interior questions

[graham]

hi
i stripped out the interior today (2 hours i love the fact the seats come out by adjusting them as far forward as they will go)anything that would come out came out.
how do you remove the steering wheel without the appropriate puller tool (as sugested by autobooks).
how do you remove the dial cluster i want to respray the dash like everything else its suffering from rust
is the door seal readily available does anything else suffice mine is completey perished but i dont want to pull it off without a replacement
my seats are a variety of greys on the cloth part they were originally black (still black were the sun hasnt done its handy work) does anyone have an easy cheat on how to get them back to black without removing the covers and redying i considered spaying but only briefly.
tommorow (weather permitting) the doors, boot and side windows come out then it will be almost as naked as the day it was created, i want to be spraying in the next week or so if i can lay my borrowing hands on a compressor
thanks
grahm

[daf44]

hi graham.

as the steering wheel on these can be quite brittle and chip/break easily, even a pullers can be risky if it is that tight.
one way that i have used before when i didn't have pullers is to remove the centre boss and loosen the nut so is is level with the top if the steering column. then pulling on the centre on the wheel with one hand, hit the steering column sharply with a hammer. providing that it is not too tight, the shock of impact can loosen the wheel enough to remove the nut and take the wheel of by hand. ( the nut must be left level with the top of the column to stop thread damage to the column itself). if this does not work then a puller is the only real option.

there are quite a few paint on dyes/colour restore kits for seats but i have not used them myself so i cannot advise on which one to use.
they are out there though.

someone out there should know more.

good luck.

paul44

[veeruk]

My steering wheel on the 33 was really tight. So I left it on and dismantled the steering column further down by the rubber.

[dkbhojani2]

hi graham

only when not able to remove steering in sithu ater taking big nut off & no room to tap it out, removing steerings espesially on earllier 44 & 55 dafs with woodruf key > i found easier to remove the colum in 5 mins > 3 phillip screws at ign key cover > 2 10 m bolts under dash > 4 screws holding ind & dim dip switch >2 bolts at bottom bulkhead > take it to vice put it verticle & hammer shaft with flat punch. Never fails. .....................eric B

[scooters]

as for the door seal - check out any classic car mag in the advertisers section - you can usually source new seals for doors/boots/windows etc - last month's Practical Classics showed one of the staff writers adding new seal to his VW Beetle