I'm of the opinion that for vehicle safety ALL cars should be manufactured with tube frame chassis....but there's a tremendous cost issue involved with that.

 

Hello-
Thanks for the replies. I was looking at these two columns on eBay and was wondering if these are the ones you were talking about. Is one a better deal than the other? Do you think these are better/safer than the Ididit columns?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=370339241186

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=390129567953

Ididit Column
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=8076093691

Thanks again!

 

I don't see anything on the ididit ad that says it's collapseable is the main difference i see compared to an original. Better/safer is going to be your call, as you've read some are fine with solid columns. As you can see original tilts are pricey but those are fully rebuilt it appears. It would be best if you found a mustang near you with an FR or Ididit column installed to sit in, try your local mustang club members.

Don't know how much extra leg space you need. I'm 6'1" and changed my steering wheel to a smaller than stock one (15" I believe) and changed my seats out for foxbody and mounted them 1-2" farther back. I can now slide back farther than I even use. The fox seats are no taller at the knees than the stockers and don't sit me any closer to the roof, with tilt seat back I can get a little more head clearance if I want too.
Jon

 

I know the one on my 67 has a tilt away function when you open the door the column tilts up and away for you but it is not collapsible. Did the tilt way option go away with collapsible column in 68? I have never seen one on a 68 or 69. The tilt away function has a bunch more moving parts than what they are selling on ebay. There is a vaccum canister, a vaccum motor on the column, a relay and a door switch with all the wiring. If I were going to all the trouble to do this I would want the tilt away function to work also.

 

Who makes your column with the tilt away function?

Here is the info on their collapsible column line:
http://www.ididitinc.com/universal_s...ns/adj_col.htm

It appears it is sold under the 68/69 column:
http://www.ididitinc.com/retrofit_co...n_fs68_69.html

 

Got to be a little careful here. Some aspects of tube frame construction represent safety enhancements, but others aren't. The first thing that comes to mind is the details of managing the 'crush space', which a collection of straight and triangulated tubes isn't very good at. A second item involves clearance space around occupant heads in particular.

There are places where you want great strength and rigidity, and places where you don't want so much.


Norm

 

My opinion - the value of a collapsible steering column varies with the specifics of the crash. What you want it for is to absorb deformation that happens in a fairly specific direction between the steering box anchorage and the steering column's support at the dashboard. If the crash tries to push the steering box up (and obviously back), a collapsible column will be worth more than if the crash pushes the box downward instead.

I have no idea which sort of behavior is more common, or whether either is rarely encountered with the other being the usual case.


Norm

 

The tilt away function is on the Ford factory columns for Mustangs in 67.

 

Wow, that's pretty cool. Never seen one of those before. I you ever get around to it, post a video.

 

The tilt option was available in '68 (it's in the '68 FSM). However, the collapsible steering column only collapses 6inches. (according to the FSM) Hardly enough to actually makes a difference. That makes it pretty obvious that Ford only added it to comply with the new safety regulations for '68.