van tilt column modifications

[bp71k5]

So I picked out one of those van tilt columns that are supposed to work ok in a first gen. After I disassembled it and regreased the bearings and cleaned it up, I got around to removing the column shifter and filling the holes since I swapped the auto tranny out for a manual.

The aluminum housing that the shift lever attaches can't be welded up (at least by me) so I ground off the parts that stick out and filled the holes with glass-reinforced JB-Weld. It worked very well.

The thinner steel portion that the shift indicator screws onto would have been to fragile for JB Weld so I made steel plugs and welded them in very carefully. Try not to poke fun at my weld beads as I'm definately not a pro.

 

[bp71k5]

Slowly hitting the edges around the plug.

 

[bp71k5]

Grinding down the initial welds before some final stitching...

 

[bp71k5]

Penetration on the backside...

I was going to edit that phrase, but what the heck...

 

[bp71k5]

Some light body filler to smooth it out.

 

[bp71k5]

And here it is assembled and primed. Now I just need to swap the old one out and find a better steering shaft to go to the gear box. It turned out pretty good.

 

[Yukon Jack]

Looks good. I did a van tilt and modified it also for my K20 which is a manual truck. I used JB Weld on everything that needed to be filled and it turned out great. For filler pieces I cut up a favorite beverage can and made it a little bigger than the opening to fill, then used the JB Weld to secure and fill the area.

What color will you be painting your column?

 

[bp71k5]

Yea, I used your pics as a guide. Thanks for keeping them available!

It's just going to be flat black like original. I do have one of the repro steering wheels that I'm not happy with. It's really flimsy feeling, which is a shame cause I like the look of it. I'll probably need to get something more sturdy later on.

 

[Dangerousdan]

Sterring

I like It.