68 questions--steering and firewall

[Mike E.]

I'm helping with a 68 convertible--327/350HP 4 speed, standard steering column. VIN is 19310 EXTREMELY original 80,000 mile car
I have two questions:
1) There is up-down and side-to-side movement in the steering wheel. Moreso than I think there should be. In looking at parts book breakdowns, as well as the service manual, I don't see that there is an upper bearing in that unit.
Before I tear into it, where might the slop come from?
2) It appears to have had the foil insulation on the engine side of the firewall--mice had a very good time with it. I can see no evidence of the plastic shields having ever been mounted in that area. Nor can I tell if there were inner splash shields (metal) ever mounted there. For the cars in that serial number range, is that appropriate? The outer shields are there, never touched, as is everything else under the hood, including smog pump, hoses, clamps, GF432 filter, radiator cap, etc. It's virtually untouched there, but questionable in the splash pan area.
The car lived on a gravel road at one point in life, and that makes some of the undercar evaluation a bit more difficult.
Thanks for you help!

[Dick W.]

Re: 68 questions--steering and firewall

Reverend Mike, there is a bearing in the upper column. Look at the breakdown from LI Corvette link below.

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~dyndetail~Z5Z5Z50000370a~Z5Z5Z5AACED~P25.00~~~~S2BZ0NZZI24182721116e~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000370a

The bearing is the same for '67 and '68

[Jim S.]

Re: 68 questions--steering and firewall

If I remember correctly you will find that the upper bearing is pressed into a die cast housing and a thin lip is spun over to retain it in place. You will need a dremel tool or equivalent to gind away the lip so that the old bearing can be removed. The new one will need to be epoxied in place.

Jim