Ok I have removed the horn parts. As per my 1949 Ford repair book there should be 2 taped holes to screw in bolts from the steering wheel puller. Well there are no holes.. I tried whacking it with a soft face hammer but that didnt help. I'm getting ready to drill and tap my own holes but before I did I thought I would ask for help....

HELP

 

Drill and tap would be my suggestion. I was ready to D&T mine but soaking a couple weeks, smacking with a rawhide mallet and loose it came.

 

I had to drill and tap mine so I would suggest you might have to as well . It would seem Ford of Canada (Mercury) was too darn cheap to take care of that task for us .

 

About 3 years ago I was able to take off the steering wheel on my '54. A guy I know that is really into '56's was helping me fix something in my 3 in the tree shifter collar. I thought he was going to use a puller. But he told me to sit in the driver's seat, put my feet up against the floorboard by the clutch and brake and pull and wiggle alternately first the left then the right side. I was doubtful it would work but I was surprised. After a while it started coming loose. I imagine it was the first time it was off since it was built in '54.

One tip: Make sure you leave the nut on a couple of turns or you will get a faceful of steering wheel!

 

I sprayed it with some blaster and jiggled around a bit. Then I drilled and taped some holes. It pulled right off.
Thanks for the advice.....

 

Good advice. I am going to try this, this spring. I dont want to buy a steering wheel puller unless I absolutely have to.

 

I used the "pull and wiggle" process on mine...didn't work. then went to the store and bought 2 (one to use and another for backup)nuts that match the original steering shaft nut. I thread that on the shaft til the shaft is about 1/8"
below the surface of the nut. That keeps the shaft safe. Then a medium flat hit to the nut with a hammer while another person is pulling on the wheel. Works everytime! Never had any damage either.

 

You don't have to buy a puller, go to your local big box auto parts store (Advance, Car Quest, O'Reilly, etc) almost all of them have a free specialty tool loan program.

 

I have a nice snap-on puller but more times than not I put my knees behind the wheel and push up then place a brass drift against the steering shaft and hit it with a hammer while putting constant pressure to the back side of the wheel. It don't take a lot just has to jar the taper slightly. Works great at wrecking yards.

 

That's the method I've used most often, but girth growth and OF's syndrome has made it much more difficult to get my knees up there and still have room to operate a drift and hammer.

 

I removed my old steering wheel in order to install a custom one. If u haven't removed it yet, let me know and i will tell u how.