back in the day I adapted 2 different tilt columns to make one for my 56 Ford F100. The ford version used metal spring clips inside the shaft. that made it easy to remove one shaft from one car and swap it with another shaft. I needed a longer steering shaft so I used the upper part from one car Granada???? and the lower from an LTD???? to get the wheel I wanted and the length I needed. I do not recall any mechanism to prevent the shafts from moving on each other but ford at that time used a rag joint