Donor car parts question.

Can I use the door parts from a Chevette two door? The assembly manual mentions parts from the front doors of a four door?

Second question, what did you all use for the steering column? The Chevette I got free already was missing the steering column when I picked it up.

Thanks for the help.

RustyNCA

I think that only refers to the window regulators (due to length), the latches are probably the same.  I would be surprised if they are different since GM carried a lot of parts over from model to model.

The same goes for the column.  There were only a few different lengths, but they all functioned the same.  My column is out and appears to be a long column.  You could find one in a pickup or full size car, for sure, but that was a common length in that era.

My column has been lengthened like the manual says, so I guess it really wouldn't matter what you got as long as it was close.  As far as I know, all the columns GM used in the 70's and 80's were the same length on the top, except for the telescoping units.  The length was changed on the bottom section and that has to be lengthened anyhow if you follow the manual.

I have converted the more common column shift units to floor shift by cutting the lower shift arm off and welding it to the housing to keep it from rotating.  The column shifter boss was sawed off and filled with body filler.  After paint, you couldn't tell anything had been changed.

Hope some of this helps.

PS - Look up "Bear Jaw latches" on the net.  They are common street rod parts.  They might work just as well for the doors and are easier to come by (and brand new).

Mike

Thanks for the help, I hadn't noticed where it said to lengthen the col. I ended up with a col from a Ford in the deal, not sure what it's from, or whether if would work, but the price was right.

But the window regulators were what I was concerned about. It would be aggravating to pull the regulators from the doors and figure out I wasted my time.

Bear Jaw Latches I have seen lots of, alot of my friends run them on their rat rods.