"It fits, no problem!" Yeah right.
There are some constants in life. It seems like aftermarket parts are one of them. It's expected that aftermarket parts don't fit right. Maybe it's just me and an over sensitivity to wanting things reasonably correct.
To make the long transit stages a bit more comfortable, and to upgrade the on-track ergonomics, some drivers compartment changes were made. The first was the steering wheel. The Grant wheel was the right size, both in diameter and grip, but it was too slippery and the wrong color. I really like the OLC Momo wheel with the Alcantara covering, so off to the Google search I went and found
http://www.leatherwheels.com/. Though Alcantara is not his normal gig, Chris Scow assured he could do the job. When the wheel was done Chris called and said he was a bit disappointed in the work since there was a wrinkle on the back of one of the spokes. It seems that Alcantara stretches more in one direction than another (single vs. dual bias), hence making it more difficult to fit the complex curves. After getting it back I could hardly find a flaw. The workmanship is fantastic and the price reasonable. Now that it is the right color, is much easier to grip, and has the alignment stripe, it's like a whole new wheel. It’s one of those things that made me think, “Why did I wait so long to do this?”
Next up was to replace the aging stock steering column with a tilt version. A new Ididit column was ordered along with a new Ididit rag joint. Cris at JCG painted the column red to better match the interior.
So it would seem that installing the new rag joint and column hardware should be all that's needed to finish this up, right? It’s a 1st-gen Camaro, unmolested, and the stock steering column fit fine. Not for me. While installing the new column with the rag joint in the only position it could go, the underdash mouting bracket would not line up. Everything was too long. Do I have the right rag joint? According to the catalog and Ididit's customer service, yes. It must be something with the car. Ummm, then why does the stock column, and a second stock column, fit fine? Ugh....
So, out comes the saw to cut down the exposed spline length to shorten the column length, then make a new set screw landing zone. OK, should be good to go, it's late and I want this thing in. Great, it goes in and fits lengthwise! Now, let's tighten the rag joint bolts. Uhhh, why does the flexible rag squeeze out so much? Why are there not compression stops like the stock and DSE rag joint that were on the car? Where are the safety pins that allow steering control even if both fasteners fall out? Ugh.....
After dissecting the Ididit and DSE parts it was found that a marriage of the two could be easily done. By using the side that fits the DSE steering box along with the side that fits the Ididit column, a hybrid joint could be made that has all of the proper installation and safety features. Even the DSE heavy duty flexible rag (far better than the Ididit part) could be used.
All right, we're ready to go, put the column in, it fits and the rag joint bolts up correctly. Now let's install the firewall seal. Hummm, how come there is so much space around the seal. Uhhh, is it because the column diameter is smaller than stock. What, not even the same diameter? No additional seal or spacer to make up the difference? Nothing. In talking with others this is a normal thing for this column. Ugh....
So here's the new spacer that was needed to make the column the same diameter as the other 500,000 or so 67-8 Camaros that were built. A saw split was used to make installation easier. A dab of silicone will seal up any leaks.
Finally, it fits! Maybe as I get older I'm willing to deal with less, but it's tasks like these that make enthusiasts not to enthusiastic about products. Is it really that hard?
Rant off.
The other part added to the car is the new dead pedal. It's big but non-intrusive. The high-beam switch had to be moved to under the clutch pedal but it's still reasonably easy to get to. A guard will be added to keep from kicking the flasher module. The skidtape came from an ebay skateboard shop. A clutch pedal stop is also in there. The accelerator pedal was modified with a piece of aluminum so that some rev-matching can be done.
In all it's a nicer place to sit, especially with the reworked gauges and steering wheel.