1950 Chieftain Steering wheel

[Doctor's Pontiac]

Can anyone tell me which is the correct steering wheel and horn botton for a 1950 Chieftain (the standard, not the DeLuxe model)? It seems different for the Deluxe versus the standard models. I want to replace mine with the right one. The one in my steering wheel has a red indian head on a clear background. Attached is a picture of one for sale on e bay which has the word "pontiac" on it and a star. Thanks for any information ! Manuel

[Guest 49 Streamliner]

Manuel,

The photo in your message shows a 1949-50 Deluxe steering wheel. Go to these links to see examples of the Standard steering wheel.

Classic and Collector's Cars - Imported classic car specialist

1949 – 1950 – 1951 Pontiac Steering Wheel & Horn Button | Classic NOS Parts

Bill

[Doctor's Pontiac]

Thanks Bill. I did look at the links. Thy show the Standard model without a horn ring. Is that correct? They have just the horn button?

[Guest 49 Streamliner]

Yes, that's correct. Let us know if you find one.

Bill

[PONTIAC1953]

hi manuel, bill is correct, a standard pontiac steering wheel in this era 1949 to 1954, would only have two spokes and and no horn ring, the deluxe pontiac steering wheel has three spokes and the chrome horn ring. in the photo link that bill provided, the steering wheel in shown upside down, turn the wheel 180 degrees. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

[Doctor's Pontiac]

Great info, thanks. Your response makes me wonder if I own a Standard or a Deluxe model. My steering wheel is Deluxe but the outside trim is Standard. Coould you tell from the serial number which one I have? This is the ID plate for my car: A8TH4111.

Manuel

[Guest 49 Streamliner]

Manuel,

There should be a small plate on the firewall, passenger side. It will have a 4-digit Style Number on it. Probably 2511 or 2527, depending on if you have a 2 door sedan or a sedan coupe. If the number is followed by the letter "D", you have a Deluxe. If there are just the 4 digits and no letter, you have a Standard. If I remember correctly from when you posted some photos last year, your current steering wheel appears to be a deluxe wheel from 1951-52, which is slightly different than the deluxe wheel from 1949-50. The original steering wheel on your car might have been a standard, and it was replaced at some time with a 51-52 deluxe.

Could you post some recent pictures of your car?

Bill

[Guest 49 Streamliner]

Manuel,

I forgot to mention in my previous reply, the photo you have from ebay appears to be a 1949 Deluxe steering wheel. On the horn button, it has the word Pontiac and then a 4-pointed star below it. The 1950 deluxe wheel was very similar, but I believe it had a stylized Indian head instead of the star below the word Pontiac.

Bill

[Doctor's Pontiac]

Whoa !! I am impresssed with Bill´s memory. Even I forgot I posted some pictures when I just received the car over a year ago. Bill, you are right about my steering wheel. My car definitely is a Standard model, 2 door sedan (2511 and no letter D on the plate). I brought the car home from the mechanic shop today and will try to get pictures and post them in the next couple of days.

Also, another quick question. How can I know the exact specification for the contact points opening? Sorry I am not very good on this subject, but I believe is the size of the space between the contact points in the distributor. My mechanic asked for that information to try setting the points at the optimal performance.

Thanks to all

Manuel

[PONTIAC1953]

hi manuel, for pontiac straight eights 1949 to 1954 these spec's will help your mechanic, point gap is .016, spark plug gap is .025, timing for engine with standard head 6 degrees before top dead center, high compression head 3 degrees btdc. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.