[dug224]

Got the seats positioned in the cab. I will lower them approximately 2.5" in order to get as much of the seat out of the back window as possible. When parked, the head rests can be removed so they won't be so obvious.

I blasted the pedal assembly with my new HF 110lb media blaster. Worked nicely once I got the media size right. Used Black Blast (Coal) from the local supplier. Seems a little aggressive so I will revisit what I use when it comes time for the sheetmetal. Note that I had to drill some spot welds and remove the upper portion of the assembly. It would not fit and was not necessary. Used a self tapping screw and metal scrap to secure in place while I sorted out the steering column.

4th picture is of steering column. It is cast aluminum. Removed 2" from the end to keep it from hitting the brake pedal arm. I kept the factory steering shaft length and simply pushed the plastic housing (not shown) with integral bearing closer to the steering wheel. You can see where I ground down the stops on the shaft so I could slip the bearing down. The bearing remains on the portion of the shaft that is the correct diameter.

5th photo shows final location of all components. The range of tilt on the steering wheel is substantial. Had to cut the firewall 2" to get the steering shaft in line with the rack.

The photos in the next post are of the shaft through the firewall. There are universal joints at each end of the shaft. The shaft is collapsable and is constructed using two pieces that are "splined" together. Tapped the splined shaft apart into two pieces. Cut both pieces to remove a total of 5.75" that I needed to make it fit. Unfortunately, the splines were removed when I cut it so l will have to weld them together which I can do in place. You can see the slightly cleaned part near the firewall. That is the slip joint that will have to be welded.