Steering column conundrum

[Lookin4the1]

So i'm running through my 3 pages of parts on my build list and will start buying things this friday. I have a 1951 GMC 100 on a 96 s10 frame. I'm pretty much going by Chris's writeup in the sticky section but i've come across an issue that I would rather just put out to the general public and not muddy up his stickied write up.

Faced with what I think the 2 options are for steering column,

32" Ididit tilt column with floor shift. 1" shaft diameter.
or
32" Gearhead Enterprises tilt column shift. 1" shaft diameter. (Chris's suggestion from his s10 how to thread.)

of course one is double the price of the other, seems to be higher quality and i've heard good reviews.

Which one would you guys go with? I don't want to have to rob a bank to finish my build, but i don't want to have to fix a steering column all the time either. Who has experience with either of these and what are your opinions?


ps: on a much more simpler note. with a 1" Shaft size, should i be getting the 3/4" DD U joint and 3/4" 3' steering shaft to go with these columns?

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by Lookin4the1

So i'm running through my 3 pages of parts on my build list and will start buying things this friday. I have a 1951 GMC 100 on a 96 s10 frame. I'm pretty much going by Chris's writeup in the sticky section but i've come across an issue that I would rather just put out to the general public and not muddy up his stickied write up.

Faced with what I think the 2 options are for steering column,

32" Ididit tilt column with floor shift. 1" shaft diameter.
or
32" Gearhead Enterprises tilt column shift. 1" shaft diameter. (Chris's suggestion from his s10 how to thread.)

of course one is double the price of the other, seems to be higher quality and i've heard good reviews.

Which one would you guys go with? I don't want to have to rob a bank to finish my build, but i don't want to have to fix a steering column all the time either. Who has experience with either of these and what are your opinions?


ps: on a much more simpler note. with a 1" Shaft size, should i be getting the 3/4" DD U joint and 3/4" 3' steering shaft to go with these columns?

The $200 columns are throwaways and you can't get parts for them when they break and they will. We used to sell them until we refunded half of the columns we sold for either breakage or chrome peeling off or wiring issues or the tilt got so sloppy it was useless.

Ididit and Flaming river are quality columns , maybe high priced but they last without issues. Brakes and steering you shouldn't skimp on, and you can get support and or parts if needed.

3/4 DD is the most common shaft

[HUSSEY]

I bought a "cheap" column and had to return it twice for defects, finally got them to keep the 2nd one and got my money back. Ended up going with an Ididit, sure it was twice as much but it was three times as nice. FYI, I got my bare steel 30 in. Ididit from Jegs for $349 with a price match.

This question comes up about every couple of months too...search title "Steering Column"
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...archid=5364991

Also check out this article:
http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/in...ng_Columns.pdf

[1952]

I purchased a flaming river column ,Guess I got the lemon as the 4 way flasher switch did not disengage properly as In screwing up my turn signals ( a while spent finding that gremlin lol)cause the contacts were not clearing....the column squeeks when turning ...send it back they said...cost to ship did not warrant the repair cost and it still squeeks( going to pull the steering wheel and shoot some lube down there one day)

[mr48chev]

This is one time you suck it up and spend the money for an Ididit or Flaming River column and be done with it. Too many people have suffered though the same experience as Hussey and it isn't worth the grief. If you can't swing that go with a good solid OEM GM column. The 4 speed truck tilt in my 77 1 ton is reasonably clean for a tilt column with a key in it.

[Lookin4the1]

so its decided i'll go with ididit. found one on summit for 389 32" tilt floor shifter. while filling up my online cart i need to make sure i get this right so i'm going to play dumb and make sure its correct from guys with experience.

shaft on the column is 1" so should i go with 1" to 3/4 DD and then 3' DD thats 3/4" DD to make it to my steering box?

i guess my confusion is on post #2 on the "s10 how to" by chris says you need 3/4 x 3/4 and not 1 x 3/4. maybe my common sense is getting in the way but wouldn't i need 1" to the ididit and 3/4" to the steering shaft. i know my s10 steering box takes 3/4" DD

[HUSSEY]

[QUOTE=i guess my confusion is on post #2 on the "s10 how to" by chris says you need 3/4 x 3/4 and not 1 x 3/4. maybe my common sense is getting in the way but wouldn't i need 1" to the ididit and 3/4" to the steering shaft. i know my s10 steering box takes 3/4" DD[/QUOTE]

Yes. That's a good go-by but I wouldn't take everything as gospel. It's how he did it...not how you have to do it.

I would consider a slip shaft. It makes the steering linkage easier to hook up plus also adds the colapsibilty safety feature incase you were involved in a front end collision. Here's what I used starting at the gearbox:

3/4-30 x 1 DD U-Joint
1 DD x 3/4 DD Slip Shaft
3/4 DD x 1 DD U-Joint
30 in Column w/ 1 DD Output

You could also flip the slip shaft if you wanted to...this is just how I did it to provide extra clearance through my headers.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

Yes. That's a good go-by but I wouldn't take everything as gospel. It's how he did it...not how you have to do it.

I would consider a slip shaft. It makes the steering linkage easier to hook up plus also adds the colapsibilty safety feature incase you were involved in a front end collision. Here's what I used starting at the gearbox:

3/4-30 x 1 DD U-Joint
1 DD x 3/4 DD Slip Shaft
3/4 DD x 1 DD U-Joint
30 in Column w/ 1 DD Output

You could also flip the slip shaft if you wanted to...this is just how I did it to provide extra clearance through my headers.

I agree with everything you said. the collapsible shaft makes it safer and the install is 100x easier.

[_Ogre]

i run a $25 gm astro column in truk, same basic column as the s10 column
millions of dollars in design in that column, parts available world wide