Ever since I bought Beck, I've wanted to replace the steering wheel, because the original wheel was in bad shape. The spokes were loose, and the wheel was covered with a lace-on cover to hide the poor condition of the rim. But that's an expensive proposition, so it took until now for me to finally buy the wheel. Ain't it pretty!
All I had to do was get the old wheel off, add a hub that matched the new wheel, and put everything back together. I couldn't see how to get it apart, even with the hint that there was a key that I needed to remove. I couldn't see a key at all (left photo.) It took an embarrassing amount of time for me to think of rotating the wheel to see the key, which was on the top of the shaft (right photo.)
Next trial was getting that key out, and I finally made a simple tool that was slim enough to slip down the keyway and pry it out.
Once that was done, the splined shaft slipped right out, and I later took it to the press and separated it from the old steering wheel.
Next up was the new hub, and that was a trial, because it was on world-wide back order. I actually wasted a month waiting for one to ship from England before they told me they couldn't get it. Jake R. finally tracked one down in the USA, a genuine Mota Lita hub. Exactly what I needed, but when I installed it, the keyway forced it to be exactly upside down. That's not something I did wrong, it's a problem with that hub, perhaps because it's used in more than one application.
Well, no worries, I installed it crooked by choosing the nearest hole, and will true it up by adjusting the tie rod ends. I could get it closer by disassembling the steering shaft and rotating a hub on a splined shaft at the steering rack, but I distinctly remember promising myself that I would never take that apart again. Looks great with my custom wood dash panel and the new speedometer and tachometer!
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