b'Safety Steering Column TypesPrinciple of OperationThesafetycolumnisdesignedtocollapseinanycrashwhichdisplacesthefrontendrearward.Withmodernracecarchassisincorporatingacrush/crumplezonetoabsorbenergy,asolidsteeringshaftwouldpresentanobviousdangerofinjurytothedriver.ThetelescopingconstructionoftheWoodwardsafetycolumnpermitsuptonineinchesofrearwardcollapseofthefrontcrushzonebefore the steering wheel can start moving toward the driver.Thecoarse-toothsplineprovidesafarmorepositivedrivethantheflattedtubetypicallyusedinOEMroadcars.Itsslidingactionhasalmostnoresistance;itisfreeofshearpinsortensionclipsandcanbeeasilytestedforfunctionbysimplydisconnectingitatoneendandcollapsingitbyhand.ThisbasicmechanismisbuiltintoalltheWoodwardmodelsshownbelow. SCA500Introducedin1989,thiscollapsiblesectioncanbesplicedintoasteeringcolumnatanyconvenientpoint,normallyinthefrontbaybetweenfirewallandsteeringgear.ItprovidesasignificantsafetyelementwhereclassrulesrequireretentionoftheOEMuppercolumnanddashboardmounting.Thetube,whichcanbecuttotherequiredlength,featuresareduceddiametertoclearheadersandotherobstructions.Itacceptsavarietyofweld-inextensions,bothplainandsplined,shownelsewhereinthecatalog.ThisoneisshownwithaU-jointweldedinplacewiththeaidoftheST501alignmentplug. SCA827BTheSCA827BlightweightcollapsiblecolumnhasanintegralsplineattheupperendwhichdirectlyacceptsanyWoodwardquickreleasehubwithnoadapterneeded.Itisthelowest-costcockpit-mountedsafetycolumn.Itstorquetubeiszincplatedforcorrosionresistance,andturnsinasphericalDelrinbearingwhichishungfromasimpletabweldedtothedashbarthesameasiscommonlyusedtohanga3/4rodend.TheSCA827torquetubeis1.25ODx.065wallanditwillnotflexorbendlikeaplain3/4tube.Itisavailableinarangeoflengthstofitanyracecarfromlatemodelstodwarfcars.Thecolumncanberepositionedinoroutbymovingthetwoclampcollars.204'