For those of us who own a classic car, you know the feeling of getting behind the wheel and taking it for a spin. If you own a classic car without tilt you know the fun of simply getting behind the steering wheel… literally! You all know the routine… turn sideways and sit down on the edge of the seat, then swing your legs under the steering wheel. If your car has manual steering the steering wheel is a larger diameter to add leverage and make steering easier. This also puts the bottom of the steering wheel really close to the seat. Even if your car has power steering and a smaller factory wheel the non-tilt column is a compromise in fit and comfort.
This was the case for our 68 Mustang GT. The car belonged to 5-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, purchased for his wife Judy. Judy is my Mother in Law, and she loves driving this car. But no matter how she adjusts the seat the steering wheel makes getting in and out of the car difficult, and the steering wheel position was not comfortable. Additionally she felt like it was a safety issue as the wheel was right on top of her legs and made getting to the brake pedal felt sketchy.
She told me what was going on and asked for advice. I told her a tilt wheel would solve her issues. I recommended the Ididit column as I had installed them in the past and was running one in my own car. They are the nicest quality columns in the industry in my opinion, and they are made as direct replacements for many of our classic cars.
We opted for the black powdercoated tilt column for a floor shift car. This column is fully collapsible in the event of an accident, which adds a lot of extra safety compared to the non-collapsible columns that many classic cars came with. It comes complete with 4-way flashers and a new column specific floor mount designed to fit your application.
The entire install was completed in a couple hours. They offer the correct splines for the factory Ford GT steering wheel, and had all the correct wiring and colors to plug directly into the Ford harness. This requires you to pull the terminals out of the Ford plug with a weatherpack removal tool, very easy. They even include a picture of the tool in the instructions. The wiring on the Ididit column comes with the correct terminals to plug directly into the stock Ford plug. For those who don’t want to do so or if your harness or plug was damaged Ididit also provides a universal male/female plug to bypass the stock Ford wiring plug. The only other piece needed was a new rag joint to connect the column to the stock steering box which was provided by Ididit.
The instructions are very clear and concise, and anyone with average automotive skills will be able to handle this swap. The column works flawlessly, and now getting in and out of the car is much easier, and the tilt feature gives a much improved steering feel and position. The new Ididit column transformed the car, and now taking a spin in her Mustang is a lot more fun.
Ididit Custom Steering Columns
