Loaded68W34

I thought some of you might like to see this, especially those with 40's - 50's cars. This is an Oldsmobile automatic car watch steering wheel with what I think is a pretty cool story. I am pretty sure these were available from 50-52.


When I was little, I can remember my dad telling me about a special steering wheel that his dad had hanging on the wall of his office when he (my dad) was a kid. My dad was born in 52 and I can remember him bringing up the topic of this steering wheel several times over the years. At that point he could not remember what the wheel was off of or how it worked, he just remembered it hanging on the wall. My grandfather was a used car dealer from the 50's until he passed away in 1991. The first car I ever helped restore was a 1954 Cadillac convertible that my grandfather had brought down to PA from New York in the 50's. My dad bought it back in the 70's or 80's and we restored it around 1998. On a side note, my dad always told me that my grandfather loved to use large Oldsmobiles for tow vehicles I believe he once had a 1959 98 convert that he would tow cars with (using a tow bar). He also had a 66 toro in the early 70's that he put his dealer logo on and used as his company vehicle. When my grandmother passed away in 2012, my brother and I spent a summer clearing out her property to help my parents get it ready for sale. We were cleaning out one of the old out buildings (former office for the used car lot) that probably had not been entered in 25-30 years when my brother pulled out a bare 3 spoke steering wheel with a clock in it. I instantly thought of the stories dad told about the steering wheel on the wall and knew what it was. Keep in mind this building had a very large hole in the roof and was filled with random stuff to the point that you had trouble walking around. Add to this that the wheel was bare except for the clock when we first pulled it out. I put the wheel aside and told my brother to keep an eye out for other parts that look like they would fit. It turned out, we found (in separate areas) the horn ring and the center "dome" in the building by the time we were done. I have had the wheel ever since. I cleaned it up but it is still original paint, plastic, and chrome. A year or two ago I found a working clock on eBay. It is a pretty neat piece. There are counter weights inside that wind the mechanism as the wheel is turned or the car moves (you can see the weights and winding mechanism through the lenses in the back of the clock). As long as you are driving the car regularly, the clock stays wound. In the last pics you can see the second hand in the bottom center of the clock face which is pretty cool.






When you got the steering wheel clock, it made the clock in the dash redundant. So you got a compass to put in the dash where the clock was. I found this one around the same time I found the working clock and I thought it would be cool to keep with the wheel.


I hope you enjoyed reading about the history of this wheel. I don't know how my grandfather was getting cars in the 50's/ 60's (auction, theft recovery, etc), but my dad has told me about some pretty crazy cars he had for sale over the years a 58 Cadillac brougham (the one with the stainless roof and rear suicide doors) and a 50's Mercedes 190 SL convert just to name two (even my dad has told me he is not sure how my grandfather got a hold of some of these cars). I do know he got quite a few cars that were wrecked and only a year or two old to repair. In 1970 my dad had a 67 Camaro RS that had been wrecked in the rear quarter (my parents drove it on their honeymoon to Florida).

Greg Rogers

That is really neat! Thanks for sharing.

rocketraider

The "car-watch" also included a turn signal lever that was curved to clear the clock nacelle when the steering wheel was turned.

Would we expect less from GM's gadget division? Olds designed it, Cadillac tested it, then everybody got it! Well- Buick tended to go their own way. They didn't like stuff that wasn't designed in Flint!🤨

Bigmikey65

I don’t know which is cooler - the clock or the center cap ! Beautiful - thanks for sharing !

coldwar

Just a small note here. Maar watch had 'steering wheel watch kits' before Oldsmobile started purchasing and incorporating them in 1951 through to 1952 wheel assys. You see the universal kits on ebay which bring healthy sums. These kits do not carry the Oldsmobile name on the face, and do not have the orange arrow on the crystal.

Note the face - Also, steering wheel art instead of famous Oldsmobile planet logo -




Then this popped up, first time for me. Not sure if this is legit production, an exhaustive search for a complete Nash steering wheel assy with watch netted zero -

Loaded68W34

Legit or not, the Nash one is pretty neat.

junkyardjeff

Back in 79 I had a 51 with that clock and compass.

no1oldsfan

Cool piece. Cool story. I got one if those center hubs out of a junkyard when I was a kid. I was mesmerized by the three dimensional look of it.

oldwatch

@ coldwar,
Hello, I work with a translator and I ask for your understanding if this is not entirely OK,
https://uhrforum.de/threads/was-ist-.../#post-3452494
I have been dealing with this type of watch and the history of the MAAR Automatic for several years. I am currently writing a book about it and preparing an exhibition at Swiss.

I know 6 versions with the gimbal drive and 5 versions without. 2 for military use in World War II.
I knew that this was built for Nash and Chevrolet in addition to Olds.
http://www.roadkillontheweb.com/imag...aarwatch01.jpg
I only had this version of Nash from one picture - thanks for showing it here!
I'm looking for exchanges, documents of all kinds, old photos and watches of this caliver. On loan (guarantee) or to buy for the exhibition

I would be happy to make contacts!

bobs72

Cool. I'd have that thing on my 72, then get into a wreck staring at it.