I found a tilt steering in a 81 chevy van and put it in my 72 c-10. I didn't cut or knock anything off. As far as your wiring I was able to splice mine together using the old u-shaped connector off of my old column. The van tilt column had a flat connector and the one you have to buy just plugs the flat end into a ushaped connector. The wires are the same color so you can just cut the u-shaped connector out of your old steering column and and wire it into the end of the wires on your van tilt. Then they'll be able to plug together!!!