Saturday - Part 1:
After getting some chores out of the way in the early morning, I'd just put my car working clothes on when my plans changed.
My wife decided to invite her niece & nephews (& their partners) over for a BBQ on Sunday, as the forecast was so good.
Given my last post talked about perspective, that is part of family life, so I had to switch to "tidy up" mode.
So it was 5pm by the time I finally had a chance to go to the Summer House and fit this to the steering column.
Note:
My wife signed for it during the week and the delivery driver said something like "Hasn't he finished this car yet?".
Thankfully it can only be fitted the correct way around, so I could tighten up the two screws with confidence.
Next I tapped the two pins into the steering wheel boss.
So they now can engage with the indicator cancelling "thingy" like so.
A quick test showed that this was all working as it should.
I thought it would be a good idea to temporarily tape the wiring out of the way.
Although it would have been a better idea to tape them in a position that didn't foul the column cover.
So "Take 2" allowed the top part of the cover to fit tightly like so.
Then I took everything out to the front drive and peeled off the covers.
I removed the driver's seat (just resting in position) so I could crawl into the bulkhead.
Where I promptly dropped a part straight out of the car and on to the drive!
So I had to crawl back out, pick it up and start again (unfortunately this happened more than once).
Eventually, everything was finally bolted into place.
Upper mounting bracket.
Lower mounting bracket and the clamp to hold the two steering column sections together.
Note:
In the photo above you can see the bulkhead seal needs to be lowered a bit.
Earlier one of my daughters holding a spanner inside the bulkhead, so I could tighten up the nuts on the other side.
But we did this before fitting the upper column section, so I'll need an extra pair of hands again to make the final adjustments.
There is plenty of thread available for the steering wheel nut (just finger tight in the photo).
Then I was finally able to turn the steering wheel and watch the wheels turn.
I know it isn't much, but it still made me very happy that the steering column is finally back in position and it works!
Note: I went back and checked the last time I could turn the wheels and it was 21st July
2012.
Quick question for those of you using this type of steering wheel, what holds the centre section in place?
Mine is just pushed into position for now, put doesn't seem very secure and would pop out at the first bump in the road.
Unfortunately, I can't fix the steering wheel into position until the dash is removed again and then wired up.
So for now, I've just left my modified tennis ball in place to protect the threads (and my head).
With the success of the steering under my belt I decided to squeeze in one last job...