My Turn - Horn Bar

[Craig Balzer]

My horn bar was getting "floppy" for the last few weeks.

It fell apart while getting a carb dyno-tune in Denver

 

The carb mech used some sort of putty to reattach the pieces so they won't get lost.

It literally popped off the steering column when I was 6 blocks from the repair shop with pieces landing in my lap and the footwell.

 

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From what I can see there is a small beak in the white-ish plastic(?) ring (insulator?) held down by the three screws - just to the right of the screw at 12 o'clock. I need a replacement horn bar, white plastic piece and .  .  . ???

 

I believe there are 2-3 folks on the forum that offer stronger replacement horn bars but I lost the bubble on who they are.

So who has the pieces I need??

[RivNut]

Contact Gene Guarnere.  He had some reproductions at his table in Lexington at the ROA meet.  Nicest repos I’ve seen.  
 

Hit Sherman and Peabody’s “wayback” machine and go back and learn to push the horn bar up from the bottom, not down from the top.  

[Craig Balzer]

1 hour ago, RivNut said:

go back and learn to push the horn bar up from the bottom, not down from the top.  

Not a problem.

I've been pulling the horn rather than pushing the horn for months -- hardly used it at all. Four=Note horn is too intrusive. Only real ass-hats got a blast

I think the damage was done months/years/miles ago and time caught up with me/the car

Edited July 10 by Craig Balzer (see edit history)

[Craig Balzer]

59 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Contact Gene Guarnere.

Is that @abandg?

 

[RivNut]

9 minutes ago, Craig Balzer said:

Is that @abandg?

 

Yep!

[Seafoam65]

Just to give you a heads up.......Gene has the horn bars as does the Turbinator. Best Offer Counts sells the horn contact parts kit on ebay. Be aware that all of the repro horn bars out there

have metal that is too thick on the bottom of the center round section of the bar. In order for

the horn bar to be able to move and honk the horn, you will need to grind away the bottom

of the center section of the repro horn bar  until it is the same thin thickness of the original piece. 

[EmTee]

3 hours ago, Craig Balzer said:

Four=Note horn is too intrusive.

What -- wait...  Isn't that the point?!? 

[Turbinator]

2 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

you will need to grind away the bottom

Winston, I sold you a horn bar at COVID CENTRAL Branson MO. a few years back. Or was it just the horn cap? I suppose you would have mentioned the repro horn bar had I sold you had

a cup thickness needing adjustment. So far Ive had no complaints on the thickness of the bottom piece of the cup. Any way it was good to see you and your very fine canine companion.

Turbinator

[RivNut]

When I said in my post above that Gene’s were the nicest reproductions I’ve seen, I took into consideration what he’s  done to make his work “as delivered.”  

[Turbinator]

4 hours ago, Craig Balzer said:

Is that @abandg?

 

Craig, don't pay any attention to Nimrod. He doesn't know the difference between a lightning rod or a RivNut.

Gene has chrome horn bars and Steve Lorensen has stainless steel horn bars.

[RivNut]

Turb,

You cannot make anything out of chrome.  You can chrome plate different metals.  Gene can chime in and tell us about his bars.  I saw a few reproductions at the meet and I stand behind my statement - Gene’s are the nicest. That’s my experience speaking since I joined the ROA in 1985 and having a least 6 wood steering wheels in that time span.  It’s the design, not the material, that gives them their strength.

Edited July 11 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Seafoam65]

I eyeballed Gene's and Turbinator's horn bars at the Lexington meet. To my eye they are equally nice looking and well made. Turbinator....when I installed my horn bar before grinding down the base circle, when I tightened the 3 screws down on the horn contact the bar would lock down

and not move. After grinding the base circle down to the same thickness as the original pot metal everything was fine. Both your horn bar and Gene's horn bar are the same thickness and they are much thicker in that area than the original GM piece. If there is a way to make these

bars work without grinding down the base circle ,I was not able to figure out how to do it. The extra thickness throws off the geometry of the horn contact  parts in my experience.

 

 

[Riviera63]

34 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Turb,

You cannot make anything out of chrome.  You can chrome plate different metals.  Gene can chime in and tell us about his bars.  I saw a few reproductions at the meet and I stand behind my statement - Gene’s are the nicest. That’s my experience speaking since I joined the ROA in 1985 and having a least 6 wood steering wheels in that time span.  It’s the design, not the material, that gives them their strength.

I don't recall Bob saying Gene's were made of chrome. He said they were chrome. I don't think it takes a lot of imagination to understand that he meant chromed.

 

From what I understand there are 2 types of reproduction horn bars, chromed and stainless steel.

 

As to Winston's observation that Bob's and Gene's horn bars seemed to be of equal quality. There is a reason for that. I believe they all came from the same source.

 

Bill

 

[RivNut]

Chrome plated, yes. But plated steel, pot metal, brass, or ?  That’s where the big differences are.  One piece casting or three pieces welded together?  Lots to consider.

[Turbinator]

GENTS, Gene has a very good horn bar. Gene does not have his horn bars made at the same company I have mine made. My material is 314 Stainless Steel and welded with Tungsten Inert Gas. Additionally, I have some, but not all of my Stainless Steel 314 mill scale removed and treated for chrome plating. Manufacturing takes place in Maryland and chrome plating takes place in AZ and CA.

