Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

[Garry B.]

It may be wishful thinking, but I am looking for the correct rag joint / coupler for a telescopic steering column that is in my newly acquired '66. I don't think it is OE to this car, so I don't know if it is a '65-'66 or '67 steering column and haven't done the research to sort it out yet. I understand the '67 is a collapsable column, but I think the coupler and definitely the rag joint is the same for all three years. I know about the one on ebay that really isn't for sale, and have found no other source as of yet. Yes, I also called David S. in CA and he doesn't have one either. If I can't find one I may just pull the column out and replace it with a standard steering column of which I have the correct rag joint and coupler. Any leads, thoughts, etc. as to how I can obtain one of these would be greatly appreciated.
Garry Barnes
#18531

[Don H.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Garry, You can use a 67 - 69 coupler (Corvette Central #562071) attached to the standard half. This will work fine and position the column correctly but would be found in judging. Long Island used to reproduce it but they are long gone. Don H.

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Don, thanks for your reply. I have a standard rag joint and coupler on it now and it drives fine, but there is a gap between the two hub sections at the wheel. The gap is about 1/2" to 3/4". I wonder if the shaft is too long? The telescopic unit moves forward, backward and locks in place just fine, but this gap is what I am trying to figure out what is creating it. If you look at the two correct coupler ends for a telescopic column, the design is different and although I don't have one to accurately measure, the correct one is clearly shorter and possibly accounts for the gap I currently have.

[Gary B.]

The standard 1963-66 Corvette shaft is 37 inches overall. The 1965-66 tele column shaft

[Joe L.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

It may be wishful thinking, but I am looking for the correct rag joint / coupler for a telescopic steering column that is in my newly acquired '66. I don't think it is OE to this car, so I don't know if it is a '65-'66 or '67 steering column and haven't done the research to sort it out yet. I understand the '67 is a collapsable column, but I think the coupler and definitely the rag joint is the same for all three years. I know about the one on ebay that really isn't for sale, and have found no other source as of yet. Yes, I also called David S. in CA and he doesn't have one either. If I can't find one I may just pull the column out and replace it with a standard steering column of which I have the correct rag joint and coupler. Any leads, thoughts, etc. as to how I can obtain one of these would be greatly appreciated.
Garry Barnes
#18531

Garry------


1965-66 T/T steering column couplers were the same. 1967 was different.

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Gary, I measured as best as I could and I come up with roughly 39" from spline to the center of the button. This is accounting for a very rough guesstimate of firewall thickness, insulation, carpet, etc. So it looks like I have a '67 shaft with a standard rag joint / coupler. So this begs the question, can a standard shaft be substituted using the standard rag joint / coupler and still have the telescopic feature? I just don't like the gap between the two hub pieces. I measured it and it is right at 1/2".

[Don H.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Here are pictures of my coupling (using the '67 part), the column all the way in and out. Don H.

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Great pics. The coupler is clearly different and overall shorter than the standard steering column. I am not sure what I can do now if I can't find the right coupler. I may just pull it out and sell it or find some way to exchange it for a standard column. Still interested in knowing if a shorter standard shaft could be retrofitted into the tele column. If the standard shaft is 37" and mine currently is roughly 39" that would allow me to connect the two hubs solving the problem. Here are two pics that show what I am dealing with.

[Gary R.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

I used to have some of them but sold them all. I haven't seen one in a long time and the last one I saw was on ebay for $700. I have some 67-e69 but they are not the same. Not sure I have any pictures of the correct one in my file.

The rag material shown in the pictures is aftermarket and not as thick or rigid as the original Saginaw part.

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Gary, thanks for your reply. I can't swear to it, but mine might be a '67 column, so if you think you have a '67 I would like to learn more. Please feel free to contact me through my email and we can discuss further.

Clearly the car will never be judged, so I am not worried about it passing judging. It is a driver that I picked up recently with a lot of options and I would like to keep this option as well, but don't think I can stand to look at this unsightly gap in the hub. I also know that the the rag joint in this coupler is no where near correct or of the quality it should be, but until I sort out what my plan is It's going to stay. I look forward to hearing what you may have. Thanks.

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

My last post begs the question; is there a visual way to tell whether I have a '67 telescopic column or the earlier '65-'66? Again, I measured as best I could and the shaft is roughly 39". What other visible differences are there? I am convinced that this column was installed by the previous owner, so just because it is a '66 doesn't mean that it is necessarily a '65-'66 column. Car was built the first week of production on September 16, 1965.

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

I was contacted by a very nice gentleman (from another forum) who has a '65-'66 tele rag joint and coupler that he was willing to sell if I was able to confirm that it was correct for my column. He informed me that the '65-'66 steering shaft was 3/4" in diameter and that the '67 shaft was increased to 1" in diameter. He also said that there were significant difference in the way these two columns were mounted and that he doubted that a '67 would be in my '66. Having one of each '66 and '67 in the garage I was able to confirm that in fact his information was spot on. I am beginning to believe that the telescopic column is factory on this car because of all of the other options. After comparing his photos to other known originals rag/coupler (including part number) it definitely is the one I need. He had taken it off of his '66 many years ago when he converted his car over to a race car and put a whole different steering and front chassis in. He offered it to me at a very fair price (considering the rarity and other current ones supposedly for sale). The rag looks to be an original but missing the ground. Once cleaned up and installed I hope to be good to go on this project. Although I haven't confirmed it yet, I believe the horn button is different on a '67 from those on the '65-'66. I have tried to find a photo to confirm, but so far no luck. Thanks again to John A. for his generous offer.

[Frank D.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Do you mean the actual horn button is different or the contact ring that sits below it ?

As to Gary's remark about the repro coupler carcasses; yes they are sub par, flimsier and more prone to tear than original or (now extinct) Long Island Corvette 7-layer carcasses. Video of a coupler I rebuilt with the repro rag - not good and I refused to install it.

https://youtu.be/q1G5Yp91HK0

[Garry B.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

Frank, I am speaking of the actual horn button cap. As mentioned, I am trying to confirm this, but the '65-'66 horn button cap looks similar to the three colored cap on a knock off wheel. The '67 horn button cap is black with crossed flags on the tele wheel. The outer chrome ring that you rotate to activate the telescopic unit looks to be the same, but the center cap is different. I obtained this information from the Paragon catalog. I chose not to depend on this information to determine what year steering column I have because you can obviously change the horn button. The difference in shaft diameter was more definitive and helped me discern which one I have.

As to the rag, the unit I found appears to have a nice, flat original rag. As I recall, I led you to an original one a few years back. Do you recall if he had anymore, in case I should need one? I hope you are doing well. I miss your expertise on the "other place".

[Frank D.]

Re: Looking for a '66 telescopic steering column rag joint / coupler

That individual did not have any more original couplers; I bought a spare a year or so back NOS (see first pic) with a good ground between the housings, but recently sold it, the couplers are bringing $250 and up (mostly up) and are approaching unobtanium status.

Be VERY wary of used couplers, even with the correct rag thy can look good from the outside but have internal tears (see screwdriver tip in second pic), one I bought super cheap just to get an original housing for the steering box side. Look closely at the mechanical metal stop pins to see if they have been making contact with the housing (an indication of a worn/torn rag)