So, putting together a '57 Canadian Pontiac, so, basically a '57 Chevy with a shorter Poncho front clip and Poncho quarters. I have a CPP factory style steering column designed for the 605 p/s box. The column shift works like a hot damn assembled in the vice on the bench, but in the car, I've got no clearance, Clarence! Specifically, where the shift lever/collar dealie meets the rag joint. You can see where I mean in the attached pic, where the pencil is pointed. I've tried everything I can think of, had the column out 3 or 4 times, I can pry between the rag joint and the column and gain clearance, but it's just the rag joint squishing down. Any insight? I REALLY don't want to put a floor shift in it, to me it wouldn't look right. Thanks guys.
Have you tried pulling back on the whole column. With the wheel on the mast jacket can move back on the original set up. Did you cut the original steering shaft. Are did they furnish you one cut. You have a small amount of adjustment where the column bolts to the pig iron.
Yeah, the whole deal came in a kit, precut shaft. And yes, I have tried pulling back on the column with the clamp loosened, with no success.
It's very hard to see for sure in the pic, but is the splined end of the steering box shaft protruding into the rag joint assembly? Are the spined ends "butting" together? If that's not the case, perhaps you can trim 1/8" off the end of the baby blue mast? 505 box? Do you actually mean 605 box? One last thought; can the mast detent be slip "upwards" just a bit? I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I just went and had a look, the rag joint appears to be as far onto the input shaft as it can go. Further, the mast jacket itself doesn't seem to be in the way, the shift tube/lever hits on the top of the rag joint. I can't get the mast jacket to move upward any further than where it is. Having said that, I wonder if Canadian Pontiacs in '57 used '56 Chevy style mast jackets, due to the fact that a Pontiac dash doesn't have the shroud into the top of the column like a '57 Chevy does. Possibly the '55/56 mast jacket allows enough upward movement? And yes, 605 box, oops.
I did some more noodling with this thing, the rag joint is indeed as far onto the input shaft as it'll go. The rag joint is approximately 2 3/8 long, is there anyone with a column shift, power steering car able to have a look at theirs? Please?
Got it! mostly. A buddy came by, and with the base unbolted at the firewall, It shifted fine, as soon as the base was moved back into position, no shifty. The box was out of line, so the shift tube was forced against the column shaft. We shimmed the box out, solved, or very close. I'm gonna have to grind a little bit of the rag joint, but we won one today. Thanks to everyone who threw in their ideas.
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