Manx Club

I have had an idea in my head for awhile ( I know, a scary thought), but then I was looking at some pics here on the club site and I saw my idea, a removeable steering wheel!! Is it possible for the manx type cars to have a removeable steering wheel? I am interested in this concept to help in getting in and out of the car, more leg room, and then once in the car, snap the wheel back on. I use my car for mostly street and light trail use. If anybody has any thoughts or ideas on this concept for the fiberglass mounting and where they can be purchased, I would appreciate your thoughts Urbanwarrior238 Member #2140

Quick release steering hubs are fairly common on sand rail and some glass bodied buggys. Their mounting has nothing to do with the fiberglass. They are usually mounted by welding a hex shaped hub on the end of the steering shaft and the adapter slides over the hex piece and is secured by a sping loaded pin. They can be purchased from pretty much any dune buggy parts place. The down side of this type of steeing wheel mount is that it can't be used with a stock self cancelling type VW turn indicator switch.

and there is also a safety issue. the racing pin types can have the pin slip out accidentally and aren't recommended by the manufacturer for the street. thats not to say it happens all the time. but it is possible. there is also a quick connect street version wich uses a key to lock the wheel into place. i belive grant does have a version that will work with a stock column, but you need to use their adapter, which adds a couple inches, unless you cut the column somewhere and remove a section. i also was looking at one on a ricer site and they said they do have an adapter to fit a 73 vw column, which is what i have, but that it is a special order.not in stock. but it is possible. if i can find the site i'll post it. i thought i was going to need the extra clearence to get in and out, but i have not had a problem except for constantly hitting my leg on the turn signal switch. but the dremel took care of that in no time!

here's the link for the guys i was talking to. http://www.tekniqauto.com/US/steeringquickrelease.htm an old email also said that they use a shorter hub to compensate to keep the stock clearence.

I have the hex style on the sand buggy and the Momo on the street buggy. The Momo was expensive, but looks extra cool and mounts using the splines and nut vs cutting and welding. It is not a common as the hex type is , if you use it as a theft prevention device.

Urbanwarrior The Tekniq quick release works with the stock turn signal lever and there is no play in the wheel once the pins seat . It is a bit more expensive though.

Thanks to all for the ideas and products. I will be looking into them and see what will adapt the best without increasing length. Thanks again.

If you go with the Tekniq quick release wheel you will also need their adapter # 231 to use the the stock steering shaft.

I have a GRANT security wheel adapter on my clone, it unlocks with a key and a twist and then a cover piece is installed and locked back. Only a couple of inches of additional length. It has to be used with a GRANT wheel however. Regards, Steve

This Makes Me Think Of A Question. I Would Like A Chrome Or Polished Column. What Are My Options? Gary1719#

Have your stock column chromed

2" aluminum conduit work in place of the stock VW steering column tube and polishes up like chrome.

what year cloumn works best in the buggys or does it matter gary 1719#

67 and earlier columns are easier to mount and were specified by Meyers in the original instuctions for the manx. They just attach to the metal dashboard frame with a clamp. The 68 and later columns with a collapsible shaft have to be bolted to a rigid flat surface on the underside of the dash. Most f/g buggies don't have a dash with that shape or structure.

my 73 bolts through the top of the dash under the windshield rubber. more for look than function. the column is held tight with the retaining strap supplied with the berrien steering column mount. i like having all the switches on the coulmn. but if it was a realistic choice i would go with the flight stick shifter with all the switches-:rock:- and a plain chrome coulumn. i think it would look cleaner.