The collapsible shaft is two pieces, solid shaft inside a tubular shaft. There are plastic pins though both that would shear in collision. So defeat the pins to shorten the shaft reduces how far it could collapse in a collision. Defeat the pins to extend the shaft reduces how far the two pieces are engaged. I've never been this route so I can't say how far the two pieces are originally engaged or if giving up a portion of that would be a problem.
Your best route is the power to manual adapter from aftermarket. There is more than one vendor/source with considerable price differences. The adapter solves both length and box coupling differences.
