Hello everyone!
I see that it has been quite a while since I have posted to the forum.
I am truly hoping that in this time of Covid-19 awareness, that everybody is doing well. During my period of "social distancing" I have made some recent alone-time to start taking care of some items that I have been meaning to address for a long time.
One of those items needing change being the length/position of my steering column, and how close the wheel seemed to be to my chest....
Recently I sat in another C10 that my buddy is restoring for a customer that has an aftermarket column in it, and I fell in love with the way that the position of the steering wheel felt.
Since my truck is using a newer OEM tilt column with the smart-stalk, I couldn't just purchase another column to swap it with....Everything on my column is wired-in, and being utilized. The cruise, intermittent wipers/washers, & dimmer-switch are all functional. So the decision was made to just cut 3" out of the existing column!!!
Yeah..
"Cut it off" they said. "It will be easy" they said.
So I decided to yank the column and Chop it down!
I guess it did all sound so very easy, that is until I started to dis-assemble it!!!
Things became more complicated the further that it was taken apart...
Originally I thought that I may be able to shorten it without totally dis-assembling it...Not the case.
You must pretty much take it completely apart in order to get the steering shaft & shift tube out.
If you are going to attempt this, TAKE MANY PICTURES!!
Finally down to the shift tube & outer tube...
Here is a pic of the two tubes & the shaft, all cut-off & re-welded.
If you do this modification, be sure to note the orientation of the tubes when re-welding in order to maintain the position of the ign. switch, shifter, & shift lever. They must be positioned at the same rotational angle when re-welding.
Here is a pic of the column all re-assembled, and painted. You can see where I have welded it back together in this pic, but you must really look for it when installed in the truck.
You may also want to note that the ignition switch & dimmer-switch linkages must also be shortened to match the distance taken from the column.
And finally, a pic of the column re-installed!
I know.. The wheel is upside-down in this pic. LOL!
....And the next stop is going to be Air-Conditioning!!
Stay well Everybody!!!