Thread: Install Ididit column in model A roadster pickup

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For anyone installing a column into a model A Ford, this is how I went about it. The original cowl mounted gas tank has been removed, and I am using the upper dash rail as supplied by Henry Ford, and a Brookville roadster 1932 style dash (which is a bolt in using original model A nut-certs that are in the original body). The dash and upper dash rail are removed, and a structural support of 1" square tubing x 1/8" wall thickness is made up to span between the door jambs. When installed as I have shown it, it clears the inside of the dash by about 1". The offset in the center of the bar was made to run behind the instruments, as there is not enough room between the underside of the Billet Specialties gauge cluster and the lower lip on the Brookville dash to offset the jog downwards into that area. (note that if you are running individual gauges that are not mounted in a cluster, you might have enough room to do that.) The 2 square tubes that run in towards the firewall have 3/8" nuts welded into the ends of them, and each has a bolt thru the firewall into the nut for added support. The column drop is bolted to a 1" x 3/8" flat bar x 6" long that is welded to the 1" square tube. Down at the floor I cut a hole, then welded in a 3" length of exhaust tubing that has an inside diameter slightly larger than the 2" Ididit column.---Note that I used a 36" long peice of exhaust tubing as a dummy column to set all of these angles properly, when tack-welding things together---I didn't want to get weld spatter on the new column). I bought the longest column that Ididit offered, 32", and I am glad that I did, because only about 3" of it extends thru the floor. I have not welded the collar at the floor completely yet, as my steering wheel has not arrived yet, and although the column drop will adjust to any angle, the welded collar won't. If I have to monkey with the column drop, I can always add a spacer at the top of it, to drop the column a bit, but once that floor collar is welded solid, there will be no more angular adjustability. When the dash is bolted into place, there is about 1/8" clearance between the flange on the bottom of the dash (which extends towards the firewall 1") and the face of the column drop. The drop that I used is a 3", as I have a tilt column that will be tilted down while driving and up to let my fat old body in and out. I think if you were running a non-tilt column, then you would want a 4" column drop.

Brian,
Did you get the column from Horton's?
The 32 inches is interesting as they said 30 was common but maybe your hole in the firewall is lower than some. I hope to use the under dash Kugel brake so if I use the sqaure tube for steering it might have a few jogs too. Any idea what the gauge of the dash is? In the Dennis Parks book they use that dash and mounted the column drop just to it. I am just going to put in a homemade metal dash with slight angle and about the same shape as yours. The plywood mockup seems to work. I was wondering what gauge to use.
Ken

I just ran out to the garage and miked the dash from Brookville, and it reads .046", which is close to #16 gauge. It has a double thickness of steel along the bottom1" flange that turns in towards the firewall. I went online in a couple of hotrod forums asking the same question about mounting the column drop directly to the bottom lip of the dash, but was strongly advised against doing so by professional builders. They all said that the dash will flex under the stress of torquing on the steering wheel at low speed (as in parking) and eventually crack. I am a big old guy, and getting in and out I will probably be pulling on the top of the steering wheel. The final and deciding factor was that the Brookville dash is on about a 20 degree angle at the point where the steering column connects with it, and a purchased column drop is square on top, without enough meat above the hinge point to trim it on an angle to meet the dash. I know that Horton recomends a 30" column length, and he may be right. I have yet to connect the steering column to the Vega box, and things are extremely tight between the universal joint at the box and the pipe exiting from the rams horn exhaust. I may have to put a straight coupler on the Vega box and move the universal back about 3". If I do, I may have to shorten the column a bit. My theory on buying the longer column was that it doesn't cost any more, and I can shorten it at the bottom easily if I have to, whereas if I bought the 30" column and it was too short, they are damn hard to stretch 2". My column exits thru the toe board as high as it possibly can without hitting the rear of the exhaust manifold. (that toe board is all custom, and does not match an original model A toe board).

I have a US gauge table that lists 19 at .04375, 18 at .05 and 16 at .0625 so even 18 should be good for making one. Plan is to slit a steel rod and weld it onto the bottom edge to round it off.