Floor Shift Steering Column Question ??

[Rack Man]

Just wondering if someone could tell me how to tighten or reduce the space between the lower bearing and the large washer where the spring is....This is a manual floor shift out of my 70...

The AIM manual says that the space should be around 1/2"...mine is around 1"......and my "before pics" show it at around 1/2" as well......I'm just not sure how to get it there ??......It seems I either need to push the whole Column down and compress it (not sure if the slot on the top of the column is long enough to do that).....Or maybe a spacer behind the steering wheel nut?.

I'm lost....any help would be appreciated!