Technical Anyone care to speculate what's going on inside this steering column?

The hose clamp, I was thinking it was a turn signal switch. You can see a sliver of it over the column. I've not seem a PVC fitting in that hard turn configuration, but I know I haven't seen all of them. Maybe ??

 

Good grief. I was thinking upside down tilt column joint until the large pic. But that's definitely PVC pipe. Definitely a hose clamp. Sure looks like it's hanging off a....u-bolt.

I don't even want to think what's on the box end!

 

What's your blow up look like?


I've fabricated double and triple wall jacketed pipe ( much larger though) with bends and its not an easy thing. It's been with both a single hard miter and 10* slices for a smoother radius. The single miter is easier and quicker for sure but neither is beginner level stuff.

I've not ever seen a column like this before, and I am really wondering if building a proper and safe steering column with A-that configuration while managing to B-retain the narrow and sleek tube and having it C-serviceable is even possible. If it were, I'm more than reasonably certain we would have seen it done often because the problem that this tries to correct is so common in our cars.

A few months ago, I really tried really really hard to come up way to pull it off. Lots of brain energy spent on it. Out of dozens of ideas and drawings - The best that I could come up with was a metal sphere around the Joint with threaded stubs to accept threaded tubes which poses a bunch of other issues.

I saw this column and thought its got to be complete junk or disposable OR I should have kept thinking a bit more.

 

Not PVC, even thinner, Shop-Vac parts!!!! LOL

 

So its an old guy? Here I though it was aliens

 

That stuff is for heat and defroster ducts. Not steering

 

if it was made with borgeson u joints and shafts that were preassembled then slid into the bent column and then the solid bushings slid into each end. the bushings could be set screwed in place. of course the bend in the column would have to be large enough to allow the short [upper] end of the shaft to pass through it and the u joint would have to be narrow. in the photo the upper is real short.
it would be fun to take some exhaust pipe and joints and see how tight/long you could get away with.

 

Here's my thought on it my friend. If it was a chick I wouldn't kiss it with your mouth.

I guess I don't see the point of the weird column but I guess its because I haven't tried to set in it. I like my wheel low(ish) and pretty straight, I think its a quirk.

 

The problem comes from having the wheel too close into your thighs in some of those cars. It gets to be more of problem with cowl steering. It's one of the reasons quick release wheels are around.

 

If the guys on evil bay why not e mail him and ask

 

If there is a upper bearing in the long sextion you'll not get it at all. If there's no bearing up there I'd bet it want to wobble. Quicky sketch will tell you that its very little bend and still get the shaft thru.

 

I thought about it,
But I'd figure here first would be more fun

 

I'm seeing two hose clamps, s muffler clamp, and a bunch of suspect tubing that looks like PVC, painted black.

 

I'd agree that that looks more than a little suspect.

As far as the joints to make the bend or hook it up look under the dash of a mini van in the pick a parts some time when you are poking around there.
I think a decently skilled fabricator could figure out how to do something that outwardly looked similar but was built right and safe without a lot of hassle though.

 

I think he meant that the person selling the fuzzy dice is on Ebay not the personwith the car/steering ? I could be wrong...

 

I don't know what you guys are complaining about?
Just get a flexible shaft, like they make for a Dremel Tool,
install it and you're done, ha ha ha .

 

But what if you slid it in the tubing, and then slide bearings up the shaft with another tube. Then at the bottom of that one was another bearing and a way to hold it in place. And same up top, just slide a bearing down the shaft once you got it in place

 

See, it's more fun here.

 

Hard to get a shot under there and early mock up.
There's a u joint in there that needs access.
mounting plate on the box.
Mounting plate for external holes
Belled 3" exhausted pipe to clear internal bolt circle and
3" pipe mitered (yet to be done in the picture.) that will be welded.
Transition to 1-1/2" and mounting plates for it.
Bearing in the 1-1/2 tube.

The thing starts at the box and stack up to end at the steering wheel.

All that to get the wheel out of the guys lap.

Plus I had to cut into the dash and need to make a new doohickey that looks like it's 100 years old

 

I think it's just a prop.

 

what i was thinking; black is the mast, yellow is the long bushings, and bronze is the shaft.
slide the shaft assembled into the mast then slide the bushings in from either side and hold in place with set screws. on the lower a short bushing could be slid up the shaft with a long drift, and another for the bottom.

 

I think the whole thing turns with the wheel. Helps to lean into the turns.

 

Nice!

 

i was just thinking also, how cool would it look if the mast was oval? that would give more room for the shaft to make the corner. of course the bushings would have to be oval with a round hole in the center.

 

Wonderful!!!!! That's sorta what I was thinking.

 

If there is pvc involved, why assume that it is structural. It may just be a dust cover.
All types of possibilities. Late model tractors have similar set ups, and they tilt.

 

a simple universal joint would do it, just a smaller version of your drive shaft

 

do a few late 90's or 2000's firebird ones and all the others are easy ( redid my 78 k20's in the cab ) .. I have one I have to do sitting in the drive , easier to pull it and rebuild it on the bench . all because they didn't put locktite on some bolts at the fulcrum ( or people use them as lift or push points getting out of the vehicles ) . the secret is they have detailed instructions on the web in other forums ( I printed them out ) .. my 50's is easy as its non tilt .. and going to stay that way .

 

I was just about to say that when the picture was blown up

 

several cars ( f bodies ) I sold that went down under got the knife to RHD , now they want to convert them back as I guess the rules relaxed on them , and seeing how they converted them to RHD kind of makes you kringe, like the brake set ups with long links and levers under the dash