I,ve shorted mine two inches. What I wanted to do was to shorten mine and keep the three speed on the coloumn. I done my research and measuring and took two inches between where it mounts under the dash and the steeringwheel. This way all the rest of the column is in the original location. I measured down five inches on both tubes and cut out two then rewelded. The cover got two cut from the center. The stering shaft got cut before the spring and reweleded. It turned out very well and still looks very original to the untrained eye.