Tilt tele query

Mad4slalom

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Hi All, anyone have experience of changing the steering column to a tilt/ tele setup?
It seems it would be a fairly easy swap providing you could find the correct column. My seventy Two has the reverse lock out /ignition, I dont know if all models had this or whether it was an option, would be nice to be able to move the Wheel/column toward the dash a few inches as it feels a bit close.are they just plug and play re the indicator switch ?
And , is such a thing available s/h at reasonable money ?
TiA 👍
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Watching this as I'd be interested in the answer too. Though for a 68 its a one year wheel item as I don't need the ignition switch on the column.
 
Roscobbc

Roscobbc

Moderator
Mad4slalom said:
you 68 owners 🥱yiu just Have to be different dont you !! 🤣🤣👍
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And the reason is?.........a '68 is really a combination of 'carry over' mix of '67 C2 components and 'new' early pre-production parts and as such different to '69s or
'70s which were far more productionised by now. Capt's question relating to retro-fitting a tilt/tele steering wheel on his '68 is an interesting one for several reasons as he'll need more than just a steering column. I'm guessing a column mounted ignition switch will be needed......there'll be the question of a hole in the dashboard. The steering columns have bracing bars fitted under the dashboard......they differ I beleive from coupe to vert and from year to year........seem to recall my '68 has a cast steel brace bar.....could be wrong but seem to recall later cars have a pressed steel brace......potential can of worms! Capt might be better looking at a Flaming River aftermarket column.
 
Mad4slalom

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Roscobbc said:
And the reason is?.........a '68 is really a combination of 'carry over' mix of '67 C2 components and 'new' early pre-production parts and as such different to '69s or
'70s which were far more productionised by now. Capt's question relating to retro-fitting a tilt/tele steering wheel on his '68 is an interesting one for several reasons as he'll need more than just a steering column. I'm guessing a column mounted ignition switch will be needed......there'll be the question of a hole in the dashboard. The steering columns have bracing bars fitted under the dashboard......they differ I beleive from coupe to vert and from year to year........seem to recall my '68 has a cast steel brace bar.....could be wrong but seem to recall later cars have a pressed steel brace......potential can of worms! Capt might be better looking at a Flaming River aftermarket column.
Click to expand...
good info Rosscob, wonder if they do one for a 72. Sensible money too as I saw some reconditioned ones up to 3500 dollars on ebay 😱.
 
Mad4slalom

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Mad4slalom said:
good info Rosscob, wonder if they do one for a 72. Sensible money too as I saw some reconditioned ones up to 3500 dollars on ebay 😱.
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Just had a look, seems anything after 68 is twice the money or more, they do a micro steer column, any idea what that is ? 🤔👍
 
Letank

Letank

CCCUK Member
Being a big guy at 6’4”, I can only drive a C3 with a tele/tilt column. When I was on the search for my last car I did a bit of research and discovered that the standard columns and tele/tilt columns were pretty much interchangeable between 69 and mid 70s models (I can’t recall the exact year, sorry). Unfortunately 68s have a different design and this was one of the main reasons I had to rule out a 68.

Not wanting to narrow my car search down to only tele/tilt cars, I thought I would buy a tele/tilt column in advance so I had one ready should the car I ended up buying only have a standard column.

Refurbished tele/tilt columns are well over £1k from the states so I kept my eye out on eBay and bought the first one that came up for sale in the uk for about a hundred quid. I then spent a couple hundred more on new internal parts and quite a few hours restoring it. Fortunately there are a few really good videos of this on YouTube.

The car I ended up buying was a 69 with standard column from Corvette Kingdom and Scott replaced the column for me before I took handover of the car.

So long as the tele/tilt column you are putting in is assembled correctly and working as it should then it’s a fairly straight forward process. The difficult part is getting a column for a reasonable price and restoring the column if you have to. 👍
 
Roscobbc

Roscobbc

Moderator
The only column option for a '68 was a telescopic column (not tilt/tele) I'm not as tall as Letank at a mere 5'9" with 31" inside leg........but I still need the drivers seat all the way back......the '68 wheel is a huge 16" piece which does create gonad clearance issues when getting in and out of the car. When I tried a '68 with the telescopic option it only seemed to give an adjustment option for a driver with ultra-short arms.......the non-adjustable deep dish stock 16" steering wheel was replaced with a period Mountney 12.5" aftermarket wheel with minimal dish. drivers side interior Vette.jpgEven though speedo was partly obscured (who has time to look at it anyway?) the increased steering effort with pas and far quicker steering action really improved driving reactions.
 
Mad4slalom

Mad4slalom

CCCUK Member
Letank said:
Being a big guy at 6’4”, I can only drive a C3 with a tele/tilt column. When I was on the search for my last car I did a bit of research and discovered that the standard columns and tele/tilt columns were pretty much interchangeable between 69 and mid 70s models (I can’t recall the exact year, sorry). Unfortunately 68s have a different design and this was one of the main reasons I had to rule out a 68.

Not wanting to narrow my car search down to only tele/tilt cars, I thought I would buy a tele/tilt column in advance so I had one ready should the car I ended up buying only have a standard column.

Refurbished tele/tilt columns are well over £1k from the states so I kept my eye out on eBay and bought the first one that came up for sale in the uk for about a hundred quid. I then spent a couple hundred more on new internal parts and quite a few hours restoring it. Fortunately there are a few really good videos of this on YouTube.

The car I ended up buying was a 69 with standard column from Corvette Kingdom and Scott replaced the column for me before I took handover of the car.

So long as the tele/tilt column you are putting in is assembled correctly and working as it should then it’s a fairly straight forward process. The difficult part is getting a column for a reasonable price and restoring the column if you have to. 👍
Click to expand...
Thanks letank, I will keep an eye out for an elusive 100 quid column and would be a satisfying project to refurb it. 👍
 
CaptainK

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Roscobbc said:
Capt might be better looking at a Flaming River aftermarket column.
Click to expand...
Nice one thanks, that is a good find and not bad a price. I must confess a tele/tilt column is low down my list of upgrades for my Vette, but I'm still interested in how to upgrade to them. At the moment I can easily get in and out and drive it without problem. Used to have issues hitting the brake with the old manual braking (aka no power braking) as couldn't get my leg under the wheel enough to apply sufficient force. But when I went to power brakes, the pedal moved down a fraction as well and overall much easier to brake now.
 
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