i know they make all kinds of billet ones out there, but has anyone fabed one up of their own? just looking for ideas to put in mine, any pics post it up. thanks,
cool, nice handy work...whats the limit on column angle i noticed the one pic looks like the steering column is angled...should they be as straight as possible? or line up with the box as much as possible?
Here's a 3-way adjustable one that I conjured up, not very pretty in itself, but it gets the column right were you want it.
This was an old Howards small journal chevy rod i cut up to make mine. Just made a bushing to fit the slightly smaller dia column. Tony
I built mine out of some scrap stainless that I had laying around. I had just bought a new tig welder and had to try it out. Ground off the welds and did a lot of polishing.
I made mine out of 10mm mild steel rod, (can't buy 3/8" rod here anymore). I made 2 x circles, one smaller than the other,to form an 8 and 2 x slightly curved pieces to form the V. welded them to make it as a copy of the flathead V8 symbol and painted it. Sorry no pics yet. To make it easier to bend the steel I heated them in the kitchen oven, (no gas set) and bent them around an old pulley.
Here are a couple of plain and simple home made drops. The one in the "T" is made from a piece of 1/2" steel with a 3/16" flange welded on to bolt up to a cross brace under the dash. The drop on the Lincoln column shift is fabricated from 10 gauge and a couple of shaft collars.
TMCFRACING, Agree with the earlier post. That drop is just about drop dead gorgeous -- easily the best I've seen. If you're of a mind to make more and sell them, put me down as an excited, enthusiastic buyer. I was pretty proud of having recycled a `40 Ford column drop, with an asymmetric "spacer" to make it match the contours of a `32 dash and with some added length to get the ergonomics right. But I'd sell it for scrap if I could get my hands on one like you made!!
Here is the one I made for the Model A. Going to use the stock location to mount it so I wanted it to look similiar to a stock one just longer. The second pic shows it next to a stock one.
Drew if you get bored and want a change of pace make second one and I will pay for your materials and labor.
Every single one of these is better than a bought item. They all reflect the imagination, style and skills of the hot rodder who made them.
I'd never done one before, started by mocking up a few pieces of steel and then finishing up by filling in the open spots with scraps out of my odds and ends cut off from other projects. A lot of welding and grinding and quite a lot of time, but the cost nothing, and I'm happy with the results.