So, my steering issue was, as suspected, the mast bearing. The inner part with the ball bearings and retainers slipped down the column after the plastic deteriorated. Luckily it stayed in one piece and was stopped by the screws holding the column shifter collar in place.
My question is... Repop mast bearing or NOS? Anyone use either and have any thoughts on the matter?
Usually I'd say buy American NOS over the Chinese repop but in this case I'm wondering about the 60yr old plastic and the cloth covered wiring on the NOS piece vs the overall quality of the repop piece?
I called American Classic and they pretty much just said that it's personal preference and $20 less for the repop. I believe some of the import stuff can be just as good but I can't actually see one to get an idea.
This page says the new (repop) ones are well made. ...but given the choice waddya do?
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/horn/wirereplacement.html
