66 is there a canceling cam position?

[Jim S.]

Best laid plans!

After having my 66 aligned for the first time after reassembly. and having the steering wheel perfectly at 3-6-9 ,I went to install the horn assembly and realized the steering wheel was screwed into the wrong holes. When realigned to allow for the 3-screw holed horn ass. to screw into the hub, it points to 4-7-10!

So, my question is this :Can I just pull the hub and steering wheel with a wheel puller and realign it, or do I also have to be aware of where the canceling cam position is , thus having to realigning the steering from the rag joint up ?

[Mark P.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Jim - I just rebuilt my 65 steering column and before I started any work I noticed the hub was indexed a couple teeth off and everything worked fine. See attached photo. The left is the before photo. I have since fixed it, see the photo on the right. You should have no issue using a puller to remove your hub and reinstalling it in the 3-6-9 position. The cancelling cam will then be in the correct position to match your fixed turn signal switch.

Mark

My Hub 10_9_23.jpgSteering column with new shaft 11_12_23.jpg

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Mark, thanks for the reply .

I guess the better question could have been what is the correct placement of the steering hub to the steering shaft, as that dictates where the canceling cam goes .

So if I read your reply correctly, the steering hub placed on the steering shaft with wheels pointing straight ahead, should have the horn contact opening at approximately at three o'clock position ?

[Gary B.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Jim,

I believe there is an indexing indentation on the hub that lines up with an indentation on the shaft.

Gary

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Thanks Gary,
The next question is in what position should the indexing indentation be? I am learning as I go.

Maybe I will restate my question .

in a nutshell: If you disconnected the steering shaft from the steering box and removed the rag joint, then pulled the shaft from the steering jacket ,then removed the steering hub leaving a plain steering shaft and did not place a single mark on a single thing upon disassembly, which I didn't !!!! How would you precede to reconstruct it properly ?I

[Mark P.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Jim - the procedure is to set your steering box at high center (your wheels and pitman arm should be pointed straight ahead) then install the rag joint with the 12 sided coupler bolt on the firewall side pointing straight up. The steering shaft would only go in one way and the flat spot would point toward the engine and be 100% vertical. You would then insert the shaft into the rag joint and the notch on the steering wheel hub and shaft would point straight up. Your tie rods would then be adjusted to get the wheels perfectly straight. To pull the shaft if you just loosen the clamp that is compressing the spring, then loosen the coupler bolt and the shaft and hub will slide out. You may need to nudge the end of the shaft with a flat screwdriver in the coupler to get it to slide. If you have the time it would be good to get this all set-up like the factory. My steering box shaft had high center marked so that was the most critical positioning and the pitman arm was pointing straight toward the front. Since your car was aligned you could probably set the wheels straight and check it with string on both sides then assume that is high center and start from there. Mark

[Gary B.]

[Mark P.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Gary - this photo is more clear and shows the shaft and hub marks clearly in the 12 o'clock position.

Markvette_steering_wheel_hub_alignment_marks_74a976dce40bc44adf57474f8806138842006913.jpg

[Gary B.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Great photo. That helps.

Gary

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Jim - the procedure is to set your steering box at high center (your wheels and pitman arm should be pointed straight ahead) then install the rag joint with the 12 sided coupler bolt on the firewall side pointing straight up. The steering shaft would only go in one way and the flat spot would point toward the engine and be 100% vertical. You would then insert the shaft into the rag joint and the notch on the steering wheel hub and shaft would point straight up. Your tie rods would then be adjusted to get the wheels perfectly straight. To pull the shaft if you just loosen the clamp that is compressing the spring, then loosen the coupler bolt and the shaft and hub will slide out. You may need to nudge the end of the shaft with a flat screwdriver in the coupler to get it to slide. If you have the time it would be good to get this all set-up like the factory. My steering box shaft had high center marked so that was the most critical positioning and the pitman arm was pointing straight toward the front. Since your car was aligned you could probably set the wheels straight and check it with string on both sides then assume that is high center and start from there. Mark

Mark ,

These instructions and your last photo are exactly what I needed !!

I now see what you and Gary were talking about with the notch/ index on the shaft end .That would have been an excellent way to know where to start . The reason I didn't get it before the pictures is because I don't have one of those on my shaft ! The best picture I could get of it isn't great , but it shows what looks to me like someone beat on it with a hammer or screwdriver , for whatever reason ?.

So between the pics and the instructions I hope to get it right ..


Thanks

Jim

[Gary B.]

[Mark P.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Hi Jim - if you remove the nut then you should still see the mark on the hub. I have no idea why someone had to hit the shaft with a hammer but maybe they didn't have a steering wheel puller. If you get the flat part of the shaft completely vertical using a level and the hub notch straight up then you should be at factory specs assuming your steering box is at high center. If you are off a tooth or two with the shaft it should have no effect on the cancelling cam. Since the cancelling cam is screwed into the back of the hub then as long as the hub is indexed correctly the shaft can be off. Good Luck, Mark

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Gary ,

"Also, I don’t see an index mark on your hub."
Nor do I.

So was it any wonder why something that now seems so basic was so hard for me to figure out . I put it down to yet another perfect example of my theory that the whole world is conspiring against me!

Thanks to this forum for once again thwarting it's evil plans .

Jim

[David Z.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Jim,
This may be a WAG but is it possible that the area marked with the arrow in the pics below is the notch in the hub? if it is, then rotating the hub to the 12:00 o:clock position would put the horn contact button in the correct position.

Of course, that does not fix the issue of where the notch in the end of the column shaft is/was located. As mark points out above if you get the shaft indexed, then rotating that hub notch to align with that mark should allow you to reinstall the hub with the cancelling cam in place.

Just a thought.
Dave Z

possible notch in steering wheel hub.jpg

Cancelling cam alignment 1965 - 1.jpg

Cancelling cam alignment 1965 - 2.jpg

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 is there a canceling cam position?

Dave ,

Good eye !

Using a flashlight and a magnifying glass , it does appear to be the notch in question . I did not notice that Mark's picture was without the nut and as he stated, much easier to spot then.

Mark,.
.
Improvised wheel puller is probably a good guess ,but it does not dissuade me from my conspiracy theory.

Thanks Guys. I can't wait to fix this issue and move on to my next dilemma.