70 B Body Steering Column Rebuild - Upper Shaft Length

[paulie-rt]

Hello all. So I've rebuilt my '70 Steering Column for my Dodge Charger with power steering. New ER-16 lower bearing ( I Highly Recommend ) and upper bearing and insulator , ignition components, inner two piece shaft length checked at 41-1/2 inches end to end. My question is this : In reinstalling the two piece inner shaft ( lightly tapping it forward from the bottom so as not to disturb the 41-1/2 " length) what is the length of the shaft section from the top upper column collar to the tip of the threads ? In other words, at what point do I know when to stop tapping the shaft inwards so the steering wheel will fit correctly and the bottom shaft will also be at correct length? Thanks all !

 

[paulie-rt]

So I realized two things about this steering column in my '70 Charger. First, this car was changed over from an auto console on the floor to a 4 speed many years before I purchased it. This was most probably done back when changeover kits weren't available or maybe they wanted to do it on the cheap. Either way, I seem to have a 71-76 column and not the one year only '70 version. It has the sliding lockout lever and no linkage near the end of the output shaft going to the transmission for steering lockout. That's okay as it still works.
I've also realized that the top end of the steering shaft has two valleys for snap rings, the upper one being to secure the shaft in position. So with this snap ring in place and the 41-1/2 " total length maintained while installing it, the extruding lengths are now correct for both top and bottom.

Problem solved.