The Steering Column Saga

[Tmac897]

A while back I bought an inner steering column from Bean. Looked fine but the body was off so I couldn’t install it yet. Recently passed that hurdle and tried to install the inner column, but it turned out to be too short. It was only about 22” and when inserted into the outer column and joined to the lower half, the threaded end was about four inches below the outer column - too far down to attach the steering wheel.

Spoke with DBE and they didn’t seem to want to solve this issue. I found an upper, inner column on eBay, which seemed to be the right length - about 27”. But when I tried to insert the lower half of the shaft, it wouldn’t fit - just a bit too large.

At this point I’m not sure what I have and how to solve. Any ideas? Here are the pics:

[vstibbard]

Sound like you’ve a mix of parts, Maybe easier to source a complete used inner and outer from and early Spitfire or herald, or even better complete column assembly.
V

[Tmac897]

Took your advice and bought a complete inner steering column. The two halves were rusted together, but a Mat gas torch took care of that. Now I need to surface prep the two parts so that they move freely when joined. Lower column is easier, since it’s all exposed. Upper half needs an inner resurfacing. We’ll see how that goes.

[vstibbard]

Great news, I’ve done that a few times when rebuilding cars as I’ve found lower sections often bent!!
Vaughan