65 Barracuda Steering column cover length?

Maybe I'm missing something here, but my '65 FS column is apart on the bench as I write this, and the position of the steering shaft to the column is set by the two C-clips on the steering shaft. There is very little movement of the shaft relative to the column housing when assembled, maybe a spark plug gap's worth of movement. The clips go on the shaft under and over the top of the bearing which is fixed to the housing. You have about 1 inch of movement towards or away from the dash for the whole assembly, with the movement limited by the tang on the column to dash bracket and position of the steering box. None of this will affect the position of the shaft in respect to the column, which is set by the above mentioned C -clips.