SS164

Hopefully, someone will have a 1969-77 standard steering column sitting in their garage.

What I need is the measurement that shows in my photo.

Thanks

Alan 71

Hi ss,
The dimension is 4-9/16" on my 71 column.
It looks like your's may be collapsed just a little bit.
Could that be?
Regards,
Alan

Perhaps this photo will help you in determining how far the shaft typical extends into the coupling.
And how the coupling seats on the steering box shaft (which affects how it seats on the steering shaft.

SS164

Hi Alan,

Mine is at 4-1/8 and according to a paper that Jim Shea wrote all columns from 1967 on were designed to collapse and absorb energy in a severe front end collision. In addition, the paper stated that prying on the shaft might also collapse the shaft back into the column.

I was replacing my reverse lockout cable on my recently purchased 72 when I noticed the column issue. Thanks for the photos.

Scott

doorgunner

I accidentally bumped (collapsed) the shaft IN about 1&1/2" while working on my '68 project. I used vice-grip pliers to hold the smooth part of the shaft while I tapped it OUT to the correct length. There were no other problems after rebuilding it.

FYI: The above might not be the correct method to fix the problem.

SS164

Thanks Doorgunner