Installing The New Steering Column

With the front suspension mostly done, still waiting on the new upper control arm bumpers to get to Show Low, it is time to install the new Ididit steering column so that I can move the car around in the shop again.

The main issue with the new column was that it lacks the stock mounting bolts that I had used with a modified stock Olds steering column clamp. Since the new column was a nice shiny one piece chrome affair, I made a rubber pad from three pieces of 1/8″ thich rubber gasket material which I wrapped around the column. I then used super glue to attach to more layers of rubber to build up a total 3/8″ pad to isolate the column from the lower column mount. Once the glue had set up for an hour or so, trimmed up and sanded the resulting assembly on the belt sander to get a nice even look. A little black paint and it was ready to be assembled and reinstalled in the wagon.

The original Olds steering column had the shift lever permanently attached to the end of the column which prevented it to be inserted through a simple hole. To get around the problem I had envisioned using a two piece floor plate that could be assembled around the column. After finishing making the new slide around floor plate I decided that I did not like the way it looked so I made a new one piece design that featured a 2 1/2″ hole with a gasket made from a piece of 7/64″ vacuum hose that I split so that it would seal the space between the new 2 1/4″ column and the 2 1/2″ hole.

I used the band saw to cut out the panel and my hole saw in the large drill press to cut the large hole. After putting a couple of breaks into the panel to match the floor contour it was ready to go. I pulled the larger access panel and used black silicone to form a good seal around the larger opening and then screwed the panel in place using #14 lag screws with flat washers. I then ran a bead of silicone around the new one piece panel and screwed it down as well.

All that remains now is to locate and attach the lower floor mount and then paint and reinstall the steering shaft to connect the column to the steering box. After that it will be time to install the new steering wheel that I bought a couple of years ago, hopefully I can find it! I have a few small issues to clean up then it will be time to reinstall the engine, transmission and drive shaft! Happy Dance Time comming up!

I Did IT! Installed!


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