So now i have an m100 in pieces and my m101 on the road i noticed that the otherwise non adjustable steering column has elongated mounting holes and can be pulled around 5mm back towards the driver
Not much but every bit is helpful when your 6 foot 4 in one of these cars
Note i take no responsibility for your skills or damage to your car, this worked on both my cars to different levels, hopefully yours is as easy as my m100, but if like my m101 its only a few more steps
Remove the “storage bucket” trim under the steering column (2x phillips head screws on the lower edge)
Sight the 4x bolt heads supporting the steering column, you will need to get under and look up! The forward two are in a “U” shaped notch and the rear two have elongated holes . Loosen all of these off around 3-5mm with a 12mm socket and extension.
Can see below the elongated holes fully utilised and how much movement you can get, yes its not much but every bit helps
If you are lucky (like on my m100 you should be able to pull the steering wheel towards the drivers seat until the elongated holes bottom out, gaining around 5mm extra reach. Then simply tighten the 4x bolts back up and put the trim back in place
But…if the lower extension piece of the column is maxed out or gummed up like my m101 is and the column wont move back for you, you will need to venture further.
But never fear its not too much more!!
Peel the the carpet away from around where the steering column goes through the firewall, there are two plastic clips holding the edge of the carpet in place, once pull back you can move the firewall pad sections surrounding the shaft to expose 3x bolts holding a cover over the steering uni joint
Undo all 3x 10mm bolts on the cover and remove it, slide it down as theres a notch cut in it to allow this, this will expose the uni joint bolting to the steering rack input shaft. Loosen off the bolt (12mm) closest the rack and you should be able to slide the joint up the spline slightly.
Now go back up and pull the wheel towards the seat again and it should move, hold it tight and do up one of the 4x 12mm bolts with your other hand till tight. Once in place you can tighten the rest fully.
Now retighten the 12mm bolt on the uni joint down at the rack…it only moved a few mm for me and there was plenty of spline left to grip, then put the cover back on and do up all 3x 10mm bolts. Put the carpet back in place, the trim under the column can go back with its 2x phillips head screws and job is done!
You should have gained a whole 5mm extra, but surprisingly it helps a bit!
Note:
I have a bit of a plan to trim the elongated holes tabs thinner to allow the column to go a few mm higher aswell
Ill try that on my m100 shell first to see how it goes and add it into this topic
Originally on my Dai I made some 20mm alu spacers and used longer bolts to lower the column, which, based on where the pivot is will also move the wheel back a tad. I also lowered the seat a little.
Definitely if i needed to go down i would be all over that, and threw my sparco bucket in the other day which dropped me around 40mm, can get another 10mm with a bit of fab to the rails to delete any rise…and maybe a bit more when i find one of my favourite Velo chairs for cheap
My gangly legs need space as my knees hit on the wheel when trying to heel/toe….and the only way usually i get it is by a wheel quick release and dished wheel
But i want to stay street legal (mostly) so this gets me a few mm further back, and grinding the front tabs thinner and possibly opening up the holes more with a dremel will give me even more
Just threw this on too which seems to have the tiniest bit more dish…or maybe it just looks much better lol
For anyone who cares…
This should also work on L7’s, L9’s and M2’s as well. Cause the steering and chassis is pretty much the same.
The L880k has a adjustable column, but is not a bolt on part unfortunately.
However… I’m confident it should be possible to get it to fit without too much effort.
Just in case your curious about the differences.
The rusty on is from a L7 (the same or at least practically the same as the L9, M1, and M2) the other from a L880k (Copen).
With the car in pieces atm and a spare steering column to mess with i decided to chase a little more extension to give my knees a touch more room
A quick drill of the elongated holes in the alloy tabs gave another 5mm, and now has the bolt hard on the steel of the column (could get more by opening the steel up a touch but this is as far as im comfortable with due to the mounting on the steering rack spline itself
Also skimmed the raised portion of the alloy mount flat so it sits nicely to the dash bar side
These alloy mounts tap off with a hammer and screwdriver, as theyre only held in with some sort of hot glue and friction…and when tapped back in theyre going nowhere
I will squeeze the steel lower nut mounts together some more later to get more metal under the nut, may even put a wide washer on it too, but it feels solid as currently
Combined with a lower bucket seat this should be so much better for heel toe work and hard driving
