Thread: Converting Chev tilt column to floor shift

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Well this is only one of several recent threads on adapting a Camaro steering column to a floor shift in a Model-A or Camaro. My main problem has been getting enamel paint to stick to the plasticote (??) surface on the column, but I did get the cylinder lock and the turn signal replaced with help from the guy at Auto Zone and the convenient rental tools they have with rebate for a net zero cost! Anyway I am solving the paint problem with multiple coats after several manual sandings but we went round and round on this Forum about how to keep the locking feature after the shifter rod is removed. NOW (!) my new friend John York of York Sports Cars about a mile from my home in the Hanover Air Park in Ashland Va tells me he solves the problem in the following way: Put the shift lever at the bottom of the column in the PARK position and tack weld it there permanently, then saw off the stub. He claims that the column will lock when the key is removed but otherwise the column will move freely. Thus the position of the key determines the locking mechanism and there is no need for an auxilliary rod from the Lokar floor shifter to the old shift lever at the bottom of the column. He says "don't worry, he will set it up for me". Well I really will not know this works till he does it but it sounds like a simple solution so I will continue painting coats of enamel until I get a nice glossy finish on the column and use the non-tilt column I have now. Compliments to Daver for showing his column on another thread, I am convinced I will never get something as neat as Daver or the other nearby build of Henry Rifle, but maybe with a little help from John York I can end up with something that looks "OK".

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder