Ego, this is what we had to do even with our '57. Thankfully we had a second wheel..

 

Thanks guys. I have got lots of advice from this thread and another. I'll give it a go tommorow after Turkey day. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

 

I used a 12" long by 1" diameter piece of wooden dowell and a small sledge on my 48 F1. Left the nut loosely on the shaft, placed the dowell on the nut and tapped the dowell with the hammer. While a family member did the tapping, I pulled on the wheel until I got it rocking and finally off. Gearbox wasn't damaged and the no problems with the nut.

 

i pulled one this am drilled taped pulled boxed and shiped in less then 30 min so i think drilling and taping is the way to go and i did try the beating on it and had no luck with that

 

No luck either in the soaking with penetrating oil for a week, then pulling up with knees as I tapped on the nut. I think I'll drill and tap too, then pull with a wheel puller. The old wheel is toast for the most part, but needed until I can afford to buy a new one.

 

Stevo: You can always break the inner plastic away and cut the prongs with a grinder. Then you can weld the prongs to a washer and use the steering wheel to wheel in and out of the garage to work on it. Thats what I did and doing now. Then heat the lug with a torch and it will tap off. Ralph

 

Sounds intriguing but I'm having a tuff time visualizing what you mean, could you post a picture?

 

Stevo;
If your steering wheel is original you can break the black plastic away from the area around the large nut that holds the wheel onto the shaft. There are two of them, one on each side. They are just prongs made of about 5/16" steel rod. Cut these and remove the wheel. Then heat the sleeve and tap off. This metal sleeve, with gears, is what hods the wheel to the shaft. Hope this helps. Sorry I can't send pictures. Its beyond my expertise.