Steering wheel spacer on Vintage cars without airbag, installation guide
Valid for:
all cars made before airbag has been introduced as mandatory in mass production cars, AND of which you find the steering wheel spacer available on this website.
After a couple of years starting this business, we had inquiries from Vintage cars owners, who wanted to upgrade the driving position by approaching the steering wheel, and mantain the OEM steering wheel as well, to retain OEM look of the interior and compensate the lack of steering wheel depth adjustment on older cars.
Up to early 2026, you can apply this procedure to the following cars:
- Alfa Romeo 105/115 platform cars
- Audi Sport Quattro with 80 B3 style steering wheel
- Bmw 3 series E30 without airbag
- Fiat Panda 141
- Mercedes 190 E and similar cars from the 80s
- Peugeot 205
- Porsche 911 before 1989, Porsche 964 RS, 914, 924 and 944 without airbag
- Volkswagen Golf mk1 and Old Beetle 1303
Safety Precautions
- Battery Disconnection
Always disconnect the battery before starting the installation. This precaution prevents unwanted and always sudden horn running, sparks between pending horn wire and steering column and even accidental horn fuse blowning. Pull negative terminal out of the battery. - Steering Wheel Alignment
Usually spline features many fine teeth without alignment marks. To avoid misalignment after installation, park the vehicle with the wheels straight, and have an assistant hold the steering wheel while removing the central bolt. - Handling OEM Wiring
Old cars just have horn’s wire, which after decades can be delicate and must be handled with care. It is often mated with an horn ring, or horn contact, embedded in the rear side of the steering wheel, where it goes on the steering column. Usually it is bolt on the wheel via 3 little bolts, or pressed in. Take your time to understand how it is fitted, you will have to remove it and re-attach ti the steering wheel spacer. Normal chilled handling is ok. Don’t overworry.
Procedure
Steering wheel removal
- pull out the central horn button with the car brand’s logo. Usually is pressed in the steering wheel’s frame, or it is embedded in the whole central plastic structure of the wheel. Depending on the car model, you may just pull out the car brand’r logo or the whole plastic piece in which it is glued on.
- In all the above mentionned cars, the steering wheel is mounted on the steering column thanks to a big central nut. Un-tighten it and unscrew without removing it yet.
- The steering wheel can be very strongly stuck in the steering column, remember that these cars may have up to 50 years and the steering wheel may have never been pulled out. DON’T ATTEMPT TO REMOVE IT BY JUST PULLING! It’s way easier that you hurt yourself, or bend the steering wheel, or break it. Best way is use a puller to unlock the wheel. Puller can be bought or in worst scenario custom made somehow at the moment. Ask a professional.
- After wheel is unlocked, remove it, and if it comes out with the horn ring, pull it out from the steering wheel and re-install it on the back of the steering wheel spacer’s aluminium hub. The horn ring can be just pressed in, or bolted on. And the steering wheel spacer is always machined to replicate the way of mounting of the horn ring on the steering wheel. Only cars without this horn ring are old Alfa Romeo.
Fitting the spacer
- Insert the aluminium hub (with the horn ring mounted on it) in the steering wheel’s shaft.
- Re-tight the central big nut. Tightening torque is usually 50 Nm. Find the exact value on OEM workshop manuals, if available.
- Secure the steel part of the spacer onto its aluminum part, tightening the allen screws
Re-installing the steering wheel
- Slide the steering wheel onto the steel shaft of the spacer. Alfa Romeo cars only will require to insert the Woodruf key first, because they don’t have splined shaft.
- tight the nut included in the kit and reconnect the horn wire, which is usually via blade connector on old cars.
- Push back the plastic cover with the car’s badge, that actuated the horn, inside the steering wheel frame.
Reconnect the battery and start the car.
After-Installation checklist
- steering wheel rotation effort does not change
- stalk lever still return automatically
- horn pressure feel does not changes
- existing steering wheel adjustment still works, if were available from factory
- you should not hear clicks or rubbing noises behind the wheel while turning it.
END.
