Column shroud

I finished fitting the column shroud this evening. After cutting the holes in the aluminium earlier I stuck the leather on and cut out the clearance holes for the ignition barrel and indicator/wiper stalks.



There's a trick to making a neat job around the ignition barrel which involves removing it from the column by turning the key to position 1 and inserting a thin tool into a hole at the front.



This causes the barrel to pop out



You can then place the shroud over the column and cut the leather slightly smaller than the outside edge of the hole so that when you place the barrel back in it traps the leather.



Before refitting the barrel you have to push down on a small u shape part within the barrel until it clicks, then when you push the barrel back in it should click twice before it's back in position.



I followed these directions from other blog sites and found it all pretty straight forward. Those directions came with a warning which I feel is only fair to pass on... once the mechanism is removed from the barrel DO NOT TURN THE KEY AND DO NOT ROTATE THE STEERING COLUMN. Don't know why but I thought I'd heed the warning and not have to find out.

I also fitted the lever which controls the tilt mechanism to adjust for comfort. I used a punch to make a hole in the leather and then a small grommet to tidy it up. I've got some more stainless stalks which replace the plastic ones for the indicators and wiper but that's a job for another day.



All finished,

Steering column surround

I've not got the leather trim yet to finish this area but I decided to make a start by cutting the aluminium column surround in preparation. This part comes pre-formed from GD but you have to cut the clearance holes for the column stalks and ignition barrel. Not too difficult, just take your time measuring using the stainless face plate and column controls as a reference points and cut out the bits you don't need.



Eventually, the aluminium part you can see will be wrapped in leather.





UPDATE: Looking at a few pictures others have posted, there looks to be another section I have to remove to provide clearance for the bottom part of the steering lock mechanism, not got time to do any more today but I'll post some more at a later date.

Steering Column

Fitted the steering column today. Used a similar idea to how I sealed the engine loom as it passes through the bulkhead and used a stainless steel ring which sandwiches a rubber gasket against the bulkhead which the column passes through. My thanks to Steve from the Cobra Club for his handy work making/cutting out the stainless for me.