As I said, the splines match, but the mounting is different. On the '79, the wheel is secured with a nut to threads that protrude from the steering column. On the '83, the wheel is secured by a bolt that threads INTO the steering column.

I'm just wondering if I can mount the '79 wheel safely if I get a different bolt. My instinct says yes, but I want to be 100% sure.

Here's a picture of the '83 wheel. You can see the dished indentation where the tapered-head bolt sits:


Here it is with the bolt in:


Here's the hub in the '79 wheel (sitting on the '83 steering column):


And here it is with the bolt in:


You can't really see it in my picture, but without the indentation as in the '83 wheel, the tapered-head bolt sticks out, and doesn't really "grab" the steering wheel. I'm just wondering if it's safe to substitute a new bolt of the correct size but with a flat head, and use that and a large washer to mount the '79 steering wheel.

I didn't grab a picture of the '83 bolt itself and can't find one online.

I don't see why that would be a problem... but I also don't want to find out, as I'm driving, that it was a bad idea.