Started looking at steering wheels for the Escort and holy crap i'm confused.
I do want a quick release.
Do i need an adapter hub, THEN a quick release adapter hub, then wheel?
Or is there an all-in-one solution for the adapter/quick release?
There's an NRG wheel i like, and they seem to have matching quick releases. Any input on which "generation" i want in terms of quick releases? Seems like there's about... 30.
Does NRG not make adapter hubs, or am i just too stupid to figure out their website or maybe i'm calling it something wrong?
If NRG does not adapter hubs, what company is the best source for this sort of thing?
Most aftermarket steering wheel companies have their own bolt pattern (though a few are shared), and thus require an adapter to go from your car to their wheel. A quick-release usually has it's own pattern, requiring yet more adapting. Good companies make the quick release and adapter all in one unit. The problem being, your building an Escort.
If you can find a company that does an Escort to their pattern quick-release, then shop their wheels.
If all else fails, it's just a wheel bolt pattern. You own a drill.
Yes 
You can weld a QR unit directly to your steering shaft, then bolt the wheel to it.
Or you can get a QR unit that bolts to your adapter, then the wheel is attached to the QR. In this case, the QR acts as a spacer. There are really only about three or four bolt patterns for steering wheels, so you're not tied into a QR unit of the same make as your wheel.
The whole "gen 1/2/3" thing is specific to NRG. They also seem to be the "spacer" type, so keep in mind that the wheel will push closer to you. You'll want one with the least amount of slop possible. Splines are good.
I use ones from LTB but they don't auto-center. The 949Racing team uses auto-centering ones which are really nice when you're doing a fast swap, I don't know the brand but it might be NRG.
http://ltbautosports.com/dilquicrelhu.html
Gotcha, thanks guys. 
Turns out i was dumb and NRG DOES make a "short hub" for the car.
I guess i also never fully realized how expensive this stuff was. 
$400 for the setup. Le sigh.
This all makes sense now, though, appreciate it!
One more question: Anyone have experience with NRG wheels? Decent quality? Durability of the materials i'll be touching doesn't really worry me, but i don't want some flexy piece of E36 M3 in there.
Huh, I used a cheap Grant spline adapter on my car with a eBay NRG knock-off and a bolt pattern adapter to fit the NRG to the Grant and then a Momo-esque wheel on top of that. Probably cost all of $60 and spaced the wheel back about 1.5-2" (right where I wanted it)
Spending a few more bucks on a Momo adapter for the car would have eliminated the bolt pattern adapter and made it easier to assemble. The result would have been the same.
It isn't rocket science, its just putting things in the right order. There are three common bolt patterns for aftermarket wheels. Nardi/Lecarra/Momo which is a Larger, 6-bolt pattern. Modern Momo and the various knock-offs, which use a slightly smaller 6-bolt pattern. Finally there is Grant/APC which is a pretty common 5-bolt pattern. The NRG and their knock-offs all uses the modern Momo pattern, so just buy stuff that uses the more common 6-bolt pattern and you shouldn't have any problems.
I just confirmed - the QR hubs I saw on the 949Racing cars are NRG. Emilio says "Remove the set screw holding the lock (lawyer) pin to reducing foul language from driver."
