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The Good, the Bad and the Mostly Ugly
Brickman, thanks for your interest. Today I messed around with a 3/4" dowel whittled into a double-D shape on the end and I found there is plenty of clearance around the header over a pretty wide range of angles. The real problem is that the firewall curves on the left side so I am planning to put a 3/16" thick aluminum plate across the gap and bolt it to the 1" square tubing on the left. As Bob Parmenter said, the 34" column may be too long and could stick as much as 4" through the firewall. I can also cover up the ugly hole the body shop cut around the brake pedal. If you look close through the brake pedal hole you can see the dowell on the ear of the transmission. The 2 1/8" hole saw should be exactly the right size. I was helping my son-in-law move furniture until very, very late last night/morning so I did not want to cut the big hole on only three hours of sleep but I will soon. Suggestions other than the aluminum plate are welcome. To answer your question it is exactly 12" from the inner part of the firewall to the bottom of the dash. I plan to put some inner tube rubber around the brake pedal slot with a slit to reduce splash water through the wide gap. I sprayed the end of the column with Duplicolor since it will extend through the hole but most of the rest of the column will be covered by a blask plastic sheath from Speedway.
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder