[Eagle43]

I've been working on putting together a side shift steering column. I've made a number of visits to our local salvage yard where they do have a collection of vintage vehicles. So far I harvested the shift linkages from a 1950ish Chev sedan and a steering column and steering wheel from an unidentified 1950ish truck, probably a Studebaker. The shift box and linkage fits on top of the column and thus easy to get off. The steering column is almost identical to the F1 but much longer. I just cut it off with a hack saw. The steering wheel is almost identical to the F1 wheel including the horn parts but needs a lot of work - lots of cracks.
I have some questions.
1. What is the length of a F1 steering column?
2. What is the best way to connect the "pipe" to the stub that comes out of my steering box? The stub is 3/4" and the central column pipe is 15/16" Is welding safe enough or is there a better way to connect?
3. Should I also harvest the steering box left in the truck? Can the shortened pipe be reconnected to the worm gear? The steering box appears to be identical to my F1 box which was dry and has rusted bearings which should be replaced anyway.