• We have upgraded our forum software! See here for details.

auto steering column?

W

williamb82

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Messages
84
Reaction score
0
Location
Tampa United States
wull the origonal auto steering column work wit ha 3 speed trans such as a th400? if so does anyone have one in good shape theyd like to sell or trade? the one i have is for a 3 speed manual on the column shifter. the truck im putting the cab and whatnot on is auto but someone changed it to a tilt column with the ign on the column and i want to get rid of that and go back to origonal on the dash. thanks
 
Yes, the original auto shifter column will work with the TH350/400.
But,, you have other options to get rid of that keyed tilt coumn. ( I hate that on our trucks !!)
You could get an aftermarket column from Flaming River, IDIDIT, Billet Specialties,, etc.
Yes, they will be more expensive than a used 60's era column, but they won't be 45 years old either !! ;)

Val
 
i cant afford an aftermarket and id like an origonal if possible. unless its possible to use the manual shifter column on a auto. and i dont think thatl work. lol. i know one of the connections slides the right way but dont think it has enough travel.
 
I have seen it done before though. I think all the guy did was attach an auto style linkage to one of the shift rods(or whatever they are called) on the column and wired the other one so it wouldn't move.

Engineered, to say the least... but it worked.
 
Look for an older Auto Column out of a Fullsize Van. They dont have the Switch in Most of them . They Were Real Popular with the Street rodders awhile back, So They might be hard to find though. Much Cheaper then aftermarket though. Bob
 
One thing to rember is that 60's trucks used a powerglide tranny that is a two speed. Yes this column will work but the indicator will not line up correctly. I did get this column to work with a 700R4 but it would not go into 1st.
 
im not worried about the indicator. i can change that or just get rid of it all together. i know how many clicks to drop down. i also though of going wit ha 4 speed t10. a friend of mine has a few. all id have to do is get the flywheel and maybe another shifter. i think he only has 1 shifter but know he has multiple bh and trans, etc... id prolly just buy a tilton tripple plate clutch used off ebay with flywheel for it and the proper throwout bearing to work wit hthe manual clutch arm. wont be too hard to install a clutch pedal stop. im just not sure if the t10 would last behind my sbc400. those things are tq monsters. plus im not wanting to cut a hole in the floor for the shifter but really wouldnt want to connect it to the column shifter either. auto i think is prolly best for me with this truck.
 
You can disasemble the 3 speed cloumn and and remove the bottom shift part then it will work just fine as auto and they make a indicator for the column. that works on th-350/400 Kilroy was here!!!!
 
ill try that but might not need to. pulled the front clip off my 66 yesterday and got the cab unbolted ready to take off and put on my 64. got the bed off my 64 and the cab bolts undone on the 64. got the front clip unbolted from it and stuff. still got to disconnect the oil presure and water temp gauges that were added. also got to get the column off the steering box. once thats done ill just pull the rotting doors, seat and gas tank to make it lighter. anyho, when i disconnected the shift arm for the trans from the column i think i can fit it to that manual column prety easy. i got tons of work left. right now i ned to get a power booster with master cylinder and proportioning vavle from say a 74 c10. thats what they were from, but its so damn rusted the lines owuldnt come off and i had to cut them. vice grips wouldnt even work. shit was just crumbling. the cab on the 64 as way worse then even i realized. its about to just fall apart all by itself. the right bump in the road would of prolly destroyed the cab. lol. oh ell. im taking 2 dead trucks and making one good one. anyone have the powerbooster and stuff from a 72+ c10 with front wheel disc? i got to redo the brake lines too. i had planned to do that later, but not now. oh well. lol.
 
column option

The stearing columns from the bread and chip trucks are nearly drop ins. There is no key. The major difference is these columns do not have the long shafts extending from the bottom. To use them you must buy a universal joint for the column and the stearing box and add a shaft. These parts new are expensive. There may be parts available at the salvage yard to adapt. I have not looked. The universal used in the step van has a large universal on the bottom with a short shaft. IF you could get it welded true that may be useable. The step van columns have the correct 3 speed shift indicator on them. I used one in my build, but I also used a later model stearing box. That was about 1 1/2 yr ago so my old mind is a little fuzzy.
 
This might seem a bit obvious but it bears repeating every so often.

DO NOT cobble together steering and braking components !! Make sure those things are rock solid before risking your life and the other folks using the roads !!

Steering is an area where the least expensive solution could get you killed...

Val
 
Dare I repeat myself.........DVAL IS RIGHT!!!!, please, even if your not in Texas, near me....., dont skimp on the steering!, YES, its a very simple thing to fix/rig/redneck engineer, but dont....all that simple little stuff is simple so its easy to repair .
and yes, your 3 on the tree column will work with a th350/400. i just did it to my 2nd truck. and yes, it will take a little "engineering" to make it right, and NO, your gear indicator will not line up....but hey, do you wanna drive it, or just look at it....:D
g.t.
 
guys, dont worry about me with brakes or steering. i have front and rear big brake kits on my 84 supra and used a power booster and master cylinder from a 92 turbo model and wilwood 2-si residual valves. iva had the car well over 160mph and it stops great. i know what im doing. my 64 was swapped to front wheel disc and power steering and brakes from a 74 as far as i can tell. i plan to use the same type booster and master cylinder as what came out of it. the lines im replacing as i dont feel like trying to flare the ends as the lines are rusted near the proportioning valve anyway. all the rubber hoses are good, no cracks. the truck stopped fine before this swap took place etc.. the steering is all fine. its power. the column will mount to the power box fine. splines on the input of the box are the same diameter and splines. if its too long or short on the column i can fix it. the universal joints are found easy at the local pic and pull yards and i can weld just fine. i have a tig, mig and arc wleders at my disposal.

i wish i had my camera, today we got my buddies mock up engine in his 32 chevy and made custom mounts and got them squared up and welded to the frame perfect. got the trans bolted in and lined up, just ran out of time to fab the trans mount. its sitting on the jack for the time being. this is in the custom 2x3 box frame we made for it btw. i know you guys mean well wit hthe warnings, but trust me, i KNOW! lol. in hs we used to build circle track race trucks that the teacher raced competativly at the local tracks. between wleding and auto shop and electronics i learned everything i need to know to build a car form scratch and am actually in the process of helping a friend do that with his 32 pretty much. this cab swap isnt gonna be too hard. just looking for pointers to help the time i do actually get to work on it be better spent and not wasted just figuring out i cant do this or that or the other etc...

ill get lots of pics when i go back to my brothers to work on it again.
 
gitrunindady said:
yes, your 3 on the tree column will work with a th350/400. i just did it to my 2nd truck. and yes, it will take a little "engineering" to make it right, and NO, your gear indicator will not line up....but hey, do you wanna drive it, or just look at it....:D
g.t.
Click to expand...

thnx. but the manual column doesnt have a gear indicator. lol. i know how many clicks are needed so not worried about it. lol. shouldnt take much engineering to get it to work either i dont thing. just slide the pin through the hole and pu the cotter pin through so it cant come out. lol. not much too it. just had to go and look at both trucks. prob is they are at my brothers like an hour away. so cant just go look at them anytime i like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top