<VV> To Telescope or Not To Telescope - That is the Question

[ChiefTAM at aol.com]

OK, today I took the gas tank out of my 69 Monza Convertible to have it  
cleaned and sealed so it is nice and neat to feed my newly rebuilt 110.   (by the 
way, found a place near me that is cleaning, sealing, and painting the  
outside of my gas tanks...two as I have an extra that I am getting ready for the  65 
Corsa Turbo Convertible project....for $125.00 each.  I didn't think  that 
was too bad.)
 
While I was under the car, inspecting things after taking the tank out, I  
observed how open the steering column is at this time.  When I purchased my  69 
Convertible, it had in it the stock black column and black Monza steering  
wheel, but the previous owner also gave me a 69 telescoping column and  wheel.  
The column is in pretty good shape, just needs a good cleaning, but  the wood 
(?) wheel has a crack in it, which I'm sure can be fixed by someone in  VV 
land.  
 
Anyway, I got to thinking, are there any benefits to putting in the  
telescoping column?  I think the black Monza column and wheel look good,  but the 
chrome and wood wheel looks good too, and it is a bit more rare.  I  don't believe 
the car came with the telescoping column, (don't know if there was  a trim 
tag code for that) but would it hurt anything to put it in?  Looks,  
performance, scoring in Concours, etc?  Thoughts about changing out the  column?  It 
doesn't look like too big a job.  Also, does anyone know  if the turn signal plate 
that causes the turn signals to go off after a turn is  the same from the 
standard column to the telescoping one?  Are the columns  that same length?  
Thanks for your comments.
 
Todd (bored while waiting for my tanks) in Texas