1965 Chevy Malibu - Signal Intentions Chp Step By Step

After removing the steering wheel with the appropriate puller, this spring and the signal-cancel cam (which also incorporates the horn contact on its backside) could be removed.

It quickly became obvious why our SS owner had become a hand-signal-only dude. The slot for the turn-signal lever in the original turn-signal switch was worn beyond use and the contacts had been soldered back into place at least once.

Before proceeding any further, we disconnected the battery and unplugged the steering-wheel harness. The gray wire at the top (arrow) had to be unhooked from the harness; inserting a very small screwdriver into the socket to unhook the wire worked well.

After removing the lower column opening cover, the column support strap could be disconnected. This released the wire harness cover, freeing the wires to be pulled through the upper bowl portion of the column.

This bowl section has a slot for the wires and harness connector end to pass through; some turning and positioning was necessary to accomplish this.

At this point the column firewall flange could be unbolted; with a little twisting, it came right past the pedals and out of the car. All the seals, as well as the column and flange, were showing their age, but everything cleaned up well.

As far as we know, new or repop Malibu steering column adapters are not available. Luckily, Steering Column Pros found this one, which was an excellent improvement over the thrashed original. Besides the fact that the piece was cracked and brittle, note the lip around the outside of the replacement piece; this is how this piece should look. Goodbye, hose clamp!

The adapter got a coat of high-heat black paint before our replacement bronze bushing upgrade was pressed into place. We slid the steering-shaft clamp into place from inside the car, followed by the bushing/adapter combo. The retaining clip would be installed after the column was in its final position.

Some sandpaper, black paint, and a little OEM Malibu Blue rattle-can hue brought the pieces right back to life. The column/flange seal was cleaned up with Armor All and reused (arrow), and a new sponge seal on the column flange provided a nice, tight fit at the firewall. We then bolted the column back into place, using the column support strap to temporarily hold it in place.