lol I did not place that bolt back on either haha...
yeah red is sexy that had been my original picture in my head but the silver has grown on me a lot surprisingly.. how hard was the steering wheel replacement?

and do u have any I info on your mats , mine came with ugly nonfitting black rubber ones.. tossed them out!

 

Thank you! Been following your steering wheel/column swap updates. It's something that interests me and I love how yours came out!

255/45/17s in the front and 275/40/18 in the back.

Can't wait to see yours "grow up" and shed that originality.
Right now mine is a numbers matching.... but I've been looking really closely at some 383s
Gotta make it something that YOU enjoy, right?

 

It's not that difficult, but you need to have all the parts you'll need for the swap ready to go. Expect to spend at least a couple of hours getting this done.

You will need...

The hub assembly (GM part no. 3949110), and steering wheel screws.




Telescope cover (a.k.a. extension - GM part no. 458910).




Horn spacer (GM part no. 348325).




A telescope locking lever (GM part no. 459083).




I think I read in one of Jim Shea's papers that you also need the upper horn contact (GM part no. 3949103), but I used the one from my '76 column. And even though it did not look as pretty as a brand new part, it is of far superior quality than the reproduction part from China.

Having said that, you will need the screws that secure the upper horn contact to the column, but I would not buy one just for those as you can find the right length screws at ACE Hardware, for example. I also used one of the shims from my '76 (mine had 3 in place).






The original horn brush is shorter, so you will need a longer one. I used a horn contact kit I found on eBay. It worked fine.




And since I am rebuilding a '78 Vette column I purchased locally, I had a brand new spring and lower horn contact plate I also purchased from an eBay seller. However, you can also use the one from your "Vega" steering wheel.




Of course you'll need a horn button. You can find them on eBay or you can purchase the three pieces necessary to put one together from one of the many Corvette parts vendors.
You will need the retainer (GM part no. 3945459), the emblem, and the horn cap.






Oh yeah ..... you will also need a C3 Corvette-compatible steering wheel




In order to swap steering wheels, you will need a steering wheel puller (this is a must-have). They are not that expensive and I consider it a tool that every DIY mechanic needs to own. You can also borrow one from Auto Zone, if need be.

One detail worth mentioning is the fact that the telescoping cover from a post-76 column is shorter than the original. This is not a big deal until you telescope the steering wheel all the way out and you notice a big gap. I don't think anyone would want to do that but thought to mention it. I was tempted to use a set screw instead of the star screw and eliminate the telescoping feature, but decided to leave it original.





Hope this helps.


My girlfriend gave me those for Christmas. I think she ordered them from Corvette Central. They are made by Lloyd Mats.

 

CFLvette, a great post with pictures to show a lot of members what and how to remove the Vega steering wheeling on the one year 76 model.
Good job
RVZIO