The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Newbie lookie for steering column advice

Hi all. I am new to this forum. So new, in fact, I don't even have my truck in my possession yet. It is a 1963 GMC 1/2 ton, shortbox stepside. It is a Canadian truck, so pretty similar to an American Chev, from my understanding. Some variety of inline 6, not sure of displacement yet. Has a 3 on the tree. Wherein lies the problem. At some point several decades ago, the previous owner swapped in a steering column from some sort of Pontiac, and apparently the truck was never driven since. The truck does not shift gears. My father, a good car guy, assumes the steering column is incompatible with the linkage and transmission. So, my first task on my long road to restoring this truck to a fun ride, is to find a steering column. Obviously, the easiest would be one from a similar truck. However, I would like to have a collapsible column for safety, don't really care about tilt. So, I am wondering what 1967+ steering column I could swap in? I haven't really found any aftermarket columns for 3 on the tree, anyone heard of any? To really show my ignorance, I am wondering if column shift steering columns are the same or different for the manual and auto transmissions (obviously linkage is different)? Any info would be appreciated. It seems like the 3 on the tree is not popular, but I want to keep it for character :)

These links might give helpful info. I'm not sure if they allow for the 3 on the tree, but it should get you thinking.

I'd say that a 1967 on up 3 speed truck might be the right thing to get but I just don't know when GM started using collapsible steering masts.

Link 1

Link 2

Thanks for the info. So, I found out today, the steering column is different for automatic and manual column shifts. Anyone heard of an aftermarket column for 3 on the tree? Also, do 1967+ truck columns have the ignition switch built in? It sounds like the van ones don't, which is what I want.

Found out today that collapsible steering columns in GM trucks started in 1969.

Since you don't have the truck yet you really don't know what transmission you have, what column, or what shift linkage configuration the previous owner hacked together. Anything you get other than the stock original parts is going to need some sort of modification to make it work. I would suggest looking it over to determine if what you have can be used. Possibly get the factory manual to see what the stock configuration looks like.
Also see if you can find a similar year truck to look at. It could be that bending or repositioning the rods and levers can make it operational. If all else fails there are aftermarket floor shift kits available.
Fred