Steering in the Right Direction

Updating your 1969-’82 C3 corvette steeringwith a fresh tilt column from flaming river

- Chuck Vranas

There’s nothing better than getting into your Corvette and heading out on the open road to experience the exhilaration of driving across all types of challenging thoroughfares. The performance felt as you drive translates through a combination of acceleration, handling and braking, all of which need to work in harmony to create a perfect balance. If any one of these systems fails to keep up their end of the bargain, the experience gets compromised.

As with any vehicle, as they age these systems and components become susceptible to wear and in many cases require either replacement or a rebuild. On a recent visit to Competition Specialties in Walpole, Massachusetts, we met with shop owner Peter Newell who had just been brought a 1972 C3 Corvette for a steering column replacement since its electronics were starting to fail. Instead of refurbishing the stock tilt and telescopic column a decision was made to update the car with a fresh tilt column.