what is a suicide steering wheel knob and where exactly does it go?

A "Suicide Knob" was a little knob attached to a clamp (similar to a hose clamp) which would clamp to a convenient spot on your steering wheel. Picture a large knob attached to the wheel, facing you. You could use it to "crank" the wheel quickly around turns with one hand. It would,if installed correctly, lay flat facing the inside of the wheel. When needed, you would grab it and pull it to the upright position and use it to steer the car. In the 50's, when most cars didn't have power steering, it had a "cool factor" of at least 7. :D Maybe someone has a picture of one they could post. Oh the reason why it was called a suicide knob? The original ones DID NOT retract, and when the wheel returned from a hard turn, the knob could get hung up on your arm or worse!

So u can put them on any wheel? i think i understand what your saying. it clamps facing toward the opposite side of the wheel, and when u wanted to, u pulled it out facing the driver and used it. does anyone have a picture of one installed? thanks malibujerry350 for the explanation.

Here's a place that sells 'em, although they might be illegal to use. Could be one of those urban legends like driving with bare feet is illegal. Or that one could be true.

Anyway, it's not installed, but you get the idea. Look at the one that says 'swing away.'

swing away (http://maxpages.com/spinners)

Ed.

thanks guys, now i get it. does anyone still use these things. seems pretty cool. maybe a nice skull knob or dice.

Here's a cool Yenko model on eBay. No, it's no mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2182070544&category=418

A friend of mine who is a professional trucker has always had one in any of the trucks he's owned. Seems truckers are about the only ones that still use them. Yeah...back then...cool factor was pretty high. graemlins/thumbsup.gif But I think they used to call 'em "spinners".

I've heard them called "spinners". Most often though I've heard them referred to as "knuckle busters".

Dad had one on a '53 Chev 3 Ton - manual steering. Drive that one a rutted dirt road and you find out why they call it a knuckle buster. OUCH!!!

Wes

Were have you guys been? They're 'necker knobs'. Let you hang on the the wheel with one hand while the other hangs onto someting else. As in "necking" from back in the day.

That's right--back when your ride was a '50 Ford 2-dr., how else you going to keep your arm around your honey and steer your car at the same time. Power steering? Yeah I heard some old rich guys cars have it. Also called a "brody knob". You can still buy one from JC Whitney (not the kind with the picture of a naked ladyon it though). Very cool back in 1957.

We called em Brodie knobs.

Excellent accessory. A must have for the donutting pro :D

Uh, keep your thumb out from inside the steering wheel.

K

I had one up untill I sold my tractor two years ago.

Originally posted by daveseitz:
I had one up untill I sold my tractor two years ago. lol, we have one of them babies on our forklift at work!

Custom! :cool:

I'm going to put one on my riding lawn mower because you have to operate the throttle with your right hand while steering with your left. Gets to be a pain getting cose to trees, shrubs etc. A spinner should make it much easier.

We called em Brodie knobs as well, on a trip to SC from CA when I was younger, in the family camper. I think it was an old ford one ton. My dad had one. Try turning around a corner w/out power steering, and letting go of the wheel to have that thing come around and hit your hand. OUCH!

Will

Hmph....and here I thought they were only for bus drivers and one armed road course racers.