1950s Pulling 1950 Steering Wheel

[fmackan]

HI there...I own a 1950 Series 62 and just pulled the steering wheel for restoration.  If you don't have the proper puller from those years, you have to have a work around because of the horn contact.

In my research in the forums, I found this handy article all the way back from 2013 that showed one work around and it involves modifying the retaining nut and then using the nut and some different style bolts to inch the wheel off a little at a time.  The mod is needed because the retaining nut blocks the threaded holes.
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Posted by Jay Friedman
- November 11, 2013, 05:44:24 PM
The article below from the '49 Cadillac newsletter might help as the '49 and '50 steering wheels and steering column are almost identical.


http://www.1949cadillac.com/category/interior/steering-wheel/

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I wanted to use my universal puller but cannot use a universal puller as you are used to doing on a 1950 or any other year where the brass horn contact rests at the top of the steering shaft as you could damage it or crush the insulator underneath that keeps it from grounding on the shaft.  According to the 1950 shop manual, there was a special puller that would thread onto the steering shaft to allow you to pull on the wheel and break it free.  No idea how to find one of those today..GM tool J-1859

So I modified the nut according to the below article below.  After threading it back on the shaft and lining up the holes, I added a brass nut as a spacer (its just sitting on modded retainer nut) and a modified washer over that brass nut so nothing would contact the horn.  It gave me a surface to push on with my universal puller.  There was no danger of damaging the horn contact.  Worked really well!

So see the old article from the 49 Caddy wheel for one method and my pictures for my method...and happy pulling

Francis

[Jay Friedman]

I think either of these 2 methods would work for steering wheels and horn contacts from 1942 to 1950, which I think are set up in the same way.  Jay

[fmackan]

Jay you have to love your advice helping out all these years later...these forums have always been a wealth of knowledge for me

Francis

[Jay Friedman]

Francis, it was Art Gardner, The Caddy Wizard, who invented the washer-head bolt method to pull steering wheels.