CSX2286 Daytona Coupe Steering Wheel

[Tom Kirkham]

This is a picture of Dan Gurney in CSX2286 at LeMans in 1965. Does anyone recognize the steering wheel? Also the spokes are evenly spaced.

[RodKnock]

It looks like an early ('65-'66) Shelby Mustang GT350 steering wheel.

[Tom Kirkham]

Here is a link to another picture of the wheel.

http://www.gettyimages.com/license/98594531

[LMH]

I believe that is an EFFPI wheel, though most I've looked at had four holes on each spoke.
Maybe a different size though??? Not sure but it might be something to search for.
Larry

[Tommy]

That wheel looks very much like a contemporary Grant Speed model, especially the spokes. According to Grant's history, they made their first wooden wheel in 1965. Coincidence?

[Mark IV]

Def NOT a GT350 wheel, the spokes are wrong and the rim is thicker and shaped differently. I also vote for a "Grant" or other aftermarket wheel. Notice no "rivets" holding the wood halves.

[Tom Kirkham]

Here is a more recent photo taken at the Monterey Historic Races.

[LMH]

Well now we know for sure... it's a Timex wheel!
Larry

[Tommy]

There are some subtle differences between the wheel in pic #2 and pic #3. The most obvious is the dark wrap around each spoke near the wheel that is missing in pic #3. Less obvious is that the seams where wood pieces meet are in line with the spokes in pic #3. They are not aligned with the spokes in pic #2.

[Tom Kirkham]

I believe the dark wrap on the spokes is electrical tape.

It also seems that the finger grooves on the backside of
the wheel are more pronounced in the later picture.
Maybe the wood was refurbished at some point.

From picture #3 the piece that holds the Cobra emblem looks to be
a modified Mota-Lita holder.

[Tommy]

So now comes the real question. Why do you want to know about this wheel?

[PeteF]

I remember reading somewhere that this wheel was installed specially for Dan Gurney. He was tall and had to have the seat mounted further rearward, and he wanted a more dished steering wheel to move the wheel a little further rearward. The article said the wheel was the only one known to be made that way, but did not give specifics of any manufacturer.

[bkozlow]

First, this is the only Daytona of the six to have this wheel. The black pieces on the wheel were leather not electrical tape. The dish was just over 4 inches and as I recall was made by Grant at the time and was mahogany. The wheel at the 2003 Monterey Historic was NOT the original wheel. The original wheel was darker wood. I knew the fellow who ran Rob Waltons cars in 2003 and stopped by to see him and my old car. He asked me if much had changed on the car. I told him, that was not the original steering wheel and they all said, I was wrong. I told them, they were wrong. I told them I had hand sanded the original wheel and restored it. The next day, I was going by their tent, when they called me over. They said, that night at dinner, they had asked everyone about the wheel, one fellow said, I was right, the wood cracked off on the the the original and they had to have a replacement made. I have look for my replicas but have been unable to find that wheel. A close copy is available from Ecklers for the 60's error Corvette. It has a 2" dish but is as close as you are going to get without having a custom wheel made. Part number 25-380325-1 $159.99.

Bill K

[Tom Kirkham]

Originally Posted by bkozlow

First, this is the only Daytona of the six to have this wheel. The black pieces on the wheel were leather not electrical tape. The dish was just over 4 inches and as I recall was made by Grant at the time and was mahogany. The wheel at the 2003 Monterey Historic was NOT the original wheel. The original wheel was darker wood. I knew the fellow who ran Rob Waltons cars in 2003 and stopped by to see him and my old car. He asked me if much had changed on the car. I told him, that was not the original steering wheel and they all said, I was wrong. I told them, they were wrong. I told them I had hand sanded the original wheel and restored it. The next day, I was going by their tent, when they called me over. They said, that night at dinner, they had asked everyone about the wheel, one fellow said, I was right, the wood cracked off on the the the original and they had to have a replacement made. I have look for my replicas but have been unable to find that wheel. A close copy is available from Ecklers for the 60's error Corvette. It has a 2" dish but is as close as you are going to get without having a custom wheel made. Part number 25-380325-1 $159.99.

Bill K

Thank you so much for the info. That clears up a lot of the mystery.
Did the original wheel have a 15 inch diameter?

[Tom Kirkham]

CSX2602 1965 Spa

Note the steering wheel...

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/rm544tw9860

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/mg545sf8632

and at Sebring:
https://purl.stanford.edu/zx254cm3657

[bkozlow]

Tom,

As I remember, it was 15" in diameter, its thickness makes it look smaller. The 4+inch dish gave more legroom as you can see in the Gurney picture. One of the problems was your upper leg hitting the wheel and the deep dish relieved a lot of this problem by bring it back from the knee. Also, if you look at the 2003 picture and see the two small yellow lights on the dash to the right of the wheel, they are not original. I put those in for the directional switch directly to there right next to the speedometer, so on the street I would know, if they were still on as there was no automatic return on the switch. Also, another interesting feature of the car was the day-night rear view mirror, this was a big deal as an upscale option in mid-60"s cars. It was not really needed with the tinted rear window but I remember, I was surprised to see it, as this was high-tech in the 60's.

Bill K

[Tom Kirkham]

Do you know where the mirror came from?

[Mark IV]

Tom,

The mirror is a mid-60s Ford "Day/Night" twist. The stem it is on looks like the Mustang setup which would make sense as Shelby would be familiar with them from the GT350s.
Scott Drake C6ZZ-17700-FMC Mustang Rear View Mirror Day/Night 1965-66

[bkozlow]

It is definitely not a Mustang mirror. CSX-2286 seemed to have a lot of "one of" parts. The mirror attachment was not very nice and used three pieces coming off the inside ceiling to form an attaching point for the the mirror. These three metal legs were attached to the roof with rivets from the outside of the car to the inside. They were large head solid rivets, not pop rivets. I believe it is the only car with this attachment. The mirror, I use is a Bob Drake number BAAA-17690 $55 and while not a day-night has the correct look. It is from a 1955 Ford pickup truck.

Bill K

[Mark IV]

The trucks use a three hole stanchion that would meet that spec. The "twist-knob" day/night mirror came into use at Ford in late 62-63 and was common to the Thunderbirds/Lincolns and optional on other models.