Well, there went my idea. On my '66 Valiant, I went with a floor shift column and cut it shorter (at the firewall) for TTI small block headers. I used the SER205-16 bearing. The 205 is 52mm OD and 1.00 inch ID. The column ID is about .030" smaller than the bearing. I just cut the end of the column (at the 6:00 position) with a hack saw about one inch (the bearing is about .750"), installed the bearing and then hose clamped the end to close the column tight on the bearing.
The '66 steering shaft is about .750". I guess yours is one inch. I took a piece of one inch DOM tubing which is about 1.002" OD and .751" (and JUST slides over the steering shaft), cut it to three inch length, drilled and tapped it 1/4" fine in three evenly spaced places on one end, and pressed it through the bearing with the 1/4" fine allen head set screws and one inch of DOM showing to locktite and tighten on the steering shaft after I fed the steering shaft into the column from the bottom. Then installed the column in the car all assembled.
I have a bunch of different tranny bearings still on the shelf even though I retired and closed my tranny shop at the end of 2014, so I'll check them out when I have time to see if I can come up with a "common" bearing that might help you guys out. After 50 years of building sticks and rear ends, I'm tired, and my health ain't that great. It's play time for me again like it was when I was much younger.
