tilt steering for our trucks, aftermarket or later model swap ins?

[Woogeroo]

Hiya folks.

I was curious when tilt steering columns started being an option in chevy/gmc trucks?

I am also curious as to which chevy/gmc truck tilt steering columns make a good fit to swap into our 60-66 trucks? I imagine some work better than others depending on what engine we have under the hood.

I know there are the after market companies like ididit and others.

Anyway, this is purely an academic pursuit, as I am merely curious.

Thanks,

-W

[tomlamb]

Hey all,

I am new to the board and a new owner of a 66. I would be interested in what chevy/gmc truck tilt steering columns make a good fit to swap...

[scotts62]

I put one in out of an 80's model buick if i remember right..
Had to make some brackets for it to bolt to under the dash but it works well, going to change steering wheel when i get to that part of it. I put one like this in verses one that costs 4 to 5 hundered. I only have 20 bucks in this

Sorry pic is huge
Scott

[protrash64]

I have a similar column to scotts62 installed by the PO in my 'burb. It functions correctly but I feel it is a little short .......I dont know if there is an element of adjustability when being installed. I imagine it could be lengthened w/out much trouble; probably in the shaft.

I have replaced the steering whel w/ a Grant and it looks much better......need to rattle can it w/ some black paint.

[ChiefRocka]

I think most people run a van tilt to keep the key on the dash.

Suppose to be an easy swap.

[Fred T]

1969 was the first year for GM pickups. The 69-72 tilt column is close to being on the endangered species list. And with the collapsable feature, it is a little different than the 60-66 column.

[Woogeroo]

Originally Posted by Fred T

1969 was the first year for GM pickups. The 69-72 tilt column is close to being on the endangered species list. And with the collapsible feature, it is a little different than the 60-66 column.

1969, ok.

My '65 truck, has a 1971 chevy column in it, but it is non tilt. It was like that when I bought it.

Thanks Fred T and everyone.

The tilt columns from the vans without the key on them, what model years did they run?

-W

[joe231]

Scott, I'm digging those A/C vents, very nice!

[Woogeroo]

A fellow poster on another old chevy truck site, Vaughan had this to write:

70-72 vans had a tilt column as an option, they could be used without modification to swap out the stock steering column - the wiring harness would plug right in and it would bolt right up to the mounts.

You can swap in a later (after 73) column, but you will have to splice in the wiring, especially if you use the column mount key switch for the ignition. The outer shaft of the steering column is quite a bit larger than the stock one, so you will have to do some mods to get it to work. See Persh's page on swapping the steering column. I did this with a tilt/telescoping column from an 83 cadillac, but used a 74 pickup pedal assembly to replace the stock pickup pedal assembly - the later steering column will bolt into place with the later pedal assembly, but a few mods are necessary. I swapped the pedals as part of a disk brake swap I was doing at the same time.

The new after market is the easiest to use, no fiddling with the wiring.

----

Persh's page, mentioned in the post:

http://www.persh.org/pickup/pickup-beginning.htm


The '83 suburban steering column swap section:

http://www.persh.org/pickup/steering.htm

----------------------------------------------

-W

[Captainfab]

I recently acquired a tilt column out of an '85 Itasca motorhome that closely resembles a '70-'72 van column in that it is smaller in OD and does not have a column ignition. Of course it has the shifter and indicator for an auto trans. I don't know if these would be any easier to find than a van column or not. I just got lucky since I have a neighbor that dismantles travel trailers and motorhomes.

[Fred T]

There should be a thread in the faq section about modding a van tilt for a 67-72. Should be the same for these trucks. For the wiring you don't have to splice. Remove the wires from one plug and put them in the right one. A small, thin screwdriver will release the connector from the plug. Then you match the wire colors.

[scotts62]

In my 62 i actually used the whole brake peddle assembly out of an 83ish pickup (piece from inside of dash to firewall) did very little trimming then welded it in, and used the column bracket and brake booster it worked out and looks pretty good. will have to dig up some pics to show exactly..

[wild one]

Here are some past posts that I had bookmarked to help me with my tilt swap.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=133937

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=63328

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=33591

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=147927

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=226398

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=147355

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=277856

Hope this helps,
Pete

[Woogeroo]

wild one - good reading, thanks for sharing.

-W

[DaddyMack]

I put an ididit column (tilt) in my 62', when I put the power steering in, works perfect!

[Grizz1963]

What a perfect thread.... Again. Thanks W !!

[Woogeroo]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

What a perfect thread.... Again. Thanks W !!

yer welcome, but wild one did the heavy lifting here... those threads he linked are all listed in your 60-66 FAQ Index under Steering Columns.

If anyone has things to add to this topic of thought, please jump in.



-W

[AUS64c10]

Things people don't tell you about tilt columns; I don't mean to be negative but I've learnt the hard way on this.

