55 T-Bird and 55 Full Size Horn Rings....

[glinton]

I'm new here(first post ever) and I'm trying to help my Dad along with getting his 55 back on the road. I was refered to this site from a guy that is into Corvettes and from what I've read so far this is an excellent site!

Anyways, I know that the 55 T-Bird horn rings are pretty much impossible to find but I seem to remember that the 55 full size rings will fit? Or is it the whole steering wheel that has to be swapped over....? If so what is the difference because I've seen some of them in the $100 range where as the T-Bird rings seem to start at $300.

What is the quality of the repop horn rings?

Thanks guys.

 

[gbhrps]

Glinton,
55 TBird steering wheels are unique to that year. I've run across 55 TB's where the steering wheel has been changed over to another Ford model, and in my opinion they just don't look right, and hurt the overall value of the car. Afterall, its the first thing you see when you get into the car, and definitely one of the first things people look at when they see the car with the top down. And a real TBird person will see the change right off the bat. I have seen horn ring assemblies where the horn ring itself has been broken off the main chrome body. The chrome was in very good shape, and it took someone to point it out to me before I noticed that the ring was missing. It looked very presentable the way it was.
As far as the repops go, anything repop that I bought for my car were excellent. I worked on my 55 when it was being restored (bought it about half way through the resto) and made the decisions as to whether to buy repop door handles, chrome pieces, emblems, or have my originals rechromed. All of the repop stuff I purchased (interior/exterior door handles, window cranks, fender gills, hood scoop grill, mirrors) were excellent, costing much less to buy than the cost of rechroming the originals. The TBird repop stuff for the most part is all pretty good. Repop stuff for my British car is not in the same ballpark at all. While $300 plus seems like a lot of loot for such a small item like the horn ring, it really does make the driver's centre stand out.
In the final analysis, its your father's car, and he can do whatever he thinks is right.
Gene

 

[bromhead]

55 wheel

Never reproduced as far as I know,,I swapped my wheel for my choice,agreed the original keeps the most value,,why I kept mine,put away and restored,,I dislike the greyhound bus size,the thin grip, difficult w non power steering I find the lesser diameter easier. It is seen right away but talk turns to my 4 spd then.

 

[gbhrps]

Bromhead,
National Parts Depot shows the 55 horn ring, part # T-13A805-1 on page 45 of its 2004 small bird catalogue. Not cheap at $329.95, but then again, if you're restoring a 53 year old car ... what is?

 

[bromhead]

natl parts

A good co. Good to hear its finally being made,agreed about the price,between mustangs and other stuff,I found there seems to be about five grades of repro stuff, I also became bright enough to get the best.