Teammuir1

After I was able to get all the special items off the column I then up bolted the shaft and removed the knuckle and shaft from the
Column....
from the first pic you see the difference between both shafts and knuckles. the white knuckle is the Express van the Blue
knuckle is the Cadillac. Take a look at the second and third pic and you will see that the shaft on the Express van has a
relief at the end of the shaft were as the Cadillac did not have the notch ... nothing that my trusty grinder could not handle...
and dremel tool to clean it up....
after that modification It was ready to install and start the process of putting all back together...

Teammuir1

I have since finished the project.. of the Cadillac Steering wheel install.
I bought the entire Cadillac Steering Column. I used the entire Shaft and
knuckle , clock spring ,air bag for the Cadillac steering wheel.
I still yet have the Buttons wired to anything.. that will come later.
but I hope you all enjoyed the process of my install.

StanVan

That whole "Master Certified Tech" thing explains why you're not afraid to mess with an air bag situation.

Teammuir1

Stan.. I have never backed down from doing something I wanted to do ....
but yes it does help to have some experience .....
I promise you this I am not a person that knows it all... I am humble...
and if I dont know I dont know. I am not afraid to learn.....

Teammuir1

while I was at the junk yard the other day....
I noticed they had acquired a few new trucks...
and I stepped back and looked then looked again...
I will let you see what I saw,
Have you ever seen these wheels.. ?????
Now dont get carried away with those awsome tires....
its just the Wheel I am thinking about getting.. lol...
whatcha think about those wheels ?

galladanb

Hey Ron,

glad ya got your wheel thing going... I had no idea there was that much effort involved... Maybe I don't need tilt after all, lol!

i like those wheels you found, but my sweetie won't let me put wheels on another vehicle, because we always end up selling that one!!!

If any one in here is on that fakebook thingie, look up my build pages there as "Sophie's Hauler" That's our little doggie, and we are building her hauler...
see what I did there, lol?

StanVan

You can't do those wheels, Ron. They got the Bowtie. But you definitely don't want those tires. They'd be way noisy.

Teammuir1

HAHA.. Stan...... I told you about those tires.. lmao.. NO WAY..... lol
but the center caps.. could be sold along with the other set of wheels
that I already have on the van.... and keep my own center caps....
I really like those wheels... our Express wheels Stock.. are only 6.5 wide.
these are 8 inches.. wide.. a little bigger foot print...

Artie1

I don't understand why mess with the whole steering column thing. To me it looks like opening up a can of worms. You could have just replaced the steering wheel, and solder up two wires for the airbag connector, or perhaps you could have even repin the connector. They are no different than any other wires in your car.

As of the wheels, keep in mind that GM trucks switched to a different bolt pattern in 2011+, but not the vans. Also, wheels any bigger than stock will rub front fenders or body mount in turns, unless you lift. There's minimal clearance there.

Teammuir1

Keep in mind.... regardless of what wheel a person uses keeping the over all diameter the same will be just fine..
Ive been using a tire size converter program .
The diameter on my van with 16 wheels are 30 in tall
These newer wheels are 17 in. And after researching Some Express vans came stock with 17 in wheels. As long as I keep the overal size close to 30 in tall I dont see having a problem.
As far as the steering wheel. ( I have 1 that No one else has ). And I think it looks pretty damm good too.