Pot metal, as Ive been told, was the material the original horn bars were made. Ask Craig Balzer about how the design of pot metal in his bar is so much better than stainless. RivNut you can have opinion, but that is all you have. Nothing to show but run off at the mouth and talk about something you lack. Testicles, resources, and initiative to put something together is the beginning of what you lack. 

Show us one thing Buick you put together. If I catch you borrowing photos like you did of that 64  engine bay painted you claim to be yours Ill tell on you. All you are is League Leader of BS. You know nothing of design or material strength. 

Turbinator

[Turbinator]

2 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

piece. If there is a way to make these

bars work without grinding down the base circle ,I was not able to figure out how to do it. The extra thickness throws off the geometry of the horn contact  parts in my experience.

Winston, if I understand the base of the horn cup is too thick for the horn to work in your experience.? I trust your experience and Im willing to make adjustments, modifications to improve the product.

In nearly 30-35 horn bar sales, some with horn caps, and just horn bar sales Ive had only one come back.

I'm not stopping to make a better product. You’ve done the work I respect your input and recommendations.

Turbinator

[lrlforfun]

One of my best Rivs had a cherry horn bar, a 9.95 outta 10. It was banging my fingers making it uncomfortable to drive so.......before the horn bar broke I sold it. I got $700 at the time and I'm glad I did. The black wheel needed to replace it was easy to find.  Yes, the wood wheel was sharp looking and the rest of the car is just fine.  Mitch

Edited July 11 by lrlforfun (see edit history)

[Pat Curran]

The wood wheels are definitely eye candy for sure, but the standard wheel is more comfortable to rest your hands on on either side of the hub.  But, who doesn’t like eye candy?

[60FlatTop]

Guy Bennett, Bennett Buick, Wayland, NY ordered what we were pretty sure was the last NOS horn bar from GM stock in 1980. It took a while to get in and I remember paying something like $17 for it. My car has been out of service for a while while working on the "eternal paint job".

 

When it goes back into service I plan to machine a couple of metal blocks to lock it in place between the steering wheel spokes. I am not much of a horn blower and prefer to protect the bar from the unknowing stranger.

[arnulfo de l.a.]

I do not have any of turbinators products. But what i do know is that he is a stand up guy with lots of integrity. I trust that if anyone had an issue with any of his products he would make it right. In my world that is priceless. The man takes pride in what he does and because of that he puts alot of time and effort to make a quality product. If i needed a replacement horn bar he would be my go to guy. From what i have heard from a person that has dealt directly with Gene is that he too is a man that has integrity and stands behind his work.This is not to diminish anyone else’s products its an expression of what know about Bob and not what my intuition tells me. Fortunately i still have the original horn bar on my 65gs. A few months back i detected the beginnings of a crack in the location where they break. I re enforced it with fiberglass cloth and resin which saved it from further damage . It is now MUCH stronger than before.

[Seafoam65]

About three years ago I saw an nos horn bar sell on ebay for 1200.00 after a prolonged

bidding war!

[Craig Balzer]

14 hours ago, Seafoam65 said:

About three years ago I saw an nos horn bar sell on ebay for 1200.00

. . . and that was for a pot-metal part that I assume will eventually fail

[dr914]

the original pot metal was just asking to break as the design of the bar encouraged it, Should have been made from stainless steel 

[Turbinator]

Gents, I would like to find yet another ORIGINAL horn bar for the 64-66 Buick Wood Steering Wheel. I would have a CAD made for my manufacturer to use in making the next batch of horn bars.

I think that would be fun. I have a gent in mind to run quality control on the production of the horn bars. 

Stay tuned.

Turbinator

[Craig Balzer]

You can have mine -- I assume it to be original.

Of course, it's in three pieces.

[Turbinator]

On 7/14/2024 at 2:53 PM, Craig Balzer said:

You can have mine -- I assume it to be original.

Of course, it's in three pieces.

Craig, deal. Im pretty sure I can find away to get the needed info to make a CAD drawing. In the case I get some more horn bars made Ill swap you out of the stainless horn bar Im sending out. 
Turbinator

[Turbinator]

On 7/12/2024 at 12:07 PM, Craig Balzer said:

. . . and that was for a pot-metal part that I assume will eventually fail

Seafoam, would you care to speculate a horn bar made from stainless steel and a CAD drawing of the original be of greater value than the current reproductions? Greater value in the new repros does not necessarily mean higher prices for the horn bar.

Turbinator

[Turbinator]

On 7/12/2024 at 1:51 PM, dr914 said:

the original pot metal was just asking to break as the design of the bar encouraged it, Should have been made from stainless steel 

dr914, would you speculate a CAD drawing of an original pot metal horn bar be of value to a manufacturer? A horn bar made closer in likeness and dimensions of the original could possibly fit and look better than my repro. Improvement (s) would not necessarily increase the price. 
Thank you in advance for your input.

Turbinator

[Seafoam65]

On 7/15/2024 at 8:08 PM, Turbinator said:

Seafoam, would you care to speculate a horn bar made from stainless steel and a CAD drawing of the original be of greater value than the current reproductions? Greater value in the new repros does not necessarily mean higher prices for the horn bar.

Turbinator

That sounds like a good idea!

[Turbinator]

25 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

That sounds like a good idea!

I'm on top of it. I appreciate your input. You have a sharp eye for quality. You have no problem separating the wheat from the chaff.  The better after market products are made with noted specs  puts the onus of quality on the maker. I like bringing better useful items to the Riviera community. When costs and prices are kept in line and better products are brought to market customers come out winners.