Day 14: steering column

I should have sorted this out after the engine installation, and before the radiator, intercooler and general plumbing. It's not impossible at all, but getting spanners and torque wrenches into the right places is trickier.

It's a good idea to leave the steering rack quite loose, as it does need a bit of tweaking to make sure the column and universal joint (UJ) are nicely lined up.

From R-L: steering rack, universal joint and clamping bolts, steering column (econoseal cable connector visible, not joined up yet)

The steering column finds it way through the engine bay easily, through it will mean a bit more cable-tying to ensure there's nothing touching the column by the RH side of the engine.

The upper steering column fitted fine through the dashboard, but here's some things I found that helped:
- make sure that the upper and lower columns go together easily before you put anything onto the car. The inside of the upper column was rather rough, and needed a bit of cleaning
- I found that gently holding the top of the upper column with a pair of grips (with padded protection) worked. Holding the spanner and twisting back and forth with gentle pressure meant the upper column appeared through the lower bush and located onto the top of the lower steering column
- put your car keys in and turn to "II" position, to disengage the steering lock (before you snap it off!)

The upper bush (which fits into the dashboard) was a pig to get in. I sprayed a lot of rubber lubricant in, but it was very resistant to go in. In the end, it was more brute force than anything clever - but it's a fragile fitting, so be careful.

Finally all in place

The clamp is easy to fit. Yellow witness marks courtesy of Maybelline yellow nail varnish! (Because the car is worth it)