If going after market column there are only two real choices: Flaming River or Ididit. Anything Chinese made is junk you get what you pay for.

With a tilt column the steering wheel will be closer to you due the extra length added to the steering column (inside the cab) to allow for the tilt mechanism.

My truck had a 70's van tilt column in it when i got it and everything worked as it should. Unfortunately it was just too worn out . Replaced it with an Ididit. The Ididit column fits well.


A Ididit column doesn't work 100% with a column shift 700r trans as the lock outs in the column don't match the transmission. Would be fine if I was running a 2 or 3 speed auto trans. When using a 700r or similar 4 speed auto transmission with column shift: The shift lever will sit really low when in Drive. So low you may be able to knock it with your knee. L1 and L2 will be even worse to select and you may not even be able to select L1.

You can use your original steering wheel if you use the 70's chev van column. The original wheel won't work with an Ididit column and I'm not sure about the flaming river one.

Budget on having to replace your intermediate shaft or modify it as a bare minimum.

Combine a tilt steering column and a deep dish steering wheel (3" - 4") and you almost have the perfect set up for a dwarf only issue for them will be reaching the pedals.

[AUS64c10]

edit: double post

[-praisethelowered-]

The CPP "classic fit" colmn is a piece of trash- literally in my case. I shelled out the money for one thinking it was a time saver, after installing it I found that the collar rubbed metal to metal when shifting, it also had a bind when turned that felt really wrong.

I then searched and found a stock van tilt column and just robbed the wiring, switches, and levers from the CPP piece to repair the van column. I should have returned it but I wanted to get the truck together so I just kept going and called it a loss. I have a column that works and looks good now but wasted a lot of time and money trying to make the cpp column work, it really was one of the worst products I have ever purchased for a car project.

save some trouble and find a van column.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by -praisethelowered-

The CPP "classic fit" colmn is a piece of trash- literally in my case. I shelled out the money for one thinking it was a time saver, after installing it I found that the collar rubbed metal to metal when shifting, it also had a bind when turned that felt really wrong.

I then searched and found a stock van tilt column and just robbed the wiring, switches, and levers from the CPP piece to repair the van column. I should have returned it but I wanted to get the truck together so I just kept going and called it a loss. I have a column that works and looks good now but wasted a lot of time and money trying to make the cpp column work, it really was one of the worst products I have ever purchased for a car project.

save some trouble and find a van column.

Thanks for the advice.

I may have found a 1992 G20 Dayvan auto column complete with ignition and keys for £150.00/$255.00 collected about 160km/100miles from where I live. So add £40.00 or $70.00 for use of company car to collect.

Just need to figure if it is an easy enough swop over.

[tincan1966]

I have a '94 C1500 column in my '65. Not a bad swap, but does require a bit of fab work. I converted my wipers to the turn signal mounted switch for delay control.
The shift lever on the 88 and up columns is reversed from the older style, so I fabbed my own cable operated shifter for the TH350C trans.

As someone posted earlier, The 3 speed auto columns and 4 speed auto columns have different detent spacing, and do not normally line up correctly when trying to adjust linkage. It is possible to actually hurt the trans do to improper gear engagement from a mis-aligned linkage. If you cannot select all the gears, then it is not set up right.

[cab_01]

I picked up a 78 silverado as a donor truck and used the steering column from that. i know I wont have the key in the dash but I wanted the locking steering wheel i shortened it about 2" to make it fit right with the 05 Tahoe seats that i am putting in there.

[gnhuntin]

Originally Posted by tincan1966

I have a '94 C1500 column in my '65. Not a bad swap, but does require a bit of fab work. I converted my wipers to the turn signal mounted switch for delay control.
The shift lever on the 88 and up columns is reversed from the older style, so I fabbed my own cable operated shifter for the TH350C trans.

As someone posted earlier, The 3 speed auto columns and 4 speed auto columns have different detent spacing, and do not normally line up correctly when trying to adjust linkage. It is possible to actually hurt the trans do to improper gear engagement from a mis-aligned linkage. If you cannot select all the gears, then it is not set up right.

Do you have wiper delay, if so, how did you accomplish it? I think I read somewhere the delay is built in the wiper motor.

[64shortbox]

I was able to get a 72 Van tilt for my 64 off eBay for around $119.00 with shipping. The seller had lousy pictures, I could tell the shift indicator needle was broken but it was otherwise complete. I bought the tilt specific needle for around $9.00 and a new P R N D 2 1 lens while I was at it. I did have to move the Neutral Safety switch further down the column towards the firewall but a pretty straight forward installation. I also slid the column down as close to the dash as I possibly could to gain a little more gut room. Unfortunately I just couldn't stop there I also had to add a 73 Power Disc brake pedal and a 72 suspended gas pedal after adding Power Disc Brakes. These things are NEVER done!