70 Chevy C 20 Longhorn

[G-749]

1st Chevy truck, steering column trashed,been cruising FB marketplace, Craigslist, nothing there. Just got Classic Industries catalog. Truck inoperable due to this and fuel tank sludge. Did get it to crank and move in forward n reverse in big garage. Been sitting 5years. Who makes best steering column for replace stock column. Thinking about getting on with 4 speed auto in case later upgrade will be 4speed auto tranny. Next question, remove fuel tank , clean, replace ? Got truck cranked by putting 1 gal gas can in battery box ,bypassing gas tank line and and run line from can to fuel pump. Ran most of can out,temp ,ammeter and oil pressure gages work. Need to add truck has 2 battery boxes , and a trailer brake, wiring looks sketchy, but won't remove until I find out if dealer installed. Speaking of dealer installed, truck has dealer installed factory A/C unit, also has power steering and power brakes. PO had the makings of a good project, but he changed nationality, went from good old Southern boy to a METHuanian. Lots of jacked up stuff on truck,was a full dresser with 2 tone red nwhite with all trim. Now is all red with no trim at all, red interior. Nice paint and body work. Have 3 photos of truck before he did all this. Rant over.
Please advise as what to do about steering column, gas tank situation.
Any and all input welcome.
1st post.
Thanks, and good luck on all your projects!!!

[G-749]

Oops, 350 chevy motor from 74 truck w manual tranny,w turbo 350.
Please explain, high hump vs low hump transmission interior, how do I tell this? Judging from engine Compartment, and stamped engine code, this is not original motor to truck. Sorry for so much on 1st post. Just a newbie trying to get running ASAP
Thanks

[Getter-Done]

I would stay with original column.
It will fit.
Some of the Aftermarket have fitment and other issues.
There are several members on the board that rebuild and sell them.

Same deal with the tank, clean your tank if you can.
There are several threads about the filler neck snout fitment on the aftermarket tanks.

Link to parts forum: https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...isplay.php?f=8

[1970cstblazer]

Time to upgrade to a tilt. A modified '71-'82 van tilt column or '80's motorhome tilt will work just fine, and they are a quality unit. Beware the chinese aftermarket tilt with cheap bearings and switches.

Easy ID for the hump. If the hump is a separate bolt in unit, it's a high hump. If it's part of the floor, then it's a low.

[LockDoc]

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First off welcome to the board.

Exactly what do you mean when you say the column is trashed? A few pictures would help. Is the rag joint bad? I have never seen a column that couldn't be fixed. If it needs to be replaced I agree with the other guys. Find another stock one to replace it with. It shouldn't be that hard to find one in your area.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

LockDoc

[G-749]

Haven't got the picture post thing going yet. Column thingy that the shifter lever goes in was drilled out and bolt put in,really sloppy, neutral safety switch destroyed due to slop in it.rotates from prolly 1 o'clock position to 6 o'clock position, steering wheel broken in 3 places on center hub,turn signal appears ok,checking on tilt unit that is for sale on here. Rag joint is toast and slop in it. Was really scary when 1st time cranked, had to row the shifter lever back and forth while in someone else's garage. Beautiful straight body work and paint job no cab rust. F#@*ing idiot rollback driver didn't leave truck far enough back so when he turned corner of the rollback bed put dent below taillight on my truck. They fixed it but paint don't match. Column issue and fuel tank priority to get running.
Thanks to all who have replied.

[sixty8HDC30]

Originally Posted by G-749

Haven't got the picture post thing going yet. Column thingy that the shifter lever goes in was drilled out and bolt put in,really sloppy, neutral safety switch destroyed due to slop in it.rotates from prolly 1 o'clock position to 6 o'clock position, steering wheel broken in 3 places on center hub,turn signal appears ok,checking on tilt unit that is for sale on here. Rag joint is toast and slop in it. Was really scary when 1st time cranked, had to row the shifter lever back and forth while in someone else's garage. Beautiful straight body work and paint job no cab rust. F#@*ing idiot rollback driver didn't leave truck far enough back so when he turned corner of the rollback bed put dent below taillight on my truck. They fixed it but paint don't match. Column issue and fuel tank priority to get running.
Thanks to all who have replied.

Your steering wheel is probably fine, nearly all of them have breaks and cracks by now. They are solid steel inside so it doesn't matter if the plastic if cracked.

[MidLifer]

Regarding your fuel tank, if you want to stay with the in-cab tank, remove it, drain the fuel and then have it cleaned by a pro or use kerosene or a hotsie power washer to clean out the sludge.

Alternatively if you don't want the smell of gas inside the truck you can put a tank in the rear between the frame rails, plenty of options there and many threads on this site that show you how to do it. The search box on this site is your friend.

Like many have said, stay with a stock steering column. If you had a floor shift or 3 on the tree and want to change to a column auto shift you can get a non-tilt column for not that much or a nice tilt column for a few hundy restored. Or you can put the auto in, use a floor shifter and a manual column.

[67 twins]

If you have the smell of gas in your truck you have a leak, period. Lot cheaper to fix that than move the tank for a non existent problem.

[G-749]

No gas smell, going to drop tank, i it is in garage and on casters,rolled underneath and surprise TH 700R4 in there. Maybe that why shifter moved so far. Next question, looking in Classic Industries catalog there are multiple options for fixing this, the electrical plug in on the tranny is disconnected . Where do I go from here? PO was driving it like this,but man that is scary. Am open to all suggestions as to what I need to do to to have a safe dependable ride. My original intent was to maybe flip the truck for $, but the TH 700 tranny is a game changer for me. Looking for any and all input on what I need to do to turn this into safe and dependable ride.
Thanks to all who have replied.
66yrs old and recently retired and my new project
Need wisdom and knowledge and guidance to make this happen.
Thanks again and good luck on all your projects!!!

[Palf70Step]

You should be able to post pictures, but most the time time they have to be resized before the board software can handle it.