1971 Chevy C10 - Tilt Into A New Steering Column

Drum roll please-our newly rebuilt '78 Chevy van steering column is ready to be assembled in the PCC shop truck!

We removed the connecting shaft from the steering gearbox, as we need to swap it out for the newer shaft.

Here are the shafts compared side to side. The shorter one on the left is from our truck; the one on the right is from a '73-style Chevy pickup. We need to shorten the shaft the same way we shortened the shaft inside the column.

We clamped the shaft in the vise and hit the end with a sledgehammer. Because both ends are female-style, we weren't concerned about burring the splines.

The shaft is now collapsible and slides in and out. It is no longer a fixed length, which will make installation easier. Here are the plastic rivets that break out. They hold the shaft at a fixed length.

Here are the shafts compared side to side. Our new shaft is now the correct length.

To begin installing the column in the shop truck, the first thing we did was slide the clamp up the column tube. This is much easier when done before the column is in the truck.

We connected the steering column clamp very loosely so we could hang the column by it to ease its installation.

PCC inserted the column through the firewall hole. You will need to rotate it just right to get the shift arm through the notched hole.