steeering column ?

[adm22]

I have a 72 with a straight steering column. I have found a 73 tilt column that I have been told is a bit different. Wondering :

1) can it be made to work?

2) If yes how hard is it to get it to work?

 

[goodnigh]

Good question. We just replaced the clutch pedal in my '71.

What should have been a half hour job took three days.

After the pedal linkage broke we discovered the pedal in the

car belonged in a Comet or Torino, not Mustang. We were

replacing the wrong part with the correct one. You are replacing

the correct part with one that may not fit "properly". Could be as

slick as deer snot on a door knob, or......

mike

 

[midlife]

The connector for the 73 turn signal switch on the main underdash harness is very different in style and layout than the 72. Changing your steering column from a 72 to a 73 is not going to be plug-n-play.

 

[adm22]

Thanks I suspect I will not attempt as the old one works- I have been keeping my eye out for an upgrade for awhile and can keep working since the car worked fine for 41 years and almost 470k miles w/o one

 

[RacerX]

The rag joint is different on the tilt columns when compared to the non-tilt also. You will need the rag joint to the tilt column, the 72 tilt switch, the ignition switch also has a longer pigtail on the '73 if I recall correctly. I'm currently restoring 2 of the tilt columns for my cars. I'm powdercoating the tubes and relubricating everyhting as the 40 year old grease has deteriorated.

Take a pic of the turn signal harness connector. I might have a '72 tilt turn signal switch and my cars are '73's. Interested in a swap?

Thanks,

Curtis

 

[Mister 4x4]

I'm pretty sure I'm going through the same thing, as the bracketry on the 'new' tilt column I picked up a few months ago seemed to be quite different than the original. So far, I cleaned up and swapped the old bracketry onto the 'new' column, but I suspect it's all going to have to come out and swap the signal & ignition switch for the original stuff.

I might actually wind up just repairing the original column's tilt mechanism altogether after all.

 

[adm22]

So how hard would the swap out be if I had the one for a 71-72?

 

[mustang7173]

To make the swap from a 1972 Standard to a 1973 tilt column , you are going to have to find a tilt column 71-72 tilt column turn signal switch. One of the nice thing about the 73 tilt turn signal switch, it the removal of the wires from the gray connector is real easy.Just remove the red plastic insert, and gently removed the wires. It might not hurt to record their positions in the plug. Then removed the switch from the column. You might need to change the ignition switch on the column. I have seen the switches for 1971-72 and one for 1973. It could be the wire length and be heavier duty.

mustang7173

 

[RacerX]

You will also need the rag joint assembly with the tilt steering column. It's very different and they don't interchange.

I looked closer at my columns and they are all 1973 turn signal swithes, which works fine for my cars.

 

[mustang7173]

Yes, the Rag joint! One wonders why it is different! I was also trying to find out the difference between steering column bracket to the brake support mount. I believe the 71-72 steering column bracket a piece bracket where the 1973 was a two piece design. It might be part of the new bumper and collision systems that aides in collapsing of the steering column with a frontal crash.

mustang7173

 

[Mister 4x4]

I'm pretty sure I'm going through the same thing, as the bracketry on the 'new' tilt column I picked up a few months ago seemed to be quite different than the original. So far, I cleaned up and swapped the old bracketry onto the 'new' column, but I suspect it's all going to have to come out and swap the signal & ignition switch for the original stuff.

I might actually wind up just repairing the original column's tilt mechanism altogether after all.

OK, so I finally got a chance to ID my column, and it's a '71-'72 column (based on the signal light plug). The tilt's acting weird, but it's not 'crunchy' weird, so I might be able to rehab.