Exploring the 1967-1986 Corvette Tilt/Telescopic Steering Column

 
Since day one GM has never spared any money in engineering. My co-writer Chuck Schuster and I have been long-time believers in if GM built it that way there was a good reason they built it that way. On the same note, we do not believe GM ever changed anything unless they came up with a better idea. Chuck Schuster has been rebuilding tilt steering columns for many years, so he has found and developed many tricks of the trade. Although the Corvette steering column was produced by the Saginaw Steering Gear division, Chevrolet had provided all design and all decorative aspects of the column. Chuck will share some of these secrets in the future, but today we are going to start with a basic overview of the columns based on model year application. Be aware there is some overlap between the generations. 

C1

The C1 (1953-62) was a very simple time, other than a couple of cosmetic changes the steering columns were pretty much the same, but no tilt/telescopic column option was offered during these early years. It would not be until the 1965 model year that an optional column was offered.  The Corvette was produced with both a standard column (non-moveable) from 1953 through 1979.  

C2 

The C2 (1963-67) steering column, although these are all grouped here together because of body style, there are many differences. 

Let’s start with the ‘63-64 steering columns. While there are some early internal differences, they do physically interchange. 1965-66 Corvettes used a standard non-moveable column but also introduced the optional telescopic column in 1965 as stated before. Unlike the Cadillac and Buick, Corvette columns were very small in diameter, and Corvette always retained the same steering wheel. These columns are unique and were way before their time. 

For the 1967 model year, the first collapsible column was introduced. Ironically adding this new collapsible column to a telescopic mechanism was quite a feat for Saginaw to accomplish. The 1967 telescopic column is one of and maybe the most complex column Saginaw ever produced. In Chuck’s time of rebuilding steering columns, he has only owned 4, and he have sold over 10,000 columns. He has rebuilt a couple of ‘67 telescopic columns for customers but these columns are not for the faint of heart. Just as a point of reference, all C2 columns will interchange but there are minor changes that are model year specific. We will discuss these differences at a later date. 

As far as identifying these columns, one thing to note is the ‘67-68 column has an expanded metal center in the outer mast covered in a plastic sleeve, a noticeable difference from ‘63-66 column. The ’65-67 columns are obviously the rarest (see chart below), but the ’67 column is by far the rarest with only 11% of the Corvette’s delivered being ordered with the option.  

C3

The C3 (1968-82) column is also grouped together here because of body style, but again there are many differences. Let’s start with 1968 column, which many Corvette aficionados consider the problem child of Corvettes due to a first-year body design and too many mistakes to make a list. The same could be said for the ‘63 but the iconic split window design overshadows of the first-year design issues. 

The big difference between the ‘67 and ‘68 columns is the difference in the firewall and dash mounting. Other than that, the columns were very similar. In 1968,  the boys at Chevrolet must have had their heads spinning. They carried over the ’67 telescopic column as a last-minute ditch effort. They had planned on introducing the tilt/ telescopic column but never got it done for the release of the car in ’68.  The ‘68 Corvette only had a telescopic column which was a carryover from 67, but as you can imagine the column was different. The ‘68 has a large vinyl foam filled filler at the dash to fill the hole where the larger tilt/telescopic was to be installed. 

For 1969, Chevrolet introduced the tilt/telescopic column for Corvette and yes.. this was a big deal. A complete change in engineering and some of those ideas are still used today. In ’69, the locking steering column was introduced as an anti-theft deterrent (on all cars) and then they added the tilt function they couldn’t deliver for 1968. The ‘69 and ‘70 columns are pretty much the same, with just a couple of insignificant changes. In 71, they changed the boss near the lock cylinder that reads “Lock”. The ‘69-70 columns have a square boss and ‘71 and later columns were oval. And just to make it clear to all my NCRS friends, yes a ‘71 and later column could have the square boss. I have seen several Julian date coded columns for ‘71 and later with the square boss. When rebuilding a customer’s column, I always suggest the square boss on any ’69-70 column just to be safe for possible judging issues. 

The ‘71-76 columns are basically the same column except for the ’76, which uses a different steering wheel and dashboard attachment parts. 1977 is a one-year only column as the bowls are plastic and it has many one-year only differences. In ‘78 Chevrolet shortened up the travel on the telescopic column and that specific column was used until 1982. 1983 was a very rare column..as no saleable Corvettes were built that year.

C4

In 1984, the new C4 was introduced leading to more electronics, air bags, and other issues. This started a long list of problem steering columns (at least from a rebuilder’s point of view), as many of these columns were year specific at least and sometimes had 4-5 changes per model year. So with that being said, most of the data on C4 through C7 steering columns will remain a mystery..at least for now. 

Corvette Optional Steering Column Production Totals

 

Model Year	Corvette Production	Option Code	Column Type	Corvettes produced with tilt/telescopic option	% of total Corvettes built with tilt/telescopic option
1965	23564	N36	Telescopic	3917	17%
1966	27720	N36	Telescopic	3670	13%
1967	22940	N36	Telescopic	2415	11%
1968	28566	N36	Telescopic	6477	23%
1969	38762	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	10325	27%
1970	17316	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	5803	34%
1971	21801	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	8130	37%
1972	27004	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	12992	48%
1973	30464	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	17949	59%
1974	37502	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	27700	74%
1975	38465	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	31830	83%
1976	46558	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	41797	90%
1977	49213	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	46487	95%
1978	46776	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	37858	81%
1979	53807	N37	Tilt/Telescopic	47463	88%
1980	40614	NA	Tilt/Telescopic	40614	100%
1981	40606	NA	Tilt/Telescopic	40606	100%
1982	25407	NA	Tilt/Telescopic	25407	100%
1984	51547	NA	Tilt/Telescopic	51547	100%
1985	39729	NA	Tilt/Telescopic	39729	100%
1986	35109	NA	Tilt/Telescopic	35109	100%

Corvette Tilt/Telescopic Column Identification 

 

This is the only GM production steering column that used a 1.5-inch outside diameter outer mast. Other later columns were much larger. This column only uses one shift bowl, and the steering wheel hub (not shown in this photo).  Notice the lower shaft, it has a very unique flat spot in the spline area, approximately 4 inches long. Although the turn signal lever is incorrect (too short), it does show you the correct angle that the lever exits the column, unlike similar columns (such as the Corvair) where the lever exits straight out of the column. 

There are four key parts to this column: The Upper Can, the Upper Lock Housing, the Ornamental Plastic Cover and the Lower extension.  The lower shift bowl outer cover conceals the actual shift bowl inside the column. This cover is a plastic jacket with an expansion grove at the 6-oclock position. The lower extension which is metal has a machined slot with a clip to mount the lower column dash housing. The upper can is deeper than the 77-82 style. 

 

 

#3 shows 71-76 Embossed Lock area

#4 shows 69-70 Embossed lock area

The big difference between the ‘69- ‘70 and ‘71-‘76 columns is the upper lock housing. Look closely at the photo and notice the embossed area that reads “LOCK” is oval where on the ‘69-‘70 column the embossed area is square.  Also, the ‘76 column uses different upper can to accommodate the ‘76 style steering wheel. 

 The dimmer box on the upper housing is a one-year design only. The lower shift bowl is plastic, and the lower 1-inch section is smaller and serrated. 

The ‘77-‘82 column has a shorter telescopic throw compared to the ‘69-’76 column. Also, the upper can is shorter as of the 1977 model year.

This was the start of the Air bag in all Corvettes. This column has a very unique dimmer box. 

Words by Chuck Schuster and Alan Colvin
Photography by Austin Dorzok