Collapsible Steering Column

[copydat]

Hey, 

 

So I need to get a collapsible steering column fitted to my 520 now. Anyone know of suitable donor vehicles? (This is for a right-hand drive 520 - if that matters) 

 

Thanks for your help! 

[wayno]

I used the 720 tilt column.

 

You can see one of the mount bolts in the photo below.

This photo below is of the 720 non-tilt column with no power steering I briefly had to move the truck around when it was a 4X4.

[finney]

wayno, is that using a normal 520 steering box? 

 

Copydat is it for rego reasons?

 

no steering component can be welded, However on my 520 wagon i need to work out a collapsable column because of the 3" body drop. I plan on taking the steering column cutting off the end (steering wheel end with spline). then taking the steering box apart, cut the shaft right down and then Tig the splined end on, leaving a small splined stub sticking out of the steering box. The welded shaft will be hidden inside the box and never seen.

 

I am yet to have a look at it properly though. I have not thought past this yet, but that 720 column with uni's looks like the rest of the puzzle 

[wayno]

Yea, I really did not think about you guys over in Australia, I am using 720 frames in all my builds, so it is a 720 steering gear/box in my 520 project.

My work truck is different, it's on a 521 frame, I figured out that the 520/521 idler arm was reversible, so I took my 521 column/steering gear out and replaced it with an idler arm, then I had a custom centerlink made with a tierod connection on the passenger side, I then put a 720 steering gear/box in front of the idler arm on the driverside on the outside of the frame, then used the stock centerlink to connect the 720 steering gear to the custom centerlink.

 

 

The idler arm and steering gear share a mount bolt.

The pitman arm and idler arm are nearly the same level, they almost touch.

Here is the steering gear on the outside of the frame, I had to have the pitman arm re-tapered from the bottom up.

The frame needs to be beefed up if you actually were to go this route, it's not strong enough to take the side pressures of power steering I have, I wanted power steering, and this is what I came up with, the centerlink is made out of one piece of solid metal, nothing was welded together.

I had to beef up the frame, as the stresses totally ruined the frame in this area.

 

I'm not saying this would be legal over there, but my column is collapsible, and that is what you asked about.

[copydat]

Yep - engineer says "no more spear"

Thanks for the input Wayno!

[wayno]

It's really difficult to do anything about the 520/521 column without welding something, and if you cannot weld something, then basically your off the road, is that the end goal here, to get these older rigs off the road?

Can you change it to another type of steering, like rack and pinion, or is that not aloud?

One of the members here put a 720 frontend onto a 320, it was a lot of work, but it accomplished a couple things, modern front brakes that could be bought at any auto parts store, and balljoint front end instead of kingpins, and a change in the column, likely it was collapsible, but maybe not, but like I said, you could use a 720 column, the non-tilt 720 column is easy to use.

The photo below is of the 720 non-tilt column with the rag joint down at the steering gear.

It's hard to do much of anything without welding.

[copydat]

I found a non-tilt 720 column for $88 at a wreckers. The idea is definitely not to take this off the road - it's been off the road for way too long already. By the time it is on the road the government and roads body will make it near impossible to have a truck like mine. Makes me question if it's all worth it. :(

[wayno]

This is sad, I wonder if I will live to see this happen in my state, I hope not.

There are a lot of guys over there with older GM vehicles, what are they doing to get threw the registration rules?

I found a non-tilt 720 column for $88 at a wreckers. The idea is definitely not to take this off the road - it's been off the road for way too long already. By the time it is on the road the government and roads body will make it near impossible to have a truck like mine. Makes me question if it's all worth it. :(

Even if you buy the column, how will you connect it to the steering gear?

[copydat]

I'll leave that up to the guy in the workshop - he is a gun welder and his stuff always get scrutineered and certified. 

 

Many either club rego them (which means never driving them - certainly not as a daily) or build them for racing. Alternatively, they pay the extortionate rates it costs to insure and register them....
This impacts on my end goal and I'm losing sight of it more and more everyday. I've been 'building' this thing for like 7 or 8 years now, maybe even longer........ It's now in a workshop to get it complete but the guy never has time or the right staff to get onto finishing it. It's really frustrating.

[finney]

Like i said. Tig weld whatever end is needed for whatever column on the shaft but make sure its inside the box so its never seen.

 

Please post what you end up doing as i will be watching eagerly.

 

What else is getting done to the 520 to need engineering? bagged or engine?  

[copydat]

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/30206-copydats-ca18-520-68/page-5

 

that's the build thread - very slow going. Since I split with my wife and no longer have a garage I've got it in a workshop getting finished.... 

CA18DET, forged, QA1 coils up front, detroit locker in rear. With 15x10s. That is essentially all I'm doing to it. Seems so simply. But it needs all this stock stuff included to get through engineering - airbox, standard diff, belts, potentially changed seats, standard steering wheel etc... 

 

We plan is to run the engine and drive-line as one and the electrics as one, so each can be independent from one another if need be - like a race car basically. I'm still waiting on getting a lot of things fabbed up like radiator mounts, battery box and mounting a 65L Nissan Pintara fuel tank behind the diff.

 

I'll post pics of the column once done. 

[Charlie69]

Hey, 

 

So I need to get a collapsible steering column fitted to my 520 now. Anyone know of suitable donor vehicles? (This is for a right-hand drive 520 - if that matters) 

 

Thanks for your help! 

I put a 720 column in my 66 520 left hand drive.  Rag jointed my OEM steering box.  It is all in my build thread link posted below.

[finney]

build looks good.

[finney]

there is a 620 build in the projects page, steering conversion done right. taken the steering box apart, cut down the shaft, had a engineering shop re spine the shaft and machine a seal for the housing. then the rest is a 720 column and uni's