Removable Steering Wheel M818

[Wastelander]

Hey there, figured mods was where this question belonged. In a different thread I discussed taking my 818 and turning it into a wasteland post apocalypse beast. After seeing the new Mad Max movie I decided that my 818 needs a custom removable steering wheel. My question is whether or not this is something than can be done relatively easy to an M818. I know that with enough time and money anything is possible, but I'm hoping there is a way to do this without a good chunk of custom fab work from me at work in the weld and machining shop. Anyone have any leads or insight?

 

[gimpyrobb]

I'm sure your thread will be deleted soon, they don't like "wasteland post apocalypse beast" threads.

Basically, no. The horn wire goes through the steering wheel and would need quite a bit of fab work to make it removable.

 

[Wastelander]

Yeah, I kinda figured it'd get deleted before too long, thought I'd throw it out there and hope for a decent reply before it gets taken down. I removed the horn button and wiring, got rid of the horn entirely and installed a pull-cord activated air horn with a deeper tone. I was thinking that would make the quick change option doable.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Well, the stock sterringwheel is held on by a nut and threads. You'd have to find a way to convert that to "easy on, easy off".

 

[Suprman]

And it would have to be secure. You dont want it coming off during operation. I have seen removeable adapter kits used on classic cars to help prevent theft. I believe they were for straight bolt on style wheels though. The horn switch can always be relocated with a push button switch mounted somewhere.

 

[Wastelander]

I upgraded the horn to a deeper tone 4 chime horn, and removed the button and wiring entirely from the steering wheel already, I rigged up a pull cord that activates the horn now.

Security of the wheel while operating is what I was most worried about, its a mod I was thinking about doing for a while, thought it'd be a nice anti theft measure to add to my battery kill switch and door locks. Just hadn't found anyone who had done it before. I found a couple of the kits you mentioned, and was wondering if I could copy what they were doing, obviously modified for the rig.