Hi,
I"m exactly at the same stage.
1 - to me, the right position for the upper shaft of the column is being high enough for the spring to touch the bottom of the "casing", on the upper part of the assembly (where the ignition switch is).
2 - When it comes to the spline shaft, that is the solution I'm looking for too, as I would like to avoid cutting and extending the lower part of the steering column (as already covered in a previous thread:
http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showt...t=8089&page=4). But I'm struggling to find somebody who can make/supply a splined shaft which is long enough. It has to be 570mm (according to my calculations). Rally design has 380mm max, same for Car Builder Solution and engineering companies in my neighbourhood don't want to make only one part, it is too expensive. I'm waiting for an answer from someone I know, and if the price is correct and you are interested, I can keep you updated about this option, and may be we can order one each. I expect getting the reply about the price next week.
3 - If you adopt the long splined shaft option, you will need a "Group 4 UJ" (rack side), but also a UJ between the triangular shaft (Sierra) and the splined shaft (Escort). Rally Design sell them for £19.50 (part number RD850).
Hope this will help.