Tilt Steering 'sphere' grenaded

[72-k20-burb]

I have a 71 with tilt column, I had ridiculous play in the steering wheel.

Found lots of threads about tightening screws and whatnot, none of them seemed relevant as the housing was solid and those all seem aimed at 73 and up.

I pulled the whole column out and tore it apart on the bench enough to tell that the 'centering sphere' in between the steering shaft and wheel is in 27.5 pieces.

Questions:
1. The only place I can find the white plastic thing that supposedly fits these years is ebay. Am I not searching for the right term?
2. At what point is it just worth buying the $460 replacement column from classic industries?