Technical BUDGET COLUMN DROPS

Looks like I'm going to be changing my steering column again. Looking through speedway, and summit and saw some that would fit the bill, but I really don't want to pay $90+ for one. Saw some on ebay for about half as much. Has anybody had good luck with anything like this on ebay, or anyone know of a place that I can get one for a reasonable price?

 

Five bucks at CHRR swap meet.

 

LOL that was my idea too. I got a top fuel rod that I gave 3 bucks and change for. Generally they got for 5 or 10 bucks.

 

If you want cheap, use a muffler clamp

 

I made one out of an ebay Kohler con rod

 

Just look for a stock one, usually can find them cheap and it’s a direct bolt on. You can cut the bottom, add a bearing and mill/file flats on the shaft for DD joint.

 

I used a leftover ford 302 connecting rod with a piece of rubber sandwiched inside. Seems to work just fine. Cost $0 since it was in my scrap pile. Might have another laying around.

CN

 

This is the one that I saw on ebay

 

I just bought one of the above two weeks ago. Fits nicely on my 2” Flaming River column. Stainless steel studs where you mount to bottom of dash. Quality is spot on.

 

Nothing at all wrong with a good priced column drop. I like cheap.

 

Never payed for one,mostly just made something. One was this.

 

Thats pretty street roddy, the 90s are calling and want it back

 

Lol. I suppose my polished stainless Flaming River column is a bit “ street roddy” as well , but polished stainless and polished aluminum look good together. I have a nice smooth turning 1956 F100 steering column from box to wheel that I thought of using the wheel column and shaft but I think the tilt I will enjoy.

 

Like what Dana said, I made my own out of some steel scraps. You’ll also want to consider that all dash bottoms are not flat but have a curve to them (Model A) and you may need to fit something to that shape.

 

I used a small journal SBC rod, without the bearing and layer of rubber instead, fit around the 2-inch steering tube real nice.

 

I guess you could paint or sandblast that universal drop in post 8 so it doesn't look so street roddy.
Oe dig out a piece of scrap aluminum, chuck the right size hole saw in the drill press and spend a whole Saturday making your own.

Somewhere in my Junk boxes I have an old aluminum rod out of one of Billy Meyer's funny cars that a buddy gave me back in the early 80's. It hung on a peg in my office for years and I always figured that some day it might evolve into a column drop.

I'm really cheap though, I think my truck still has a muffler clamp for a column hanger.

 

I have a 2" column in the PU so I used a BBC aluminium rod that I had lying about and trimmed it, welded and polished to fit. Total cost? Not a damn thing.

 

I have that one, or one that looks just like it. It works. It’s kinda boring, just raw aluminum. I haven’t gotten to making it more interesting yet,

 

This is the one I used in the Morris Woody, simple and straightforward. I don't remember where I got it, but it had to be Speedway, SoCal or eBay and I know it wasn't expensive, I'm a world class cheapskate.

 

Read my tagline below.

 

A $12 2" split shaft collar with a steel plate leg welded to it that matches your dash makes an easy cheap column drop.

 

I found out an old 239 Ford Y-block connecting rod was the right diameter for my steering column so I made it out of that.

 

Split collar is a clean and simple solution. You could also drill and tap the upper half of the split collar if you don't want to weld.

Another option: '31-'31 Model A column drops are 2" and look period (because they are). Lop the top off and fabricate/attach a mount that works for your dash. They're reproduced, and I've found several cheap at swap meets.

 

^^^^
Nice! Similar to what I did on my speedster. I love fabricating with old parts.

 

When I was looking around the shop when building my roadster, I found a NOS GM connecting rod with no use so I worked it to fit and added a thin layer of rubber glued in it, has worked for 20 plus years. I call it fitting the budget.

 

That's what I had originally, but the new column is a 1/4" smaller in dia.

 

You could just get some really thick rod bearings, no? Or make fat bearings from brass tubing.

 

Jungle Jim's widow ('Jungle Pam') sent me one of Jim's con rods out of his Funny Car just after his untimely death. It was hung in my shop office, awaiting THIS type installation in my steel '27 Highboy.
Some bottom feeder swiped it, I noticed it was gone sometime later...
Loss was felt, I had mentored Jungle on blues harmonica... Pam wanted to kill me for that. (Practice, practice, practice)

 

I agree . Boring , but I was kicking around the idea of drilling some small lightening holes to spice it up or milling in fins.