Been a long time since my last post ---- my thread is starting to get buried on the forum!
The situation with the steering column bearing and bushing was resolved. A few friends here on the site gave some direction as to what bushing should be used, spring, placement, etc.
The second photo shows the bushing surrounding the shaft and resting in the bearing. This will keep the wobble out of it for sure. For some reason, this was missing in my parts lot I got some time ago when I bought a 56 Ford steering column, shifter, z bar, and manual transmission car parts. I think we have this sewn up now.
I did prime and prep the fake shifter shaft that I am going to install to replace the original since we put a Hurst Syncro Loc in the floor. I have only shifted on jackstands, but with the wheels and transmission moving we liked the way she shifted.... smooth.
Now to start putting the front end sheet metal back together. But first we needed to assess what we have and take inventory of the clips, hardware, and original rubber seals. I hung the inner fenders and deflectors up in the air and stripped, bagged, and tagged the parts that came off. The air deflectors took a trip to the bead blast cabinet (barely fit in there) and then we set about a plan to work on that nasty driver's side rot.
You can follow along in the photos to see what I did. It is certainly no professional repair, but I liked the results. I need to purchase some sheet metal forming tools - that would help lol.
I also had to weld a tab on the passenger side inner splash pan, just a photo here to double check weld penetration.
Next we were off to paint since the weather was so good...
And since we were feeling froggy today and looking for a challenge, I decided to attack the steering wheel with a dremel tool to open up the gaps - I also took 120 grit sandpaper to it (not shown). I am going to get some PC7 Epoxy and start working on it next week in the basement. I did a 55 wheel for someone in California about 5 years ago ---- yes, this is work.
