My old pile had, for a steering shaft seal/bearing at the firewall, a piece of 2x4 with a 3/4" hole in it! I had it around here somewhere but can't find it now. I'm no Foose or whatever but even that was a bit cobby for me. So my plan is to use a swivel flange bearing on the inside and cut a rectangle out of something to clean up the outside and provide an air seal. What to use, leather, rubber?
Check out HF---they have 'anti fatigue' mats meant for standing on when you're working at a bench or machine. Kind of a thick medium gray foam about 1/2 to 3/4" thick. They come 4 or 6 to a pack & you'd have a few left over for their intended purpose.
Thanks guys, that's along the lines of what I was thinking, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing the magic elixir.
Sounds good. Would the HAMB allow that? I just realized I have an old Hurst shifter boot with trim ring. Hmm.
Why not use a swivel, mount it in a piece of sheet metal, slide it over the column and rivet/weld it to the firewall. This one I used. Hope this helps a little....
I used one of these after market column support items. I am happy with it, although it is a little bulky. Not all that traditional but accommodates angle variance, is easy and clean to install etc. Cost could be an issue to some folks but it usually works out in either time or money one way or the other. As my column goes thru the floor rather than the firewall I decided to seperate my floor around the column for easy floor removal if required in the future. I see a lot of folks weld their floors in but from my experience it is a god send to be able to pull the floor for some repair jobs later on. This one has the column on the wrong side as well for reasons best left unsaid.
check out the plumbing vent stack roof flanges at your local hardware store. they come in a couple different diameters, have flat or angled flanges and are rubber (the part that goes around the pipe) bonded to sheet metal (the part that mounts to the roof) pretty inexpensive. Like this or similar
I built my own column out of 1 1/2" EMT conduit, and found these bearing flanges at Tractor supply. Their sized by bearing size, so you need to know what your column diameter is, and take a tape measure with you when you go. Some sheet rubber (inner tube) for an exterior seal, plus an o-ring sandwiched between the flanges makes a nice tight seal. IMHO, this looks like a factory piece for an early car. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/2-bolt-stamped-steel-flange-1-1-8-in-dia?cm_vc=-10005
I generally use a piece of sheet metal and cut the appropriate size hole to fit the column cut it crossways and use a piece of inner tube around the column and screw the sheet metal in place,,,perfect seal every time. HRP
No, it's dense foam rubber. One side is slightly conical. The center hole was the same size as my column. I cut one side, ty-wrapped it around the column and worked the conical part into the firewall opening and it's done the job for years with no sign of deteriorating.
'89-95 Thunderbird CV joint boot if you're looking for something to go over a bare 3/4in shaft, piece of 3/4ID plastic pipe inside the small end as a shaft bushing. Probably lots of others too but I've used this one...
I used one of these with a few modifications... Cut the threads off the end that has the star nut and opened up the ID just a bit. Sandwiched the firewall between the large nut and the body of the fitting. All you see in or out of the car is some big nuts.