<VV> RE:'66 tele column in '65?

[corvair at mb.sympatico.ca]

Found this post in the VV Archives at www.virtualcorvairclub.com, courtesy of Seth Emerson. Informative but it's still hard to tell what would need to be changed to put a '66 tele column in an early '65 non-tele.
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There were two different designs of tele-columns in 1965 and 66, just as there were two different designs of non-tele columns in 65 and 66. The early style non-tele column had a shaft that went from the steering gear all the way to the steering wheel in one piece. That was changed in about May 65 to the 66 style, where a alignment/protective coupling was added about 15-18 inches out of the steering box. That coupling allows the steering gear box and the column to be disconnected and stored seperately. Also a part of the May changeover was a different attachment of the column to the firewall. Since the column could be removed by itself, it had a welded-on flange that bolted to the firewall, and a clamp at the bottom of the dash. The earlier style had a flange that bolted to the firewall, and only clamped to the column and solid mounts under the dash. To replace the early one-piece shaft non-tele column with the initial tele-column, Chevrolet added a solid coupling in the middle of the shaft with matching splines on a short shaft coming out of the box, and the cut down shaft in the tele column. The coupling was only a dual splined double bolt clamp. It clamped the two shafts together. The steering box for the early 1965 tele-column cars is unique, because the shaft length is an inch shorter than the late65-66 box. After Chevy changed to the large coupling in mid-1965, the steering boxes, regular or quick, are interchangeable. You can interchange a complete 65 or 66 column/box assembly between years. You might have to perform a little surgery on the firewall where the column attaches but it is easy. Electrically, the columns are identical. Finally, the 1965 tele-colum can be installed on a 1966 steering box, using the 1965 solid clamp. The only drawback to this is that the inch difference in length of the steering box shaft (the 66 is an inch longer)results in the steering column positioning itself an inch closer to you. The column attachment to the underside of the dash will have to be "finessed" slightly, but it can be done. ( The best method would be to use the dash clamp from a 1966 column and remove the two welded on flanges of the 1965 column.) - Any other questions, just ask! - Seth Emerson