Thread: Steering column tech help

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I will be ordering my column soon and need to get some "expert" help on the install. I think I know how to measure for the column length but how do you drill the hole in the toe panel? What tool do you use and how do you attach the column there at the toe board?
Any other suggestions/tips will be appreciated.
Ididit Column

You use a hole saw of the appropriate size chucked up in your hand-held drill motor, then use a firewall flange bushing something like this.....
http://www.pitstopusa.com/SearchResu...ategoryID=1361

This one is for a 3/4" shaft. Look around and you will find them in all shapes, configurations and sizes.

To add some more info, I use an appropriate length dowl with wheel at top to locate where on the floor to drill. This helps establish a workable angle as well as foot room, pedal clearance, and first drill a small pilot hole to make sure that there won't be clearance issues on the engine side.

As for attaching to floor take a look at this piece for inspiration; http://store.bobdrake.com/stcofimo.html You could have something like this done by an exhaust shop if you like it enough. I use an appropriate sized "pencil" style exhaust tip because of the nice rolled end that gives an attractive finished look. Before welding I blast the chrome to roughen it for future painting. Instead of a clamp I drill and thread a hole on the underside for a set screw that goes through the sleeve into the column shaft housing.

Another method I've used is an oval exhaust flange (exhaust shops have lots of neat little pieces on their shelves)that is welded to the column mast. On the one pictured below I had to grind the inside hole at angles to allow it to conform to the toe board slant.

Thanks Unk. Each post adds a piece to the puzzle. I'm getting close to knowing a little.

John Brian, Tech1 makes it sound easy and the stuff Bob shows is perfected simplicity, but if you are less experienced like me here are a few amateur comments. The problem is that without the hole it is hard to see both sides of the firewall (interior and exterior) at the same time. The best advice I got from the Forum (sorry about the forgotton source) was to get a thick wooden dowel and whittle it to fit into the universal joint on the steering box (Vega in my case) and then move it around to where it will clear the exhaust manifold and frame rail and project to a spot on the engine side of the firewall. If you can take out the floor boards enough to see where this spot is on the inside that is very helpful but if not drill a small pilot hole where you think it should be and find out where that comes through on the inside. I messed with this wiggeling dowel lineup on and off for several months before I got up the nerve to use the hole saw on the firewall. In my case I added a 3/8" thick aluminum plate to the inside of the fiberglass firewall for strength and to create a flat mounting surface since the column needed to come though the side of the firewall dish which is a very curvey surface. Then, as usual, I bought several gadgets from Speedway and messed around with them until after trial and error I found I could use the simpler universal column mount and cover it with a leather boot from Speedway that hides the gosh awful gadgetry. Bob's installation is a thing of beauty but I bet when my leather boot is on there it won't show anything but a sports car look at the bottom of the column. I also had adventures trying to adapt a non-tilt Camaro column but it was ugly so I finally broke down and bought an Ididit tilt column which then went through three patch up repainting jobs due to scratching during trial fits of the column. In my ''29 A replica the column is not quite perfectly aligned even with the tilt column and I had to resort to a small flat wheel without any dish just to allow my medium sized belly to get into the car so it is a series of compromises but I can sit in there and see through the chopped windshield OK so I am not going to change it anymore! In my estimation the best advice I can give it to use the "dowel-pointer" trick to line up the place for the hole. Once you make the hole it will be hard to patch up in a different place. Here is a picture of the hole and Speedway bracket before I put the column in but after several trials which scratched the paint on the column. I am giving you a worst case scanario compared to the beautiful work Bob shows but maybe my bumbling effort turned out "OK" and has some educational value? One other problem is that the hole will probably need to be oval since the column is at an angle and you will need some sort of grommet to seal the edges. Once again my trusty rat tail file was very useful to clearance the hole around the column. I was able to use a short piece of foam rubber grooved fender welt to make a grommet around the column which looks OK from a distance! Good Luck!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Here is a somewhat dark picture with the column in place. The column mount is a custom polished aluminum tilt device that was tapered on the dash side to match the curve angle of the '32 style dash.

Don Shillady
Retired SCientist/teen rodder

The IDIDIT web site has some good information as well:http://www.ididitinc.com/index.html. Another is Borgeson:http://www.borgeson.com/ and a third is Flaming River:http://www.flamingriver.com/index.cf...=cat/cat81.htm.

As far as a floorboard adapter, I made mine from a piece of 2"ID exhaust pipe stock which fits right over the 2"OD column. You can also ask a muffler shop to 'blow out' a piece of pipe if it's too tight - it varies a bit. I then drilled two .375 holes opposite each other then welded on two .250 nuts and put a couple of 1/4-20x.5 button head caps as set screws. It isn't real pretty but it's hidden by the carpet. I couldn't use a commercially available version as I ended up too close to the 5" firewall recess