Steering Column question for 65 C10 (87 Running gear)

[jeremywrags]

Hi All,

I have a 65 Chevy pickup that was a floor shift but has had some mods to it and I need to figure out a solution that will work for a new steering column.

So the truck is a 65 but has pretty much a complete 87 chassis, rear end, front end, engine, trans...It does have power steering and the 87 steering box. It was originally a floor shift 3 speed manual but was converted to a column shift (TH400) the column was not swapped, instead it was modified to work with the new auto trans.

I have done some research as to what would fit and if I understand correctly a column from 67-72 fits inside with only a couple of new holes to be drilled, sound easy enough but what I am not sure of is under the hood.

Can someone please school me on the best option for a new\donor column that would be easy to install with minimal modifications?

Because of the mods can I use a column from a late model or do I have to stick with older? Will a cheap column from ebay\Amazon work???

Any advice is appreciated.

[PowerdbyChevy79]

a 67-72 will be the easiest to install other than a new replacement.. as far as the intermediate shaft Borgeson sells shafts that will work pretty good..
I used a gearbox from a squarebody as well.. I cut the shaft and modified it to my original column..

[leegreen]

for under the hood, assuming you choose a column with a slip joint. Melt out the plastic pins in the joint and slide it apart.

get 1" DD hollow shaft , either Borgeson or generic.
get a borgeson 015231 1" DD x 3/4"-30 Steering U-Joint, it should fit the 800 series PS box from a newer C10 - but the splines on the box need to be super clean for it to slide on

cut the 1" DD to length allowing similar amount of overlap to the original
install the u-joint as per directions it comes with

I cleaned painted and greased the overlap part of the shafts, if you don't they will rust together and maybe not slide in a collision. Some seal at the top of joint would be nice, but I don't have a good solution