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I never thought about how venting would have to go through rear bearing to get to the tail housing. And I am driving the car now, so I'll have to add the vent to the top plate if I ever have to drop the trans for whatever reason.

Vic, the Unisteer kit also came with a bearing mounted at the end of the outer column shaft. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNV6Vu-rw9zZNfGv9zlUHiwNyGcG_uIBRf9I8FmullGyLDrD8N3jH4CfzyfJaEEgg/photo/AF1QipO1TFn-OZ1rj369MjcNakereP7Z4qCPqam7ZFo8?key=ZVNlMlRfR2E4VmVMQW56WE5LWVZEOUVmWjRfSFl3 I've used JB weld between the upper and lower shafts and let them set in position. So now the play between the two are gone. Thanks for you offer of your old parts though.

Sorry, for some reason I did not get a notification of your reply. But yes, I installed a vent cap included with David Kee's rebuild kit on the tail shaft housing. I suppose I could double up by also punching a hole in the gasket of the top plate.

I was trying to mimic the colors of the 1969 Boss 302; Grabber Orange with black contrasts. After I rebuilt the Toploader, I still had instances where the 1-2 shifts would occasionally grind. I found out that the lube I used, which was the most commonly available GL-5 spec, should not be used in these old transmissions as their additives are not compatible with the synchronizer material. So I did drain it shortly after the rebuild to fill with a lube specifically designed for the old style sychroniers. I had read that Redline MTL worked very well, but I ended up using a Valvoline lube designed for old manual transmission. It's worked well in that I have not ground the syncrhonizers once since the change. I am having a problem with leaks though; it seems to be leaking from everywhere. I replaced the O-rings in the shafts of the "cams" in the side of the case and all the other seals ad gaskets that came with the rebuild kit. But the cam shafts are leaking, and it looks like the front where the counter shaft is pressed through is leaking as well. I was wondering if it was necessary to apply some kind of sealer to the ends of the shafts that are pressed through the case holes.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. 1969_Mach1: Those clips are so finely finished that I don't think they were injection-molded in-situ, but I did something similar to what you suggest. I seem to recall those little holes had little nylon plugs in them that would push against the inner shaft for a tighter fit, probably to prevent wobble. Danno, I tried using tape before, but most tapes are too thick and flimsy to stand up to being shoved into the lower shaft. I ended up filling those notches with JB-Weld and jamming the upper shaft into the lower, and installing the upper bearing retainer, and letting it set over night. It has completely taken up all the slack, so no more play between the inner and outer shafts. I figure that if the unthinkable happens and I do a face plant into the steering wheel, the JB-Weld should give away, since there was a bit of grease in between the two shafts, so it could not have glued them together. But if I ever have to pull those apart again, I may have some problems. By the way, this was part of an exercise to replace the original steering gear with a Unisteer rack & pinion steering system: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNV6Vu-rw9zZNfGv9zlUHiwNyGcG_uIBRf9I8FmullGyLDrD8N3jH4CfzyfJaEEgg?key=ZVNlMlRfR2E4VmVMQW56WE5LWVZEOUVmWjRfSFl3

Somehow, the picture did not get included the first time. Here is another attempt.

Hello, New member here trying to fix the steering shaft in my 1969 Mach 1. The enclosed picture shows the part I need. It's one of a pair of plastic bushings that mount onto the notches in the lower part of the upper steering shaft and is supposed to take up the gap between that shaft and the lower shaft that it slides into. I have searched many sites, but have not found it, nor have I found its part number. Someone suggested C9AZ-3E629-B, but I don't think that's it. Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.