Hot Rods Cursing the guy who designed this. Wait, that was me...

Now that we're back in Michigan, I am addressing some long overdue issues with some of our stuff. The Diamond T truck was uncomfortable because the angle of the steering column was wrong, putting the (17") steering wheel too close to the seat cushion. I could wiggle under it, but my wife, who's taller than I am, could hardly drive it. So, yesterday I set about the seemingly simple task of pulling the column, making a new lower mount that'd tip the wheel up to give more room.
Easy, right?
Not at all. It's been the better part of 12 years since I built the truck, and of course I'd forgotten the sequence of how it went together, and even how I'd done things. The first issue was that I couldn't access the three 1/4" bolts that hold the lower mount to the floor as they were hidden behind the power brake booster on the firewall. After a struggle and skinned knuckles, I got that loose, undid the upper hanger and attempted to pull the column.
No dice, the big lower mount, a sheet metal panel welded to the column shaft, wouldn't clear the brake pedal.
So, let's pull the pedal hanger bracket. Again, not easy, because now, with the column dangling in the way, I couldn't get to the 4 bolts that hold that through the firewall to the brake booster. Several extensions, a U-joint on a deep socket and more cuts on the back of my hands I got that loose, but couldn't removed it. And, the column mount wouldn't go past the fuse box.
After some repair language and thought, I remembered the little stainless decor panel on the dash covers an access hole I'd made, and the fuse panel had a mount supporting it that was bolted to a little tab I'd welded on the pedal hanger. Which was also bolted to the lip of the dash for support.
AH-HA!
With some contortion, more cuts and scapes, I finally got the column out, the pedal hanger out. It took almost 5 hours.
I think I'm going to replace the column with a tilt unit, and I'm going to make a simpler, smaller lower mount, maybe one of the swivel mounts from Flaming River or the like. The brake pedal might as well get shortened and re- shaped, as it has always felt like there's too much travel, letting it get uncomfortably close to the floor, so it's good that I stuck with it.
It's common to curse the designers and engineers who devise inaccessible fasteners and difficult to replace components, but I have no-one to blame but myself for this mess!

 

Let’s see your truck Brian!

 

There is a 1948 Diamond T in the collection I work at. The cab is so small and the giant steering wheel is right in your chest. I don't see how you could drive it any distance. It is very uncomfortable to just sit in, and I'm 5' 11" 190 lbs.

 

I've been running into similar issues on the 47. Who put this car together?.....

 

I’ll join that club lol

 

Rough going there. You can't claim the ***le though.
I've Not always used the K*I*S*S method.
But now you can appreciate the results more.

Yeah Diamond Ts Are Rare

 

Easy to forget about Clarence.

 

I used a lot of weld nuts and weld studs in my build. Hopefully I will avoid some of those self inflicted engineering issues

 

"We have met the enemy... and he is us." Pogo.

 

These shoes hurt my feet.......
But I'm going to wear them because they look good.

 

Right? And, "What was he thinking?"

 

Now that’s cool!!
Love the trailer too. Was that a fire truck??
You just ought to drag that rig to Florida and you won’t need to take the roadster.
We are leaving Bradenton next week in our trailer to Ohio.

 

Ah, yes, the 'layer' school of automotive engineering... LOL. Solve one problem, then move on to the next one but inadvertently burying the first one behind the next 'solution'. Don't feel too bad, that's still common enough a**** the OEMs. But when the layers get too thick it can be frustrating.

 

I'd have lowered the seat, but then again, I'm Mr. Easy

 

There is no rule that say's the fuse box must be mounted on the driver side. I always mount my fuse box and wiring on the p***enger side, there is more room to do it and make's it it look cleaner

 

I did consider driving the truck down and towing the car trailer with the roadster tucked inside. We don't want to take the Spartan, we won't be camping and can't keep it at the house. We'll have to store the car trailer as well, but it will have to be done to get the car there. We leave a daily driver there, so taking the truck is an option. Perhaps with it more comfortable to drive I'll want to. We shall see. And no, it just happens that Diamond T's are most often seen that shade of red, it was never a fire truck.

 

Knees in the chest is even less tolerable than the steering wheel where it was.

 

Retail therapy session complete, I feel better now. New steering column, floor fitting, steering wheel, U-joints and shaft on the way. Along with steel wheels, beauty rings and hubcaps for the roadster. Damage to checking account complete...

 

I'm 5'4", the cab is about the right size for me. It's not much bigger than a Model A truck cab.

 

It went where the harness dictated...

 

I made some progress today while waiting on the new steering column and wheel. The brake pedal was reshaped so it's off the floor a bit more, and I mocked up the original column, moving the mounting point on the firewall down about an inch. The new steering wheel is 15" diameter compared to the original 17" wheel. It's a 3 spoke Sprint style wheel, which I like, and have a similar one in the roadster. There'll be MUCH more room between the seat and wheel with the new, smaller one. The new stuff should be here in a couple of days (if Speedway shipping is like it has been), and I'll get it back together this week. I didn't end up getting a tilt column, they're too big diameter, and I didn't want an integral turn signal switch, as the 1948 one works and looks great.

 

Its always those darned engineers, even when we is them.

Thinking about having to take something apart while you are putting it together for the first time is really hard. Then you get that all figured out, and you have to add something else that just has to block the process you just spent an extra week figuring out. After that happens a few times, you usually just want to get it together and move on to the next part of the project.

The end result is those "darned engineers...." even when it was us that did it.

 

Well, it's almost all back together. MUCH more room between the seat and steering wheel, the brake pedal is up off the floor, feels like almost TOO much room now. I fired it up so I could feel what the brakes felt like (power, disk front/drum rear), and ****, the speedo is pegged and the tach no longer works. Probably a ground wire disturbed, I had to move the wiring harness and tug on it a bit to get the brake pedal bracket out. That'll be fun, because with it back together, there's really no access to anything behind the dash.
There's always something.
I really like the stainless column from Speedway, and the sprint style wheel looks appropriate. Now to put the throttle pedal back on the firewall, the front wheels back on, and we'll be ready to tow and go!

 

The battery turns out to be knackered, so maybe low voltage was the issue with the gauges. I have a new one, so tomorrow we'll see if things work properly again...

 

Our projects are sometimes like wiping your *** with a hoop.....there's no end to it!

 

Put a big "DONE" stamp on this project. I discovered the inner tie rods were worn (I'd replaced the outers when I built the truck but used the donor inners from the Chevy van I got the front suspension from), and ****oned it all up yesterday. The steering is now nice and taut, the seating position is much improved, the brake pedal reposition feels great. It's like driving a new truck. On to polishing the running boards and get the trim back on. And figure out why doesn't the gas gauge work any more...