Grant Steering Wheel from MSA

[ksechler]

Hi all. I'm posting this for posterities sake. I have found searching past posts particularly helpful so I wanted to share some knowledge.

I ordered the grant Mahogany steering wheel from MSA for my 1976 280z and installed it this weekend. The instructions were absolute crap and I was pretty disappointed. Through a lot of trial and error I finally got the wheel on right so here are some notes to help anyone else struggling with this.

The kit includes the wheel, a billeted adaptor, a Z-emblem horn button and various hardware. The instructions are much photocopied and contain one small exploded view of the assemble along written instructions. There is also a small bag with a brass pin and a tiny spring. There is a sheet of paper and some vague directions in the bag. If your car is first generation I believe you can just throw that bag away. I did but only after trying to figure out how it went in for about an hour.

The first step is to tap two pins into the back of the billeted adapter to trigger the turn signal release. Use your old steering wheel to figure out how deep they go and the approximate placement. My original wheel had the pins at 9:00 and 3:00 o'clock. The billeted adapter is stamped at the top. There was no way it was stamped properly because this would not allow me to place the pins at 9 and 3. So I went freelance and figured it out on my own. There are 5 allen head bolts that hold the center cap of the wheel. One of these bolts should be at TDC and then the pins will be at 9:00 and 3:00. I found the right position and installed the pins. I test fit the wheel and ensured that the signals released and they did.

Next is the confusing part. There is a copper or brass ring on the back of the billet (the part that will be pointed toward the front of the car when installed is what I am calling the "back"). There is a contactor inside the steering column that will touch that ring. You need to grab that contactor at the base with a pair of needle nosed pliers and then bend it toward you so that it sticks out about 1/2" further than originally. Then you need to use your pliers to straighten the part that contacts the brass ring in the billet (sorry for the lack of technical names) so that it will be parallel to the ring. Once that is done you smear the ring in the billet with the included grease and install it. Be sure the wheels are straight in the billet is installed in the proper orientation (the "top" bolt hole at TDC as discussed in the previous paragraph). Install your original lock washer and nut and torque it down.

Now install the wheel, and center section. Take the horn button out for now (its easier to put this in last). Pull the single wire through where the horn button goes. Tighten all 5 of the allen bolts. Connect the single wire to the horn button and install the button. If you did the part with the contactor right, then your horn will work. If you did not you will have to disassemble and bend it out a little more; so try to do it right the first time! I did not and it's a pain. As an aside, the "Z" emblem on my MSA supplied horn button fell off during assembly. It wasn't very impressed and just used the Grant button. I'll come up with a more suitable solution later.

Good luck!