Making a new horn wire collar, oh boy!

[Guest NikeAjax]

Willie, AKA, Old Tank, asked me document what I did to make the make my new swell, for lack of a better word, horn wire-collar. I didn’t take pix while I was doing it, but hopefully this will shed light on the process:

What I used to make the horn wire-collar for my ’56 Century was a piece of .015 sheet stock brass. I measured the height of the collar at about 7/8”, and the circumference at about 2-5/16”. I measured these out on the sheet stock and cut them with a tin snips. I used an 18mm socket to bend it around to get the basic shape: I also just used my fingers to get a tighter curl/curve without the socket. I found that using a smaller 5/8” deep-socket was good for rolling it on a hard surface to smooth out any slight creases I had made, which is pretty easy to do. After I had a good curl/curve to the metal I checked to make sure I had a nice tight fit on the rubber insulator that holds it to he shaft of the steering wheel, a little filing was needed: if your 1/16 off too long, don’t use the snips, just file it, it’s pretty soft metal, and go slow, take your time. Once you get the circumference right, you’ll want to solder it. I used a small needle nose vice-grips to hold the butted ends together: the propane torch I used would have uncurled the metal as it expanded. I also put some paste-flux at the joint so the solder would flow. The trick now is to heat the metal enough, but not too much, when the solder flows, STOP! When you get a good solder job, wrap the 18mm socket in some paper, I think three or four times around: the socket is a smaller diameter you will notice and you want a very snug fit around it. Put a hose clamp around the collar, leaving about 1/16” sticking out on one side and tighten. This does two things: it holds the collar to the socket and it straightens it up. With a ball peen hammer, gently tap down the 1/16” metal that is sticking out, slowly working your way around the edge. This new edge is going to keep it straight, give it strength and act as a stop on the rubber insulator. Note on the factory piece, there is an area where the wire gets soldered on; if you still have the original insulator you can see an indentation in it. Put the insulator and new collar on the steering shaft and note where the indent is. With the tip of a slot tip screwdriver and the ball peen hammer strike the area until you have made it deep enough for the horn wire to nest into.

To connect the new horn wire, use more paste flux on the end of the wire and indent you just made. Also, a very small deep-socket with a ¼” drive makes an excellent heat-sink; cover the plastic insulation of the wire with the socket leaving only the bare wire. With a propane torch heat the solder just until it starts to flow then stop.

You may want to glue the new horn collar to the insulator, Buick never did, and that’s why I had to come up with the process you just read.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense to anyone who reads it: I hope I can answer any questions?

Jaybird

[old-tank]

Thanks,

VIII on the web page...

Contributions from others are always welcome.

Willie

[1957buickjim]

Jaybird, Outstanding description of the process!!! Kudos to you. I have a feeling that will help a lot of people out there.

[Guest NikeAjax]

Thanks! Sometimes I feel like it would be imposable to keep this car running if I weren't very creative, and also from help from people in this forum. Criminitly, there's so much on the '56's that's one year only, and also the fact that it ain't a Chevy, Ford or Caddy. When I try to find parts half the time it's, "Good luck Charley... they only made that for one year... if it was a Chevy part..." My response is usually a whole chain of expletive-deleted words.

Right now, well after I get the steering column back in, I'm making a flange to bolt to the power master cylinder so I can have a remote reservoir for the brake fluid. As I understand, there are two 1956 Buick fluid reservoirs left in the whole world, and those are at Fort Knox with killbots guarding them!

Jaybird

[1957buickjim]

You are so right regarding the forum and the collective knowledge that you can gain here. the money I saved by not having to do things 2 and 3 times before getting it right is worth it. I know what you mean about the part and the "chevy" talk. Even with the 57 Buick, parts are as hard to find as hen's teeth!

However, I do know some people at Fort Knox and.........

[Guest NikeAjax]

Gasp! Wait, are you saying you know where I might get one?!?!? I have two kidneys and two lungs left, you can't have my soul, as I sold that to get the master cylinder, but, er um, sigh, is this going to hurt?

Jaybird

[Guest NikeAjax]

Since I had to paint my steering column, I had to take it all apart too. I didn't know that when I pulled the turn signal switch out it was chock full of little springs, brass contacts, and bearings, Whooooohooo! Needless to say they all came falling out. Fortunately I was able to collect them all up again. Those little bearings are EVIL! I found a good way to get them back in, since at the tender age of 45, my hands shake like I'm 85, is to use a pair of good quality eyebrow tweezers: they have diamond dust embedded into the prongs! Also put everything into a clear plastic box when reassembling everything. The plastic box does two things: if you inadvertently drop anything, it goes back into the box, and it also lets light in on the sides unlike a pan, or shoe box. The eyebrow tweezers give you a good grip, unlike ordinary tweezers that might allow you to shoot that little bearing across the room, think about pinching a watermelon seed, and then you'll need to find a good source for a new bearing!

Just thought I'd share in case...

Jaybird

[1957buickjim]

I guess I forgot to tell about all them there ball bearings in the turn signal..oops! Hopefully you took a couple of pictures before it becam al discombobulated on you. I like the idea of the clear plastic box..that is using your thinking cap!