65 Barracuda Steering column cover length?

[JeffreyLee]

I am putting together my 65 Barracuda. I need to get the distance from the end of the steering column cover to the power steering pump fitting in order to re-attach my steering wheel. The steering wheel needs to slip onto the splines on the steering shaft at a certain depth in order for the trim section to butt up tightly underneath. I can pound the shaft further down towards the power steering box, but I don't want to go too far....Pushing the column back up into the car would be problematic due to the lack of space down there and the tight fit of the new column end trim parts . I hope this question makes sense. Thanks

 

[Bob Jasinski]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but my '65 FS column is apart on the bench as I write this, and the position of the steering shaft to the column is set by the two C-clips on the steering shaft. There is very little movement of the shaft relative to the column housing when assembled, maybe a spark plug gap's worth of movement. The clips go on the shaft under and over the top of the bearing which is fixed to the housing. You have about 1 inch of movement towards or away from the dash for the whole assembly, with the movement limited by the tang on the column to dash bracket and position of the steering box. None of this will affect the position of the shaft in respect to the column, which is set by the above mentioned C -clips.