Steering Column swap

Gbody

Greasemonkey
Aug 18, 2011
120
0
0
California
1983 Steering Column Swap

After reading the threads about the column swap my brain hurts lol :blam: So I have a 83 Gbody and I picked up a 84 Column, my question to get the wiper to work all I have to do is switch the wiper motor and add the white wire to the switch??
 

BuWaGone

Greasemonkey
Aug 11, 2013
130
1
16
Oahu, Hawaii
Damn, I wish I had found this thread earlier! I'm converting to floor shifter so I grabbed a column from a 86 Monte SS for my 79 wagon. Guess I'll have to keep the dash wiper switch til I can get a new motor.
 

gearhedjon

Apprentice
Dec 5, 2012
70
25
18
oak forest IL
I have looked at both wiring diagrams. The car is a 81. I am using a 81 wiper motor with a later switch on the column. I want to use the negative switched ground. Can the black wire from the 81 harness just be grounded to the chassis? Also were does the green wire go to? What can I splice it into? The later column stalk does not have this wire. Thanks guys, hope you can help clear up this mystery. John
 

Bonnewagon

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
Supporting Member
Sep 18, 2009
10,536
14,217
113
Queens, NY
Boy these wipers cause headaches,eh? 565bbchevy- yes, I believe the '82-'83 switch into '88 column is plug-n-play for you. It mounts exactly the same and no wiring changes for you. Gbody & BuWaGon, yes, you can switch the whole motor to the '84 & up and rewire, but I think it would be easier to change the wiper switch to the correct '83 & down one ( but it is an expensive part). Gearhedjon- yes, the black wire is chassis ground. The motor is hot, and the switch grounds the circuit. The green wire is for the delay. It goes from the motor to the column switch, and the correct switch will have it in it's accompanying harness. The dash harness "should" include it. Whew!
 

Retro_Future27

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Oct 13, 2013
22
0
1
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
I have a question about a steering column swap and cant seem to find it anywhere else.
So I have a busted floor shifter column and cant find another. Could I some how take the handle off of a column shifter or some how go about turning a column shifter into a floor shifter? its a 78 style column.

and also I noticed that the mid 80s early 90s manual s10 has a similar looking column. Would they work? I plan on doing a manual steering pump swap from a s10 and the Jeep Cherokee shaft swap.
 

81Regal

Royal Smart Person
Apr 5, 2009
1,562
486
83
Terril Iowa
You can pull the handle and just leave it off, or grind down the nubs that hold the handle in place and fill the hole so it looks like a floor shift column.
 

michmalibuman

Royal Smart Person
Jun 14, 2017
1,040
1,154
113
I've got two manual non tilt Malibu column that I would sell ,one red & one black.
 

PBGBodyFan

G-Body Guru
Mar 3, 2009
792
1,220
93
Wisconsin
Sorry to bring an old thread from the dead but this seems to be the most thorough one. From what I read/understand one could swap in a new column (82’-88’) into an 79’-81’ (78’ if using a different shaft) if you are retaining the wiper switch on the dash, as that is the main thing that changes.

In my case I’m looking to convert my 81’ to floor/tilt and the later columns are much easier to come by, plus I plan to keep the wipers on the dash. Eventually would like to add cruise control but it sounds like the stalk can interchange physically. Is my info correct?
 

pagrunt

Geezer
Sep 14, 2014
9,122
15,255
113
Elderton, Pa
Sorry to bring an old thread from the dead but this seems to be the most thorough one. From what I read/understand one could swap in a new column (82’-88’) into an 79’-81’ (78’ if using a different shaft) if you are retaining the wiper switch on the dash, as that is the main thing that changes.

In my case I’m looking to convert my 81’ to floor/tilt and the later columns are much easier to come by, plus I plan to keep the wipers on the dash. Eventually would like to add cruise control but it sounds like the stalk can interchange physically. Is my info correct?
You're right. The columns basicly fits all years as you noted with the differences being the '78 only shaft/no wiper switch/earlier ignition lock, the '79-'81 no wiper switch, '82-'87'-88 with wiper switch that has a sub group based on wiper motors-'84 & older, '85 & newer (IIRC the change year.) Just grab & go, switch out igniiton locks to keep the original key if you want, pull out the multi function lever stalk & put in the original lever (or the correct cruise one). I originally used a '86 floor shift column That I foolishly cut the shifter linkage end off) in my '81 when I did the stick conversion & the most work was painting it dark maple, now I have a correct (for '78) stick column that I need to find a earlier ignition lock to match atleast the correct key code for '81.
 
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