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aftermarket steering wheel hijet

Discussion in 'Tips and Tricks' started by fupabox, Aug 27, 2009.

  1. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    Couldn't stand my stock steering wheel..checked it on prob.50 different cars in the wrecking yard and none would fit(I have an aftermarket 6 bolt wheel wanted to get a cross reference for an adapter as finding an adapter for a hijet has proven impossible.
    So......the doctor advises surgery!
    step one cut the hub out of the original wheel[IMG URL=http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x119/fupabox/?action=view&current=0827091509.jpg][​IMG][/url][/IMG]
    If this doesn't work I'm not going anywhere in my mini for a while..
    local steel supplier cut me a 2 inch tall piece of 3 1/2 inch steel tubing.1/2 inch thick wall..
    measured out where I needed holes and drilled and tapped (of course my tap broke in the 5th hole and I had to drill another 6 holes and tap them...figured it was quicker than trying to extract the broken tap..Grrrrr:frustration:)
    Centered and welded the old hub to the tubing (photo before final dressing of welds)[​IMG][/URL][/IMG]
    Covered the new adapter in scrap black upholstery vinyl[​IMG][/URL][/IMG]
    hooked up horn and mounted new wheel
    [​IMG][/IMG]
    [​IMG][/IMG]
    [​IMG][/IMG]
    I can't believe how much more leg room I have now..the wheel looks a bit high but is comfortable for me...interior mostly done now (except stereo)
    I also cut 2 1/2 inches off the shifter and mounted a new knob..came with the wheel and a shift boot I didn't use for $45 canadian shipped to my door, gotta love E-bay..
    Any ideas on a Daihatsu emblem for the boring horn button ?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 27, 2009
  2. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Well I'll be. That looks great! Talk about a heavy duty steering wheel adapter. After you cut the stick did you have to rethread it or did the new knob have a set screw to hold it in place?
     
  3. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    wow!! fantastic job!!

    nice fit and finish on the wheel and the interior of that thing is awesome!

    depending on the material of the horn button there are a couple things you can do. you could have it lazer etched (had a machine to do that at the last place i worked) and that will work for most materials but is really only a surface design. if you wanted to go for a little deeper finish you can use a heavy latex masking (like how they do vinyl stickers, but it's much thicker) and then lightly sandblast it about 1/8" deep and apply paint, then remove the masking. or go really high tech and take it to a machine shop that can do it with a CNC.
     
  4. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    greg...the adapter is heavy(about 4 lbs I'd say) but I couldn't weld aluminum to the original steel hub so I'll have to lose some weight to compensate :p
    the knob is held on with 3 setscrews so no threading was necessary
    milt..thanks..unfortunately the horn button is a plastic dome so it looks like it's going to be a decal for me..or a tiny airbrush mural..I used to do those till computer graphics did me in.
     
  5. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    if it's plastic you can still do a light sandblast design... or even some engraving. there are stores at the mall that will do that for ya. once you have something engraved in it you can either rub crayon in it then wipe it off the outside (it last pretty long) or use a fine paint brush to color it in.
     
  6. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    really..thats cool I"ll check that out,thanks
     
  7. skian

    skian New Member

    what seats are in that thing? and can you still get to the front of the motor?
     
  8. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

  9. Socal Sonny

    Socal Sonny Member

    bringing back this thread from the dead..

    has anyone else had luck finding an aftermarket steering wheel/hub that will fit our hijets?

    I think it would be easier to buy a universal hub and weld the center piece to it. it would save time with drilling and tapping a heavy tube.
     
  10. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    actually drilling and tapping the tube takes only about 20 minutes or so...If you have everything ready to go you can have the old wheel sliced up and the new wheel mounted in under an hour....the Daihatsu was very easy compared to my Mitsubishi ...I have checked all Japanese sites and have found that all the hijet models use different boss kits,and ordering one from Japan will cost a mint with shipping and duties.....A premade kit would end up too thick when you add the stock wheel centre to it...you could always drill out the middle of the adapter so the steering wheel nut would fit through it ,but I think you end up with even more work in the long run than making your own
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2011
  11. Green Machine

    Green Machine New Member

    Nice job...what size of wheel is it...i checked flea bay and there are lots of wheels...too many...I tried to find one like yours...they seem to all come with specific adapters...not sure what to get...any help in finding one?...thanks
     
  12. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

  13. Socal Sonny

    Socal Sonny Member

    i wonder if the nardi steering wheel off the Daihatsu Charade De Tomaso will fit..
    It seems to have a similar hub size
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  14. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    from what I've seen on the Japanese adapter manufacturers sites the Charade is a different size...I checked a ton of vehicles by taking my stock wheel to a wrecking yard and trying it on anything I could find....nothing fit,but the Charade and Rocky were never sold in Canada so I never checked them..you never know...would be nice to test it though
     
  15. Ironraven

    Ironraven Active Member

    Damn, that looks extra fancy! I like it :)
     
  16. Socal Sonny

    Socal Sonny Member

    im sure there has to be atleast 1 daihatsu that has a similar size. I'll head the junkyard one of these days. They might have a charade.
    Im gonna see if i can get my hands on that nardi steering wheel.
     
  17. Socal Sonny

    Socal Sonny Member

    just spoke with leon from daihatsu help and he said the steering wheel off a charade will not fit :(
     
  18. Aij29

    Aij29 New Member

    Hi
    I`ve been trying this mod and have got as far as chopping up a Hijet steering wheel,
    But it doesnt look the same as yours Fupabox??(could you let me know if its the same or not please)

    Cheers
    Adrian

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  19. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    yup that's about what the centre piece looked like after slicing it out...next you weld a 3 1/2 inch outside diameter steel pipe (1/2 inch wall thickness) to the original wheel centre and then grind off the excess....I went with a 2 inch tall pipe but it depends on how high you want the wheel
     
  20. Aij29

    Aij29 New Member

    Thanks for the reply:)

    Could i ask how you sorted the horn?
    Also the bottom of your boss looks like it tapers was this something you made
    or was your Daihatsu centre tapered?

    Adrian
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2011
  21. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    my original centre section had the horn contact ring on the bottom embedded in the plastic...because the 3 1/2 inch pipe won't fit into the circular cutout in the steering column cover (slightly larger diameter).I kept the plastic circular section and welded around it to attach the 3 1/2 inch pipe...the tapered section you see from the side in the photos is the original plastic circular section...........the horn contact ring is part of the plastic centre so I just hooked it up the same as the factory
     

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