Steering Column
- Thread starter LJC
- Start date
Not on a 66 but I did it on a 68. I wanted tilt wheel and couldn’t find a 68 but came across a Riviera column, a 66 or 67 I think, that was the same length. I had to replace the under dash mounting plate on the column with the one from my Skylark and had to fabricate and weld on a shifter arm at the end that had an off-set like the Skylark. I’ve been driving it for about 5 years and it has worked great.
oldfoneguy
Active Member
I'm wondering why you would do something like this? Just to have a tilt wheel? You do realize that 1967 and newer manufactured vehicles have the collapsible steering column for safety in case of a frontal impact. To keep the wheel and steering shaft from killing you like the older cars did. There was a very specific reason that they were made non-interchangeable with pre-1967 cars. By federal law (US) your car is not road legal and should not pass any safety inspection. It never ceases to amaze me what some will do to "improve" their cars. At least this mistake is reversible.
You are correct about putting a non-collapsable column in a car designed for a collapsible. The Riviera column I used was a collapsible so I must have gotten the year wrong. The basic chassis layout on all GM A-body’s from 1964 to 1981 are all more or less the same. Many parts are interchangeable among divisions and years. Of course the Riviera was not an A-body but an E-body that was exclusive to Buick from 1963 thru 1978.
oldfoneguy
Active Member
I always wondered what the internal GM politics were behind the Riviera getting its own body designation and the Grand Prix continuing to be a B body until it went mid sized in 1969. Especially when you consider they both came out for the same model year of 1963. Yet oddly enough when the front wheel drives appeared from Olds and Cadillac they were designated E bodies as well instead of getting their own designation.
While I agree that the layout is common from 64-81 or even 88 considering the G bodies with each generational change the chassis and underpinnings become different and not interchangeable. Nothing except maybe rear springs and shocks will interchange between a first and second generation chassis. Get to the 3rd generation and nothing is common with what came before. While systems may be similar such as a/c or electrical even those aren't interchangeable short of spliced in adaptations. A 67-72 steering column for example is different from a 73-77 unit and a light year away from what came in a 78-88 midsize.
the earlier vehicles had a rag joint connecting the column to the steering gearbox. In a car collision if contact in the front end the steering column could get pushed into the cabin area to the driver. Later vehicles have instead a collapsible joint so that in an accident the column doesn't continue to move towards the driver. there is a slip joint/sliding type and also a swivel joint among the options you can add to your steering column where it meets the steering gearbox.
oldfoneguy
Active Member
The GM collapsible steering column in use since 1967 is just that a collapsible column. It has nothing to do with the rag joint used. Using a later style joint on an earlier column will do nothing to make the older car safer. In the event the front crossmember is pushed back towards the passenger compartment the driver will be just as injured or dead as they would be using the oe style coupler. The collapsible column prevents this by breaking into sections within the shaft cover. There's a distinct reason why it's advised to never hammer on the ends of the steering shaft on a collapsible column as it will cause the breakaway points to let go rendering the column useless. Read any steering column service section in any 1967 or later service manual on this site, that might explain this better to you than I can.
oldfoneguy
Active Member
Obviously your question was never answered along with the debate here. Two suppliers come to mind,
ididit.com
This would be my first choice for direct replacement of a column shifted or floor shifted tilt columns.
flamingriver.com
These guys are more geared toward hot rods but do have direct replacments that can go as far as being electrically assisted if you have manual steering.
Neither is cheap but nothing in this hobby is.
I have no personal experience with either but know others who have used and highly recommend both.