Steering column question

[mygirlz55]

Looking on ebay for a steering column for my '55 and saw a bunch that were in the $200 range.
Has anyone had success with these?
Don't have a huge amount of money to throw at a column at this time, so trying to find a decent alternative to the ididit.
Thanks

[HUSSEY]

Mid-April I bought a $189 column from CPP on eBay. It showed up with a deep scratch through the chrome to the base metal. They kindly exchanged it but I didn't get my exchanged column till mid-May, after I promptly shipped it back. On the second one the cone below the tilt was not properly installed and was completely out of alignment and positioned too low looking like total S. Just now after sending in pictures, talking with customer reps. did I get an approval to send it back for an exchange. Guessing I'll be getting my third column mid-June, two months after I ordered my first one. I kindly asked that CPP please exersice some quality control/quality assurance on the third column they ship me and inspect it before shipment. They're reply was please keep in mind that our (CPP) $189 column in a US made brand would cost $1,000.

I know I've heard it before but I guess you really do get what you pay for.

[franken]

I'd be looking in the scrapyard at maybe a 67-72 column. Kind of depends on the steering box end or rag joint, length, tube diameter and the electrical connector if you want one that plugs in easily.
PM me if you want measurements or pics of a van tilt I have. A later column will give you a collapsible shaft as well.

[_Ogre]

truk has a $35, 89 astro van, junkyard column that has worked fine for 26,000 miles
it has a DD end that will adapt to most situations

[roger55]

If you haven't seen this, I would take time to read it:

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/in...ng_Columns.pdf

[_Ogre]

the engineerd in me read it all, thanks for posting that roger55

the synopses is:

The four recognised aftermarket steering column manufacturers are:
 ‘Ididit’
 ‘Flaming River’
 ‘Billet Specialties’
 ‘Limeworks’

so buy a brand name or oem column
a 30 yr old junk yard gm column is safer than a new ebay column

[OrrieG]

Steering column and shaft to box is the last place you want to save money. I have said it before GM spends millions of dollars doing the research to build good safe components. They used the same basic design from the 60's thru the 80's, well tested with lots of cars still on the road. The four mentioned have the reputation and history for quality products. Chinese products have the reputation of generally being junk. All the good technology is going to building up their military with the crap they sell us paying for it.

[pvienneau]

well said.

[mygirlz55]

Thanks for all the great info.
Guess its time to hit the junk yard.
So its just preference if I want the column keyed or non keyed....correct?
I guess the non keyed would look more 'correct' keeping the key in the dash.
And is length just a preference thing also?
What have others used? Thanks again for the help. Looking to get the truck on the road by the end of summer so my daughter can drive it when she gets her license.
Wish me luck...both for getting it done and the kid driving it.

[mygirlz55]

BTW this is the style we're shooting for.
I know...some don't like the whole bare metal styling...but my daughter is very 'creative' to say the least and she likes the look.
Probably going to do some old school pinstripe on the fenders, maybe a 'shop truck logo' on the doors and possibly a lace job on the roof....we shall see.

[Daze57]

if you dont have the $$$ for a good ''american new colume'' i would definitly hit the junk yards it may take some lookin but as said above - old gm stuff still works !
take plenty of measurements ....you will find what you want

just my 02 cents

[solidaxel]

WOW, Thanks for the info on Steering columns.
I hope that gets out to the hot rodding folks on every site!

Like said above spend your money on SAFE parts

[mr48chev]

lot of people like the keyed columns but they are too cluttered and bulky for my tastes these days.

Chevy van columns off the vans that still had the key in the dash have been popular for years for their clean uncluttered look. I'm not up on the years though.

[roger55]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

lot of people like the keyed columns but they are too cluttered and bulky for my tastes these days.
Chevy van columns off the vans that still had the key in the dash have been popular for years for their clean uncluttered look. I'm not up on the years though.

When I was deciding on a column, my research found that wrecking yards got privy to the desirability of the van columns and jacked the prices up high enough to where the Idiit and Flaming River options were about equally priced. I went with a paintable Ididit tilt w/ shifter version.

[HUSSEY]

I had sent my second column back to CPP. After reading that article I requested a refund in lieu of an exchange.

CPP response was, "Haha I remember when that came out! Actually know the guy who wrote it, totally untrue but again I am still interested in hearing what you expected for $189.00?"

Which I interpret as them admitting that you get what you pay for, which I admit I should have known.

I've got a van column that's similar to the 67-72 column but it's a bit to long for my application and it has a column shift, I'm going with a Lokar floor shift. I came to the same conclusion regarding cost as roger55 in the post above so I'm going to go ahead as spend the extra bucks of an Ididit.

[Coupeguy2001]

Check out speedway motors in Lincoln Nebraska.
Good column for $189, and comes so protected in the shipping container, it takes half hour to get it out. No blemishes,
Only thing, I had to do....use a 2" Id radiator hose cut to 4 inches, bought a half inch thick bearing with a 2" OD, and 1" ID and pushed it over the end of the shaft, slid the short radiator hose over the column and the bearing, and secured it with hose clamps.
If you don't make some sort of "shock absorber" for the lower end, it rattles a little till you wanna shoot yourself.
after my "mod", it's super quiet. Been in there about 4 years, flawless operation.

