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69 B Steering Column Questions

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bcliff

bcliff

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I'm working on a 69 roadster. I pulled the steering column apart today. It seem to have some parts that are not in the haynes manual. It has ball bearings at both ends. No nylon bushings or felt seals. I have done an earlier steering column and it was not like this. Is a 69 an oddball, or are the later columns like this too? Also, I removed the lock cylinder to have it keyed, and there doesn't appear to be anything that locks the steering from being turned. Is there supposed to be something? There is no indication that the column has been taken apart before. Here is a picture of the loveley beast when it came home. It was media blasted, but has been outside. Fortunately the northern Colorado weather is pretty dry, so you are seeing just surface rust. The floor is beautiful as are the sills. There was a tiny bit of rust in the rear dogleg, but just in the surface skin. It will be approachin paintable condition by the end of the day,5/18.
69mgb1.jpg

Bruce
 
Contact Gerry Masterman - He'll have not only the answer to your question but what you need to rebuild the column.
 
Bruce, starting with 1968 the US spec columns were collapsable and of a completely different design from earlier columns. The 68 thru 76 columns had the cheapest ball bearings that one could imagine and more often than not are toast by now. I can be of help if you need to rebuild your column or have me rebuild it in my shop. If you want more info, you can contact me offline at gerry@gem-enterprises.net

BTW, an interesting trivia-the 68 thru 76 columns were made by General Motor's Saginaw Gear division. Most of the columns I have dissassembled are stamped with this info. A GM steering column in a MG-who'd ever guessed?
 
See, Bruce, told ya Gerry could help!
 
Hey,
Thanks for the info. It has been a while since I dug this deep into a B. Today, while robbing parts from the 4 parts cars (gotta get a picture of them soon!), I found keys in the floor of a 69 GT. Tried one in the ignition, and it works! Probably going to pull the whole column for the roadster. There are two roadsters and two GT parts cars. Both roadsters are beyond repair as is one GT. However, one GT Shell is pretty decent if anyone needs some parts. Let me know, they will be cheap! I'm trying to help a friend "reduce invetory", and there are a few other odds and ends available too. Send me a PM.
Bruce
 
Keep in mind that the 68-69 columns used a different nut/spline combonation that later columns. If you use a 68-69 column you will need a a nut to match because it's is some bastard thread size and the nuts are NLA. I can convert 68-69 columns to the later threads if I rebuild the column in my shop so if you need to have that done let me know. My system replaces the entire threaded section so it can also be used to replaced damaged threads as well. I also have a few rebuilt columns on hand so there is no reason to put up with a worn out column unless you just want to
 
I ended up with a nice 69 column, nut and steering wheel. Without any one of the components, I would be switching.
Bruce
 
Both bearings are tight and smooth. It was a low mileage car.
Bruce
 
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