitting that fits over the pin? I do not see a tube cutout for the locking nub to go into.
     
  2. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Here's what I'm looking at.
     

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  3. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Spring, pin, then retainer? I'm just not seeing any place for the retainer to lock into.
     

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  4. David G

    David G de-modded....

    The wheel looks good though. :)
     

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  5. David G

    David G de-modded....


    Does anyone have some input on this? I'm just not seeing this, there is no sign of a cutout for the retainer to lock into.
     
  6. Mike Trom

    Mike Trom Platinum Level Contributor

    David,

    I just took mine apart to look at it, my spring just drops into the retainer tube and there is nothing else, the "L" on the bottom of the horn button retainer then holds the spring in place. I don't know if this is correct but everything works fine on my car.

    I did have to use a small flat washer under each of the horn retainer screws, between the hub and retainer to stand it up higher so that the original style horn button would clear the center bolt.

    Hopefully this helps.
     
  7. David G

    David G de-modded....

    That's interesting... it doesn't appear to me that would work very well here. You aren't using the short metal pin at all? If I just drop the spring in the cam tube, I don't think the "L" on the retainer will be remotely close to the spring. The spring is completely inside of the cancel cam tube.
     
  8. David G

    David G de-modded....

    I also don't quite see where the "give" is in this assembly, that allows the horn button to be pushed. Something just doesn't seem quite right.
     
  9. dl7265

    dl7265 No car then Mopar

    There is a cutout in the tube to lock into. Were you able to slide the cancel cam out to see what we are talking about ?

    DL
     
  10. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Nope, I did not remove the cam. It did not want to come off easily at all, and I followed the advice to just leave it in place.

    Honestlly, I don't see a cutout in the tube on the cancel cam that was already in use on my column. I'm likely having a mechanic buddy of mine inspect my front end bushings, etc tomorrow night, and he'll be doing my front end alignment also. I'll have him take a look at what I've got going on here, maybe he can offer some in-person insight to clear up my confusion.
     
  11. David G

    David G de-modded....

    I also picked up a new cancel cam from a local GM dealer, part # 399294, which is exactly the p/n listed in my 68 parts book for all with tilt wheel. I don't see any cutout on this cam either.
     
  12. David G

    David G de-modded....


    Where exactly in the tube is this cutout supposed to be? This is your picture posted previously. Was it visible to you?

    The spring kit you sent me, it for sure spec'd out for a 68 with tilt and rallye wheel?
     
  13. David G

    David G de-modded....

    On the Ididit Steering Columns website, I found images showing this pin & spring kit being used with a cancel cam that does in fact have the cutout you mention. There is no such cutout on my installed cam, nor on the correct GM cancel cam I bought new locally this week. In a PM to me, you linked to an ad where you had a cancel cam for sale. Does that cam have the required cutout for use with this spring kit?

    Not sure if I want to swap cams if it can be avoided. From what I've read, there is a snap ring to remove that holds the cam down and the spring behind it. And it's a PITA to reinstall, esp with the column in the car.
     
  14. GS Spoken Here

    GS Spoken Here Well-Known Member

    David the early cancel cams do not have the cut out for the retainer with the tit like the one in the picture on page 2 of this post. I am not sure when they went to the cut out one. I think maybe early 70's. The one column I have is 70 or 71/2 and the cancel cam is black, with the cut out.

    What I have done on all my sport wheel installations is to use the retainer from the original horn bar. It has not tit and is the same size. You just have to cut the wires and remove it from the horn bar and then insert the spring and the pin and push the retainer into the cancel cam hole. It will stay in place. If you do not have an extra horn bar I can look for one in the AM for you and or take some picture of what I did. Thanks Bill.
     
  15. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Bill, thanks for the offer. I don't have anything from the original wheel, that was probably tossed years ago when a Grant wheel was installed. However, my local O'Reilly's is supposed to have the cancel cam in stock for a tilt app, with the cutout. I'll run by there tomorrow and see if I can wrap this up soon...
     
  16. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Aaah, making progress this morning! I picked up a newer style cancel cam from the dealer this morning, with the retainer cutout. Also found that there is no snap ring provision on my column either, must have been a later change. The old cam was simply pushed down hard enough to hold tight against the column threads. A little manuevering and it was off w/o any problem. Now I just need a little dielectric grease for the new cam and I can get this back together! :beer

    On a related note, the OER hub doesn't seem to tighten down as far as it seems it should. Almost, but not quite, looks like it could/should go another 1/8" or so to engage all the way onto the column. I had it torqued down to about 40 lb.ft and that was all she wrote. Will run with that and see what happens.
     
  17. David G

    David G de-modded....



    Dang, looks like I will need to cut it to 3/4" pin length. The instructions with the pin kit aren't clear, since they don't even reference a Buick application. Wish I could cut it easily w/o taking it all apart again... no such luck. :Dou:
     
  18. GS Spoken Here

    GS Spoken Here Well-Known Member

    David glad you found the later cancel cam. As I said I never have exchanged them. I always used the older style retainer from a horn bar. Here is a picture of one. Thanks Bill.
     

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  19. David G

    David G de-modded....

    Shoot, the GM cancel cam cracked badly around the center when I tightened down the hub. I wonder if the big spring was binding on the column threads. It seemed to bind a bit a couple times when I put a wrench to the jam nut. Maybe I'll go a bit easier on the torque specs, just picked up a Dorman replacement cam at O'Reilly, certainly a lot cheaper than GM.
     
  20. David G

    David G de-modded....


    Bill, thanks for posting that picture. If you find you have a spare, I'd be interested in it. I managed to get mine together this afternoon with the newer cam, but not before breaking the new GM cam. The later style has a different housing design, with a short "funnel" section, and that is what broke when I tightened down the column nut. The 68 cam just meets at a 90deg between the flat contact area, and the tube section that the large spring goes in. I used a Dorman replacement the 2nd time and backed off on the torque, and I think it survived, so far. The horn works, at least. I may decide to use the correct cam # 399294 that I have here new from GM, a bit later on. So if you find another horn bar style retainer, I'm interested, just PM me. Thanks! :TU:
     

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