WooHoo! Got 'er done!
A few gentle taps of the hammer and those pressed-in bolts slid right out. With that a quick clean-up of the brace, a new coat of paint, and it slipped right in with a minimal amount of "coaxing".
So I noticed something while I was scrounging through the junk yard for this brace - most of the trucks had a cast two-piece full collar for bolting the steering column to the dash (a pretty substantial one), while mine just had a stamped half-collar that pressed the column up against the dash.
I'm assuming the heavier full collar is correct but it seems like it would make the steering wheel sit lower near your knees. Is the heaver collar the correct one?
Thx - Bruce
