Paul shared the story behind his one-of-a-kind stainless steel steering column.

Paul writes, The steering column in my Willys has quite a story behind it, …….  About 10 years into the rebuild (1995) I began thinking about what kind of steering column and wheel I’d like to have for the Willys. I wanted a tilt column to make it easier for me to enter and exit the Willys, the steering column and steering wheel should be one of a kind and not some mass produced stuff that everyone has and if at all possible these components should be fabricated from stainless steel to match the rest of the vehicle. I wasn’t even aware of any aftermarket suppliers that made replacement steering columns for custom vehicles but if there was a company in America making replacement columns I figured they would be mentioned in the hot rod or custom car magazines. I began reading all the current car magazines I could get my hands on, searching for any mention of or advertisement from a company making replacement steering columns.

It wasn’t long before I saw an advertisement for a company called ididit and the primary focus of this company was to build replacement steering columns for custom vehicles. Their ad had their address listed along with their telephone number so I made a quick phone call to the state of Michigan and ordered a free catalog. About a week later their catalog arrived here at the house and it was full of information about the company, about how to correctly determine the angle of the steering column and the location of the steering wheel along with internal wiring specs and how to identify the correct column length for your vehicle. This catalog was full of step by step procedures to solve installation problems I hadn’t even thought of yet. According to the catalog, steering columns could be ordered in steel or aluminum (plain or polished) in either standard lengths or total custom units. I was happy.

After mocking up a column in the Willys (a sawed off broom handle with a plastic plate screwed to the upper end) I was able to find the column angle which would give me the least interference during entry and exit while still providing a reasonable position for the steering wheel and this information allowed me to get the total length of the column from steering wheel to column end in the engine compartment. With my calculations in hand I made another call to ididit and attempted to order a column. This is where things got a bit weird.

My phone call was answered by the owner of the company and after I identified myself and explained where I was calling from I told him I really appreciated how helpful their catalog was in determining what was needed for the Willys. I asked about ordering a column, how much would it cost and how long would it take to have a custom column built. Things seemed to be going rather well so I mentioned an aluminum column would work but what I really wanted was a stainless steel column to match my stainless steel Willys I was rebuilding. Right after I made this statement the phone went dead, not an unusual occurrence in those days when calling from Alaska but somewhat surprising anyway. I dialed the number for ididit, the owner answered once again, I identified myself again and mentioned that we must have been cut off during our previous conversation. The owner told me we weren’t cut off, he’d hung up on me! I was surprised he’d done that so I asked why would he hang up on a customer. The owner (Ken Callison) quickly told me he didn’t believe I was working on a stainless steel Jeep and didn’t want to waste his time talking to someone he felt was lying to him. I really didn’t want to make him mad since I was asking for his help in my Willys rebuild but I had to prove my stainless Willys actually existed even if my story sounded bogus.

I quickly asked Ken if he would mind if I send him some construction photos of the Willys to prove my project really existed, Ken agreed and the call ended. This was before digital cameras so I gathered up a bunch of pictures I’d taken while fabricating parts for the Willys and hauled this stuff to a local copy center where I copied these prints onto letter size white paper. Each picture had room alongside where I wrote a brief description about what I was doing and why. I copied and captioned over 50 different pictures, stuffed everything in a manilla envelope and mailed it to ididit, care of Ken Callison.

I didn’t bother him for about 4 months.

When I finally did call Ken at ididit I asked if he’d received the pictures, he said he’d received them. I asked if he’d looked at the pictures, he said he had. I wanted to speed up our conversation but I didn’t want him to hang up on me so I continued with this slow pace. I asked if he believed I really was working on a stainless steel Willys in Anchorage, Alaska. He said he did. I asked if it was possible to have ididit build a stainless steel steering column for my Willys. Ken said they didn’t have time, I explained I wasn’t in a hurry. Ken said it would be expensive, I said custom work always is and I’d be willing to pay in advance. Our conversation was moving at a faster rate and I was hopeful Ken would be willing to make a stainless column but I didn’t want to push him or make him mad so I tried to watch what I said.

After what felt like hours of deliberation (actually I doubt it was much more than a few minutes of talk) Ken agreed to build a one time only stainless steel custom steering column for the little Willys with the following conditions. The column would only be worked on when there was no other work in the shop to do, I was not to call ididit and ask about the column’s progress and the column would be done when it was done. Also the column would be fully paid for before it left their shop. I offered to prepay what ever amount Ken felt was necessary to get this project started but he told me it wasn’t necessary now and he’d let me know in the future if anything changed.

Much later I learned the older catalogs ididit used contained the offer to make steering columns not only from steel or aluminum but also brass and (here’s where the problem came from) Stainless Steel! Until I called no one had ever ordered a brass or stainless steel column in the years they were offered by ididit but after this offer was dropped from their catalogs I called from Alaska claiming I needed a stainless column for a stainless Willys. That was why my first phone conversation with Ken ended with a click.

