Save-A-Column - no horn?

[DonaldSmith]

I saw with great interest the recent thread, "gm tilt with stock steering box". I printed out the article on RB's Save-A-Column kit. Their bearing kit works in a shortened stock column, for adding u-joints, etc.

In the article, they philosophically decided that they did not need a functional horn button on the wheel, since they could not have it that way with the Save-A-Column setup. Huh?

Maybe the problem is in the alteration of the end of the hollow steering shaft. They turned down a solid bar to fit inside the shaft, and put flat spots on the bar to fit the universal joint setup. No hole through the bar for the horn wire to run down.

How is the horn circuit arranged in a modern car? Are the u-joints hollow for a horn wire to run all the way through?

While I await the knowlegeable response of the forum members, I'll sneek out and have a look at my Venture and Taurus, if I can even see the bottom of the steering shaft.

[Plymouthy Adams]

slip ring in the years folowing the hollow tube and in the more modern years..the use of the clock spring...

[blueskies]

On my '53 chebby truck, the wire for the horn is inside the tube, not the steering shaft. The wire connects to a spring loaded contact at the steering wheel end. The spring pushes the contact against the steering wheel, which has a metal ring embeded in it. The horn button grounds this ring to the steering shaft, which is grounded to the frame through the steering box.

Not sure how the plymouths work, but I imagine it is similar.

Pete

[DonaldSmith]

Yep, the horn wire runs down the hollow shaft and through the steering gear, on my 47 DeSoto.