Its a keyless column, tilt, flashers, no shifter, chrome, horn and turn signals with hookups, connector, 1" DD, and 30 inches long.
Bought a custom 2" column drop and Ididit lower column mount with clamshells and 4 bolt swivel mount.
made an aluminum plate to fill in floor hole.
I got the column drop from some early ford Specialty hot rod shop in either sacramento or san fran. Forgot , but it was around $30. Got the feeling it was for either a model A or '32 ford. 2" hole.
Pics if you are interested.

[mr twuk dwiver]

Originally Posted by roger55

If you haven't seen this, I would take time to read it:

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/in...ng_Columns.pdf

Thanks for the info on steering columns. This article was eye opening to say the least.
Posted via Mobile Device

[dwcsr]

From a sellers point of view yes they are cheap and yes they are throw a way columns if they break and they will but they sell like crazy. We sold a lot of them over a period of years until we found out just what low quality they are. You can't get a replacement part for it, the chrome peals off on to many, the signal switches are not even daily driver quality and short out often, the shift collar will eventually brake off inside leaving you without a way to shift it. We lost a lot of money to refunds on these and now only sell American columns that have an actual warranty.

[solidaxel]

Dave thanks for putting your "Stamp" on these columns!

[mygirlz55]

If I'm going to go with a column shift (automatic) are there any problems I will run into, or is it pretty much straight forward install? Any linkage stuff I need to get etc.
The PO of the truck tore a big hole in the floor to put a cheap floor shift in and it looks like crap so I'd like to go with a keyless column shift...probably going to check junk yards first.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by mygirlz55

If I'm going to go with a column shift (automatic) are there any problems I will run into, or is it pretty much straight forward install? Any linkage stuff I need to get etc.
The PO of the truck tore a big hole in the floor to put a cheap floor shift in and it looks like crap so I'd like to go with a keyless column shift...probably going to check junk yards first.

The only issue would be where the shift arm is and how close it will be to the engine, In task force truck is not a real issue but in AD trucks it can be the sole reason for a floor shift.

Take a wood dowel about 3 feet long and a piece of 1x 2 about 14" long and make a T out of them. then tape a 6 inch piece of card board to the other end and so when finished it looks like a J. The 6 inch piece would be the shift arm at the bottom, the 14" piece the steering wheel. Use that as the guide to get a length you want to end up with, it will also tell you if you have clearance for a shift lever down there, leave about 4 inches out of the bottom past the floor board. Just know that the steering wheel adapter can add 3" - 6" if you use one.

Ididit has a nice "how to" on getting the correct column
http://www.ididitinc.com/pdf/HowToMe...ringColumn.pdf

[roger55]

I have a TF and I can't see how a shift arm would work in any case if it points toward the engine. I have 2 1/2" ram horns on it with 2 1/4 pipes but I don't think it would make any difference what the exhaust was.
I used an Ididit column and their shift cable kit. I put the arm pointing to the outside and it works fine. Only issue is that I can't get it to go to 1st gear with my 700R4. Tried and tried and failed at that. But it works perfect for 2nd thru Park so I just left it that way. When does anyone need to put it in to 1st manually anyway?



Just a note here.
That is the CPP 400 steering box. This box pulls the Ididit steering column closer to the dash than they designed the length for. With it closer, the stock 55/56 steering wheel with not work. But the '57 wheel works fine and luckily that's what mine is. If an aftermarket steering wheel is used, an extending hub would probably be necessary.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by roger55

If you haven't seen this, I would take time to read it:

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/in...ng_Columns.pdf

Thanks for posting this. I read the entire report and have shared with my friends.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by roger55

Only issue is that I can't get it to go to 1st gear with my 700R4.

if you can move the cable connect out an 1/8'' on the column it would shift into low
or move the connection in an 1/8'' on the trans
the 1/8'' is plus or minus

i have a 92 astro 3 speed auto column in my 4 speed truk
it would have been impossible to run a straight shaft to my 700r4
plus my shift arm was on the same side as roger's, it should have been on the other side
i had to use a jack shaft or intermediate shaft to get the linkage to work
to get my column shift to find low gear i had to play with the length of one of the arms to make it a longer throw

you can see in the pic that by changing the length of one shaft it changes the throw on the trans
the top has a long shaft and a longer throw

[OrrieG]

I made my own for much less than a manf kit out of B&M parts. Look here:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=134

Note the arm on the transmission is backwards, switched to the top and repositioned the cable bracket later in the thread. I found that on the TH350 the distance from the center of the steering column to rod or cable hole and center of tranny shift shaft to rod or cable hole needs to be the same for the column detents to match the tranny. Do not know if that carried forward to the later transmission but generally GM is pretty consistent with engineering concepts.