The first problem resulted when Ken asked the company providing the spun funnel shaped piece that connects the lower 2 inch diameter tube with the upper 4 inch diameter tube (and covers the shaft tilt joint) to spin one part from .050” thick stainless. This supplier said they only spin steel and aluminum…. not stainless. Ken asked his shop fabricator to make this part from stainless, the fabricator refused claiming he didn’t work with stinking stainless steel. Ken called and explained if I really wanted a stainless column for the Willys I’d have to make this part myself. I was sent a spun steel part as a pattern which a friend of mine used to make an aluminum plug that was a snug fit inside the steel part. With a large bolt threaded into the aluminum plug and this bolt clamped in a vise I began forming sheet stainless around the aluminum plug. It took up most of my weekend and I had to make two funnel pieces since I messed up my first attempt but the second try was good (not great) but useable for the column. After smoothing the weld seams I polished the stainless funnel before boxing both steel and stainless versions and shipped them south to ididit. Ken told me when the box containing the two funnels arrived his son opened the box and said “Oh my God” in a loud voice. By the time Ken had wandered over to see what was going on his son was holding up the stainless funnel and said “The guy did it”. It really wasn’t difficult to duplicate the steel part in stainless, it was more annoying than anything trying to get the weld seams as good as I could. The work my friend did on fitting the aluminum plug to the steel part really was the key to making this duplication a success. Thanks Jim! My friend Jim has since moved and now lives over 2,000 miles southeast of me so I doubt I’ll ever see him again but I want to remember everyone who helped make my Willys dream a reality.

Anyway, with the stainless funnel finished and returned to ididit work could continue on the column with only a few little problems requiring attention until the tilt column was completed.

Shortly before the column was finished I received a phone call very early on a Sunday morning while I was still asleep. I answered the phone thinking it might be work related but when I said “Hello” my ear was quickly filled with words spoken very fast in an excited manner. I could tell it was a guy talking but I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. He sounded happy so I figured this call wasn’t about anyone crashing their plane. I relaxed and tried to listen.

The unknown guy claimed he found something for me that he thought I’d like.

I asked what it was.

He said he already bought it.

I asked what he bought.

He said he thought it was perfect for the Willys.

Now I had some idea of what he was talking about but I still didn’t know who I was talking to.

I finally realized I was talking to Ken Callison from ididit who was at a hot rod car show where he saw stainless steel steering wheels for sale. The outer rim of each wheel was wrapped in black leather and they looked really good but they were rather expensive. Ken had bought one for me so I owed him even more money than I expected but no matter what, I really did need a steering wheel for the Willys. By now I was awake enough to begin thinking so after I thanked Ken for getting the wheel for the Willys I asked if this meant he was willing to make a stainless steel steering wheel adapter. Wow, the phone suddenly got silent. I decided to push a little more so I mentioned I needed a stainless steel horn button to fit the new stainless steel wheel he’d just purchased. The silence continued. Just when I was wondering if I’d pushed him too far the silence was broken when Ken reluctantly agreed to make a stainless adapter and a stainless horn button. I needed one last favor I didn’t think Ken could refuse. I asked if he would put his company’s name (ididit) on the horn button. Before he could say anything I continued on, I mentioned I’d go crazy trying to give him credit for making the stainless column for the Willys.

If asked “Who made the column?” I’d say ididit but they’d hear I DID IT. I’d have to say I DIDN”T DO IT, ididit did it. This could go on forever. Again Ken agreed to make sure to add the ididit name to the horn button so they would get credit for making such a beautiful column.

The column, adapter and horn button were finished soon after and I got a call from Ken about my bill. So far I hadn’t sent any money to Ken, I offered but he kept telling me to wait until later. I told myself this is going to hurt.

From the time I’d ordered the stainless column to the time everything was finished and ready to ship to Alaska three and a half years had gone by. The steering column, the steering wheel, the wheel adapter and the horn button with the ididit logo on it left their building in Michigan February 23rd, 1999.

The bill for parts and labor was impressive. The bill was such a shock to me I made a phone call to Ken at ididit to double check the amount. The numbers of dollars listed on their bill was correct.

Basically, Ken charged me for parts….. that’s all. I don’t think even a penny of my money went towards his labor. I felt bad but he refused all attempts I made at sending him additional money.

Ken’s generosity is another example of why I never want to forget all the people who helped me turn my Willys dream into reality. One guy can’t do it all. Over the past 30 years many people have helped me with the Willys rebuild so once the Willys is done I’ve got to find a way to thank everyone involved. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to accomplish this just yet but I still have a bit of time left, I’ll keep thinking and hopefully I’ll come up with a solution soon.