thanks rusti!
marc the rona is not much at all here, only the really elderly are getting sick and the great majority recover without hospitalization.
I started laying out my plan for the column mount on the pedal bracket. unlike a normal GM "through column", the 98+ stuff is 100% mounted inside to dash brackets, a two point mount with an upper (roughly) horizontal mount like older GM columns and a lower (roughly) vertical mount. only the DD shaft goes through the firewall so no bottom bracket for stability. the top bracket doesnt quite mount to the lower dash, so no loop mounts.
I decided to see if I could break it up in two parts, have the upper mount interface at the dash and the lower mount on the pedal bracket, using the column as a sort of stressed member (not really under any stress, but thats what they call such an arrangement) between the two mounts. I whipped up a folding mount and cut it.
the hole in the middle is because the column has a "bump" there, it mounts more than flat. you can also see I offset the column 0.75 to center it on the gauges.
unfortunately, I couldnt get any angle on the column like this, and it was too low and far out of the dash. time for prototype two.
I wasnt having any luck with my "wings" on the pedal bracket mating to the dash, because of the original column cutout only one side really hit the dash, and a redesign was needed. I decided that I would make a receiver mount at the dash that the pedal bracket would bolt to, then a third bracket with the column mounts that would bolt to both.
success! the pedal bracket needs the matching holes drilled, but I have to put in the booster angle plate I designed first, the pedal bracket is still a couple degrees down. for the future I will make the holes integral to new parts, but for this one, trimming and drilling to match is a nice return to my roots haha.
you might have noticed the little finger mount on top, its to pick up the dash brace. it may seem overkill to add another attachment point but I have been in a lot of trucks where the steering column felt like it was attached with marshmallows, and pressure would wiggle it in its mounts. I dont like that feeling, and this also stiffens the brake pedal bracket so pushing on the brakes doesnt go through the firewall.
more soon! Oh I cleaned out the dash, getting the gauges out was a super treat.