Turning into something new

As I'm searching for body panels for this thing, I figured I might as well start in on parts and pieces where I could.  I'd already tackled the steering gear box, so figured I'd go for the steering column next.











In addition to the steering column that came out of the car, I'd obtained a second one on a recent trip to the eastern part of the state.  I'd mainly grabbed this one as my ignition lock didn't want to play nice anymore and this column had a nice one on it that both of my existing keys worked with (aren't old locks fun?).  Trouble is, this lock was pinned to the column, so I had to purchase the entire thing.  That way I could cut the lock off the column.

Original

Obtained

Between the two columns I was able to assemble one decent one.  The lower plate on the original one was pretty rusted.  Blasting it left it really pitted.  Additionally, the bearing at the top of the column was bad.  No amount of cleaning and repacking was going to save it.  The good side though?  The collapsible tube, the inner shaft and the turn signal switch were all still good.

Original mounting plate

Original plate after blasting

The other one had a better plate, but it's tube had tears in the plastic in several spots.  At some point it's turn signal switch had been replaced with a different one and you could see it in the handle and electrical connectors.


 To redo this thing, I first fully disassembled it.  I then stripped off all of the paint and rust using my handy new bench top blasting cabinet.  I had to work carefully around the plastic of the tube as I didn't want to tear or cut it in any way.  I mixed and matched pieces from both columns to come up with the better parts for reassembly.

From there I cleaned the pieces and sanded them down to a smooth finish, ready for paint.  Next I taped off the areas I didn't want painted and several coats of primer were applied to each part (minus the plastic tube).  Once the primer was mostly dry, several more coats of semi gloss black paint were put on.  I didn't want to use a flat color, but full glossy paint is a bit much for me.  I let the pieces dry for several days before handling them again.

All painted and ready to go

Assembly completed

During reassembly, I repacked the bearing at the top of the column, and cleaned the plastic tube so it looked newer again.  Though I didn't repaint them, I used the better fasteners I had for reassembly.  I may end up looking at some sort of replating for this type of thing in the future.  That's yet TBD.  In the picture above, I hadn't yet reinstalled the lock.  Prior to installing that, it was cleaned and graphite powder was used in it to ensure it's protected and workable into the future.


























Once that was done, I started looking at the two switches that attached to the column.  I decided to reuse the one from the original car as it there were a few slight differences between the two and I didn't want to end up with something that wouldn't meet my needs.

Lots of little pieces

These things turn into a billion little pieces when you disassemble them.  It had to be taken apart though, as almost half a century of dirt had lodged itself into what was left of the grease and workings of that thing.  I read a lot about solvents and cleaners that were 'plastic' safe, and ended up finding one that worked wonderfully to remove all of that mess.  A small tray of mineral spirits was used for all smaller metal parts to soak in (springs, check balls) to remove all the gunk from them.



Once it was all gone, and after a little more reading, it was determined that white lithium grease would be safe for plastic, moisture resistant, and non-conductive.  Some of that was used during reassembly of the switch to ensure proper functionality of the car's turn signals and headlights for years to come.  We'll find out once I get all of the electrics done how well it actually works.

reassembly

I haven't yet mounted it to the column as I don't want the switch to get broken while in storage.  I'll add it back in as time gets closer.  The connector in the picture below is broken, but I'm going to be replacing pretty much all of them going forward, so it's not a major concern.

Final assembly