I have a 1950 Chev 3600. I need to remove and replace the steering column support brace from under the dash. It’s broken off at the firewall and the metal in the dash the steering column clamp bolts thru is all torn up. Has anyone tackled this before?
My column was mashing on the dash and cracked it there. I welded the pieces back together. The brace was also cracked at the dash end. If you need to patch the brace back together, you'll need to remove the captive bolts that go thru the firewall, because it won't fit with the bolts in place unless the dash is loosened up. I didn't want to do that. I have a few pics of fixing the brace. I'll see if I can dig them up later.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I put a small gusset on the brace on the underdash side where it meets the firewall. Just a little triangle piece about the size of a nickel welded in to stop it from flexing and cracking right through.
I also had to rebuild the area around the gauges as every AD truck I’ve bought has been broken here. I double layered/rig built it to help spread the load.
1970 Chevrolet C10 Grandpa's -- My first truck -- In progress to shiny Follow the build in the Project Journal 1950 Chevrolet 1-Ton Dually "Ole Red Girl" In the Stovebolt Gallery More pictures here 1951 GMC 9430 1 ton dually--Shiny! | 1972 Chevrolet C20- Rusty- the puzzle box lid for the C10 | 1962 AMC Rambler American- my wife's Parts trucks- 1951 GMC 9300 | 1951-GMC 9430 | 1951- Chevrolet 1300
Here's some pix of the steering column brace that I repaired. I welded the pieces back together using a combination of mig and O/A.
I don't have pix of the corresponding area of the dash, but it was similarly cracked. I did the same, welding the remaining pieces and fabbing additional patch pieces in. The clamp for the steering column uses special nuts that are large square that fit into recesses on the brace so they don't need to be held with a wrench and allow some adjustment when clamping the column in place.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I did something similar on my truck. My cab lower structure including the mounts was in poor condition. I figured out that with the failed mounts, the cab sags and is able to move up and down some. Since the steering column is secured at one end in the steering box and anchored to the dash at the other, it resists the motion of the cab and eventually there is damage to the column mount.
Since the steering column is secured at one end in the steering box and anchored to the dash at the other, it resists the motion of the cab and eventually there is damage to the column mount.
Exactly. My cab was sagging pretty bad in the front as the front mount channels had rusted away completely. Not surprising the damage at the column clamp at the dash. That little strip of rubber around the column couldn't stand the stress.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
