Hello again,
When I collected my 1948 3.5L MKIV (largely in pieces) it came with two steering wheels neither of which was fitted to the car. From the driver’s point of view, one has a raised centre section while the other is flush.
Cheers,
Tim
My 1948 MK IV 1 1/2 litre has the raised centre (and also has the “Advance” lever), which is an original UK car.
The 3 1/2 litre of this year also has the same raised centre as this photo sent to me shows (not a UK car), but does not have the “Advance” lever.
I wonder if the flush steering wheel centre is from an early year car?
Looking in my '38 SS, I do not see that high raised center ring, but mine does not seem to be flush, it has a ring maybe 1/8" high.
Best picture I could get.
Hi David and Rob,
Thank you for your contributions, greatly appreciated.
David, in both sets of photo’s the steering wheels appear to have the indicator sliding mechanism fitted, giving the ‘raised’ centre to a bosses that appear flush.
Rob, my car certainly has the ‘telescopic’ mechanism, and there is no sliding ring fitted to my steering wheel as it is in Pat’s examples.
The steering wheel restorer here in Australia (fabulous guy) showed me photo’s of the last 1948 MKIV 3.5 he restored just over a year ago (see below). it has an almost ‘flush’ top to the boss. He did say that he hadn’t seen two wheels side by side and so couldn’t account for the variation.
Cheers,
Tim
The boss with the raised center tended to be fitted to later cars. As long as you fit the correct
trafficator cancelling ring and check that the manette fits correcly, it is possible to use either type.
The early rim is a flat steel ring to which is riveted two aluminium rings forming the finger grips
and the rounded profile facing the driver, the later rim,roughly `38 on, is formed by two steel
U profile pressings that form a tube. Both types of wheel are telescopic, certainly the wheel
shown in Robs photo is telescopic, perhaps confusion between “telescopic” and “sprung”.
Peter B.
Hello Peter,
Thank you very much for this information which I shall pass on to the fellow restoring my steering wheel. I’ll probably have both restored as people with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience will not always be around, sadly.
Kindest regards,
Tim
Hello Peter,
Just reflecting a little more on what you have written, it could be that the wheel with the raised centre boss might well have been replaced with the other wheel when the finish on the original wheel became fatigued or cracked.
Best wishes,
Tim
Well, well; a little penetrating oil on that flippy clamp thing and it loosened up, and I find my wheel telescopes after all, thanks Peter.
The parts catalogues say “telescopic” when describing the second wheel, I wonder why they didn’t say it about the first wheel, which I presumably have.
Pulled out my manette a little more and I see that inner ring has two nubs inside for cancelling the turn signal. It appears to be pressed into the main hub.
Looking back at mine and David’s photos, I see his plastic cover ring that fits over the ring in the wheel is about 1/4" deeper than mine. So that’s one reason for the difference.
Yes the alloy rims seem to have been up to 1937/ Handy because if the inner ends of the spokes get corroded, the whole thi
ng can be dismantled and new spokes lasered and riveted inHello again and thank you for the advice.
A friend in the Jag Club here sent me several photo’s of the indicator cancelling rings which are fitted to the inside of the steering wheel boss.
While the shorter of the two fits the wheel with the flat boss?
My final unresolved issue remains, which wheel is correct for a June 1948 3.5 Saloon?
Tim
It’s worth remembering that these Bluemells wheels weren’t exclusive to Jaguar
Hi Ed,
The restorer did mention that they were fitted to Wolseley’s. Again it would seem that what was to hand was fitted, which is understandable. No sense, post-war in a time of scarcity, leaving things lying around unused.
It seems that Bluemels made steering wheels for a vast number or marques, as you said.
Cheers,
Tim
Tim please post a photo of both wheel rims and the manette, also have you checked the spline diameter? the 1 1/2 is smaller… Check also that the screw holding the cancelling ring aligns
with the hole in the boss.
Hello Peter,
Thank you very much for the message.
The steering wheels are with the restorer some 120kms from where I live so I won’t be able to post a photo of the rims at present nor the manette. The ‘cancelling ring’ came from the wheel with the ‘flat’ boss (holes align) so I will need to locate another cancelling ring for the ‘raised’ boss. The diameter of the spline is the same on both wheels, so both suit the car, fortunately. Here is a photo of my cancelling ring which is the same as yours it would appear. Is your steering wheel the ‘flat’ or ‘raised’ boss?
Cheers,
Tim
Be sure to check the spline hole diameter on the wheel to match the spline steering shaft of your car.
Popop
All okay as far as that is concerned.
Cheers,
Tim
Going around my rim with a strong magnet, I find at the outer end of each spoke there is a steel segment maybe 3 times the width of a spoke or say 20 degrees, but in between spokes there is a wide segment say 70 degrees with no steel.
Rob your observation confirms you have the later wheel. The outer end of the spokes have the
form of a T. As stated the rim is a two part pressing. To assemble I assume that the
finger grip half was placed on a jig , , the spokes positioned and welded , then the remaining
half welded in position, the halves might have been placed vice versa of course!
The joints twixt rim and spokes are prone to cracking, when faced with this I braze the joint.
The overcenter clamp never seems to fully tighten the wheel so I use a nut and bolt,
I recall Ed posting this advice previously, but I understand the retention of the visual aspect.
The manette skirt does vary…
BTW I hope it registers that not all my posts “goof” ( your term)
Sometimes I just attempt to keep it “light”.
Regards Peter B.
Ok, T shaped spoke ends is what I meant, but you said the U profile pressings were steel, so I thought mine which appear to be aluminum were another variation.
Misunderstanding on my part Rob, I thought you got varying degrees of magnetic attraction.
Checking your photo perhaps the wheel is the earlier version.
I have posted a photo showing the side profile of the wheel on my 100 replica that is the
steel/ alu early version, the later wheel has a more rounded profile.
Peter B.
