now cut a hole in the firewall for the bottom of the column with a 2.5" holesaw and I plan to reuse the stock firewall closeout (the one I just ground off!) just clocked to fit this firewall. test fit the column and make sure the angle is good to clear the pedals. when you are happy with it, put the dash back in.... and.....
mark the dash for the cut. i said i mock it up higher than the dash edge, and the reason is that if you go with a steep angle it looks like a bus column and if you put it as low as the column drop all the column and wiring is super visible. the dash isnt the only structure to hold the column any more. so you can trim it and not worry about structure. I use a 3" holesaw as the guide, cut it with a slicer to a rough shape and finish with a grinder to get a super nice cut.
cut a little at a time and keep fitting the dash until its good. when its time to reinstall the dash you will need to loosen the column to get the dash on the lower brackets and then tighten the column back up into the cut.
it looks like you are cutting so much but when the dash is in you barely even notice. this has a great fit now, the stickout is good on the engine side, it clears the pedals, its super duper great
oh and that picture of the column mocked up jsut higher than the dash edge IS up there, its the potato pic haha.