cheapest way to convert to manual steering?

daredevil said
in my bracket car i cut the shaft in two and slipped a 6 in. pipe nipple over it and arc welded it up

so it obviously isnt collapsable anynmore then right? id rather keep it collapsable since its a street car and thats a safety feature id like to have

what if i was to pull the shaft out to the correct length, would it still be able to collapse after that? would it even be safe to run it like that?