Thursday - Part 2:
Then I could finally turn my attention to the steering column itself, which I'd cleaned and greased.
You will notice I had printed out some old photos to help me putting it all back together.
Unfortunately, I should have looked at these
before I mixed up some bolts.
It was only when I was almost finished fixing the first clamp in place that I noticed my error.
The horizontal bolts should have been used vertically and were too long.
So I had to undo everything and then I promptly dropped a split washer onto the ground.
Now bear in mind I am jammed inside the bulkhead at this point, barely able to move.
After wasting far too much time looking in vain for the washer, I had to go to the Summer House and get a new one.
I haven't tighten everything up at this point, but you can see the bolts work better this way round.
The first two steering column clamps were loosely fitted with no other problems.
But the third clamp has become a real pain in the
Initially, I was very happy that I'd worked out how the two parts of the steering column overlap and get locked together.
A hole in the outer column lines up with a flat side on the inner column here.
Then this lower clamp has a bolt that screws into the flat surface.
Or rather it would do, if it wasn't seized solid.
So I had to soak both sides in WD40 and wait for it to do it's work.
While I was waiting for that, I put some 3 in 1 oil into the end of the speedo cable and left that for a while too.
Finally I refitted the plastic column cover to ensure the steering wheel would be the right distance from the dash.
Eventually the parts of the bottom clamp could be separated.
I also pushed the speedo cable in through the bulkhead.
Next it was back to crawling around in the bulkhead to get the bottom clamp into position.
Now the steering wheel could go on.
And that is when the next series of problems arrived, starting with no thread available to hold the wheel in place.
End of Part 2...