Bits and pieces.
I scored a '71 van column with shifter & intact harness for $138, shipped. Rad.
The catch? It comes with a rag joint on the end. For the misalignment I'm running from column to box, that wasn't going to work. It appeared to be welded on (rust, actually) & so I cut it off with the grinder. I THEN find out that on a '71 Van column, the rag joint is pressed onto a 3/4-30 or 3/4-36 spined end of the shaft.
Damn.
Could have ordered a different U-joint and just knocked the rag joint off, had i known. Or I could have ordered a 3/4dd (intermediate shaft) by 3/4 round (cut-off column) u joint. Oh well - not the first mistake nor the last that I'm making building this truck - and as it turns out, totally fixable with the grinder. Love that thing.
So I used the intermediate shaft as a template...
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Made a 3/4 DD end [IMG]
And put the U-joint on there
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Not super exciting to you all, I imagine, but I'm happy with the day's progress. Once I got the holes drilled into the column for the U joint lock studs I went out to the truck to test fit.
Noticed three things right off.
1st, the 1970s van column is wider than the original. I can either get a new drop, run the existing drop without the rubber grommet, or modify the drop to take the new column. For now, I'll stick with #1.
2nd, the intermediate shaft is too long. I'll need to take maybe 2" off of the inner portion so I can mate box and column. Easy enough - I'll sawzall that tomorrow, I think.
3rd, the '57's column floor plate won't fit over the shift lever and, presumably, won't fit around the '71 column. So, I don't know what I'm going to do about that but it probably involves the die grinder, possibly the sawzall and welder as well. Unless there is an easy way I'm unaware of to get the floor plate onto the column...?
4th - with the Vortec engines, stock headers wind up darned close to the column if not on top of it. To the point where I might have to cut the column's inner shaft & grind another set of flats on it to get my wheel position correct. Other solutions: block huggers, steering wheel with less dish, lower engine position (which brings up other problems) in the frame... etc.
So, lessons learned: buy the big items first & the small connecting tissues afterwards. And don't be afraid of flying sparks, because buying new parts every time you stumble is hella expensive / annoying.