Gmagno Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Help and advice needed please. I have searched everywhere and cannot find any info on this process. I want to shorten the steering column/shaft 3 inches for taller drivers. I have seperated the column, the top half is spring loaded, the inner shaft is male spline and connects to the bottom female shaft, 2 piece setup. Common sense tells me I need to cut the space between the dash mount and steering wheel. Worried about not getting the spring back in place properly after the cut/weld. I really don't want to screw this up since these columns are not off the shelf and not cheap. I just need someone to tell me its possible, or not. Thanks in advance for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Take it apart and see. I can't remember because it's been so long, but I can remember that taking the whole thing apart and reassembling is not a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 You want to do the exact opposite to this taller driver who had to get an extension to keep the wheel close enough with the pedals as far away as practical. For mine it was all about getting the seat and driver back for better weight distribution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmagno Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 12 hours ago, 260DET said: You want to do the exact opposite to this taller driver who had to get an extension to keep the wheel close enough with the pedals as far away as practical. For mine it was all about getting the seat and driver back for better weight distribution. Seat is all the way back, even modified/removed metal to extend further back that stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Get a flat steering wheel with no dish, that's probably a good 2" right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkspeed Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 I swapped in a Sweet column w flat steering wheel and adjustable mount. It will fit anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmagno Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 12 hours ago, clarkspeed said: I swapped in a Sweet column w flat steering wheel and adjustable mount. It will fit anyone. Please share the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I have the answer. Just need to think about it, give me a minute. Edit: So as others have suggested other methods such as a flat wheel or inverted wheel, thinner seat, reclined seat, would be much easier. Early Z assembly Column to firewall Internal shaft The outer tube Bottom seat of the outer tube Inner tube with spring. So the inner tube is a mostly hollow tube that ends right where the steering column attaches to the dash. The outer tube is two parts with one being the upper portion that attaches to the dash, and the lower portion that extends down and has a bellow that attaches to the firewall. Internally there is a shaft that comes through the fire wall. In case of an accident the bottom bellow crushes and the assembly slides away from the driver if that is the greater force or if from the other side the assembly is retained and the hollow tube slides up through the hollow portion. You would be compromising the safety by shortening the length it has to collapse. If that is not a concern then in theory you could section the inner and outer tube of the upper portion. The splines of the shaft only engage at the bottom of the upper inner tube so unless you wanted to also go about manipulating that it would be better to cut it out of the upper portion. The concern would be as you guessed, getting them welded inline perfectly. If they were off you would have binding issues come up as the top is retained by a sprung c-clip. You do have a bit of room with the springs on both sides, but you may feel some binding. You also would run into issues with retaining the steering lock and the blinker mount. Your steering wheel would also get quite close to the dash with limited room for the steering mounted accessories. With that said there are a bunch of ways to line up tubes and weld them straight, there is the budget, 90* channel with pipe clamps. Or more high tech methods like 3d printing a brace to line them up. I ended up cutting the bottom portion to fit a power steering setup. So my problem was welding the shaft, which now in retrospect I have very limited collapse as it widens at the bottom of the splines although I accounted for some of that by retaining the collapsible portion of the donor column as well. It took a few tries to get it to the point you couldn't feel bind, much more difficult, but possible. Long story short, you could do it. The question is the balance, as it was built around that setup to a point, once you move that you may need to modify the dash and the controls, and at that point you get into "making a new column is easier than trying to modify the old column." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUME Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I just moved firewall mount bit higher. Upper mount is just a sleeve... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 ^ You would have to shorten the splined shaft then correct? I guess you could just add a spacer between the bushing stop for the dash mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUME Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 I just turned upper mount other way around. It's not symmetrical. And yes spline shaft can/have be shorten. I did't because my cross member is bit further. I only did shorter bush to connect shafts. Out of icehockey puck🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 No NASCAR style up close and personal with the steering wheel then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cable Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Digging up an old thread.... I am having issues with steering wheel being too close for comfort too. A bit of background, the car has been backhalved for drag racing. I am over 6' tall and the flat steering wheel is damn near in my chest. I am not the running the stock dash, turn signals, or stock ignition, so nothing mounted on the stock 280z column is a concern. I just want the steering wheel at least 6" further away. Ideas on how to do this easiest would be appreciated. I have a welder and associated tools. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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