Slow Car Fast
LIFE OF A GT
February 14, 2010 - I wanted to see how the Miata steering column would sit with the dash.
My concern was that the location of the column would leave bare metal exposed. Well, that's not a problem. With the length of the unmodified Miata column, the standard column shroud is an almost perfect fit! I'll have to trim the bottom a bit to clear the shape of the dash, but that's easy. I'd also been worried the Miata parts wouldn't match the MG interior, but I think it's going to blend in really well.
In the picture, it looks as if it's hiding one of the gauges a bit. It doesn't look that way in person, but this is a 1999-05 shroud. I can also use from from a 1990-97 model, which is a little bit more square and might give a little more clearance.
The steering wheel will need to be a bit of a deep dish style to match the MG distances. But that's easy to do later as I fine-tune the ergonomics.
entry 283 - tags: ergonomics, steering column
February 14, 2010 - Mounting the steering column was easy enough.
I drilled out the spot welds holding the bracket to the MG column, and simply transferred it to the Miata part. It's just tack-welded here for a final test fit.
And with this, the steering column is finished. The car will sit on its wheels and can be steered. Progress is being made.
entry 284 - tags: steering column