[edgars23]

Hey there people,
I am currently knee deep in doing a drivetrain swap from a 68 donor to my 67 coupe. I am swapping trans and engines at the moment and the associated hardware, like the pedal assembly. Well, I got everything out of the my 68 donor easily enough, But I can't get the steering column out of the 67 coupe. The column connects to the steering gearbox differently in both models. The 68 had two bolts that held it onto the rag joint on the gear box, but the 67 doesnt have a rag joint. The column mates up to the gearbox itself.

Does anyone know how to seperate the gearbox from the colum? It may be a dumb question, but I couldn't figure it out. I was told that the easiest way was to remove the sterring wheel and jack the car up high and just pull it out from under the car. I would prefer to pull the steering column out while leaving the gearbox in place, is this possible or do I just pull the steering wheel off (which is ruste on pretty good) and take the sucker out from the bottom? Any help in this matter would be appreciated as I am in a pinch here and need to get the 67 running as soon as possible. Once the column is pulled I should have the proper pedals in and ready for the trans and engine to be mounted relatively quickly, this is the only thing holding me up at the moment. Thanks for your help guys.
-Edgar

[5.0 in a 66]

On 65-67 the shaft and box are one piece. Spray the wheel with PBBlaster, give it a few whacks and let it sit for a while then pull the wheel. Then unhook the wiring and pull off the tube. You should be looking at the bare steering shaft now. Now you'll need to pull the pitman arm off the box with a puller. Then the shaft/box combo will slide right out. I'd use the 68 column as its safter

[mccance]

I would add one thing. sometimes since the one piece steering shaft is so long it is very difficult to get it out around headers etc. some people will pull the header, or disconnect the motor mount to lift it. Since I agree that you should use the 68 shaft I would just take a torch or sawzall and cut the steering shaft then it comes out easy. If someone wants to buy the old steering box from you ( which I doubt) then maybe the extra headache of removing it in one piece might be worth it. by the way this is the same for all 64-67 steering gears without the rag joint.

[edgars23]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the advice. I will be trying to get it out again tonight.
mccance, I actually have the engine and transmission out, so I don't have to worry about the headers/manifolds in the way. And yes, I had my grinder in hand ready to chop before my friend talked me out of it.
5.0 in a 66, I thanks for the info. I will try to bang off the rusted steering wheel off the column again so I can get the gearbox/column out.
Thanks for the input guys. If anyone has any other tips, let me know. Thanks.
-Edgar