Help With Steering Column Cover Screws

[visionaut]

Learned something new. I’ve seen that curved cushiony panel before but just thought it was an ‘early style’ lower cover with the choke/hazard bits!

 

So a final dumb question: where’s this lower cushiony trim panel in RealOEM? When I select a USA car, the steering column parts look the same as Euro/RoW… no lower cushion.

 

Tom

[visionaut]

Never mind. Found it with the under-dash panels…

 

 

[jimk]

That's the one where it's tedious to get the screws thru the metal reinforcing in the pad while standing on your head.

[66Vette]

Mike, really great explanation.

 

While we have the column experts, the door buzzer on my car was unmounted and sitting in the bottom plastic cover.  I am assuming since it has a mounting tab, it was supposed to be screwed down somewhere.  Mine is electrically disconnected and I want to keep it that way, but I'd like to secure it in the proper manner.

 

Thanks, Cris

 

 

[tzei]

2 hours ago, jimk said:

while standing on your head.

I just leave my spine in a wardrobe before doing those panels.

[visionaut]

24 minutes ago, 66Vette said:

the door buzzer

I don’t think we had a door buzzer. The only wiring to the doors is to illuminate the overhead interior light.

 

It’s likely the seat belt warning buzzer. Mine’s long gone… 

 

Maybe a search on the seat belt warning gizmo might turn up where it was mounted.

[bergie33]

I've usually seen the buzzer either dangling on its own or zip-tied to the column.

[Son of Marty]

1 minute ago, bergie33 said:

I've usually seen the buzzer either dangling on its own or zip-tied to the column.

Yup they just tucked it in under the cover, I think it was a North American only add on and they didn't bother modifying the cars just for that and I think the Germans knew it was going to be a pain in the ass and they would be removed in short order. 

[John76]

3 hours ago, Son of Marty said:

it was going to be a pain in the ass and they would be removed in short order. 

Yep...the dealer removed this buzzer before letting us drive off the showroom floor!  Didn't even ask if we wanted it or not.

Then he stamped our 2002 USA Version Handbook....VOID!  No explanation for that either.

 

 

 

[66Vette]

Wow.  The more I dig into these cars the stranger it gets.  I'll pull the buzzer and tie the wires neatly away.

 

Thanks guys

[Mike Self]

9 hours ago, visionaut said:

I don’t think we had a door buzzer. The only wiring to the doors is to illuminate the overhead interior light.

 

It’s likely the seat belt warning buzzer. Mine’s long gone… 

It was an ignition key buzzer that would sound when one opened the driver's door witih the key in the ignition.  US spec cars so equipped have an extra wire emerging from the ignition switch and two terminals on the driver's side door switch that turns on the overhead light.  That second terminal is for the buzzer.  It was still connected when I bought my '73 in 1978--don't know how the PO stood it for five years.  It was the first thing on the car that went in the neighbor's pool.  It drove me nuts when I was working on the car and wanted to hear the radio--so I naturally opened the door--to that damn buzzer.

 

The little tab on the buzzer was actually threaded onto one of the machine screws that held either the upper or lower steering column covers--I pulled it off 40+ years ago so my memory's hazy 😉.  But it was fastened down.  Do you really think the Germans would leave it loose to bang around inside the steering column housing?

 

mike