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Loren Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2004 Posts: 1694
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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I finally got the 59 Ghia insulator rings back from the machine shop. Unfortunately, they were a real pain to make and they are so thin that a lot of them didn't make it through the final milling. They turned out OK and are usable, but they are not up to my usual standards.
Here is the original insulator ring that was used as a sample:
Here is my reproduction:
Here you can see some of the problems. The raised section were so thin that some of them didn't come through the milling process intact.
All in all it was worth a try and of the 50 blanks I had I think I have about 15 good ones, 15 fair ones and the rest were too damaged or flew apart during the milling. I looked into having them injection molded, but for such a small run they would have been way too expensive. I suppose the next option will be having them 3-D printed. At this point I will try to sell the good ones I have at a loss and save up some more money, and look into the 3-D printing option if there is a demand. |
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djway3474 Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2011 Posts: 2576 Location: The Real NDK So Cal
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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A two part mold would work for this part. |
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sputnick60 Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007 Posts: 3907 Location: In Molinya Orbit
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djway3474 Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2011 Posts: 2576 Location: The Real NDK So Cal
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 11:30 am Post subject: |
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A two part mold of this size should be easy to make on your own and probably only be around $50 or less in materials |
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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Good afternoon Loren, insulators received! Very nice! I’ll take some pics of the installation and add it to the forum for testimony.
So what’s next? How about those plastic studs that hold the cover to the ring? I have foam earplugs holding mine on! |
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Loren Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2004 Posts: 1694
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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In order to make a mold I would need an NOS insulator ring to make a mold from. All the insulator rings I have are cracked and damaged. It seems the plastic used to make the original rings shrinks slightly with age since every ring I have is cracked. With 3-D printing all I need is a good sample to take measurements from, the steering wheel and a contact ring. I might look into 3-D printing in the next few years if there is any demand.
I looked into having some of the ribbed studs that hold the plastic cover on produced, but they were cost prohibitive. Besides, I don't think there is enough demand to invest in a run of them. |
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 8:47 am Post subject: |
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Fits in there perfectly! Well done Loren.
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PeteSC Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 881
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 5:57 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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What, if anything, holds the brass ring in place over the plastic insulator in the '59 setup? Should it be a tight enough fit that the brass ring snaps into the insulator? I assembled my newly restored wheel and the brass contact ring just sort of lays in place over the insulator, so with any turning of the steering wheel it pops out and grounds itself on one of the springs. Hopefully I'm just overlooking something simple. Thanks. |
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:43 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Good morning Pete, the brass ring should just lay over the plastic insulator. What holds the brass ring in place are the 3 screws and 3 plastic insulator spacers. It should all turn together once everything's in place.
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PeteSC Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 881
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 6:54 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Shawn wrote: |
Good morning Pete, the brass ring should just lay over the plastic insulator. What holds the brass ring in place are the 3 screws and 3 plastic insulator spacers. It should all turn together once everything's in place.
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Thanks Shawn. Judging by your photos I clearly have the wrong insulator spacers. The ones included with my wheel are no where near long enough to hold the brass ring in place. They're very short and don't clear the depth of the horn ring, so if the three screws were tightened down as yours shows the horn ring would be in constant contact with the brass plate. My spacers are also a very tight fit to the horn ring so even if they were longer they wouldn't allow the ring to be engaged and returned by the springs - they're too fat to work as guides for the horn ring which is what yours appear to do. Looks like I need to contact Koch's and/or find some spacers like you have.
Thanks again.
Edit - here's what I was sent:
Last edited by PeteSC on Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:01 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Glad I could help!
Also, check with Loren, he made a pile of these kits for 58's and 59's, not sure if he has any left but it's worth a shot. |
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:43 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Those look like spacers for a 60-71 steering wheel?...I'm not too familiar with those. |
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PeteSC Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 881
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:51 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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I just sent Koch's and email with my photos and yours, so hopefully it's just a mix-up and they can send the correct spacers ASAP. As many wheels as they restore I'll be surprised if it's something they can't address quickly and if that's the case then I'll definitely reach out to Loren.
Thanks again. |
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PeteSC Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 881
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:31 pm Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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I haven't had much luck finding correct screw insulators, so I improvised as best as I could for a short-term solution. Loren was generous enough to send me the dimensions of the insulators (thanks Loren!). I found nylon flanged bushings online that were very close in size; overall width at flange is 1/32 smaller, overall length is 1/16 larger, lower section outside diameter is 1/32 smaller; inside diameter is 1/64 larger, thickness of flange is identical. They're easy to cut so the 1/16 larger length is an easy fix. Biggest difference is thickness of lower part; it's thinner than original/Loren's repop. It does hold the brass plate down so it does work for that purpose....however there's just a touch of slop in the horn ring since it now has thinner guides. Anyway, for $6.15 for a bag of 100 it was worth a shot. I have 97 extra if someone else needs any as a temporary horn ring fix.
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:23 pm Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Nice! Let's see it assembled! |
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PeteSC Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 881
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 5:30 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Shawn wrote: |
Nice! Let's see it assembled! |
Here's the only photo I have handy at the moment. Pardon the crooked horn ring; this was with the wrong short screw spacers on so the ring doesn't have the stability it normally would with correct length spacers.
It sounds like there's a chance some spacers of the correct dimensions will be cut, so if anyone else out there in lowlight steering wheel land thinks they might need some now may be a good time to chime in. |
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Shawn Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 63 Location: York, PA
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:07 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Very nice! |
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VeloMikey Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2012 Posts: 646 Location: So Cal
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:22 pm Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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Bringing this back to the top... anybody have a spare kit they want to sell? Loren is out and John has a ton of stuff in front of them in his cue. I need everything, springs, screws, washers and plastic pieces. _________________ '58 Ghia 2387cc with a Berg / Folts 5 Speed
Ghia Build Thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768748 |
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copellos Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2004 Posts: 937 Location: sonora ca
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:24 pm Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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It's on the list...in fact I need a spring for a sample |
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djway3474 Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2011 Posts: 2576 Location: The Real NDK So Cal
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 12:35 am Post subject: Re: How to install a 58 and a 59 Ghia horn ring |
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I used Lorens kit for this
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