I have a '29 pickup and I would like to know if there is a way to determine if I have a pressed on or keyed steering wheel without pulling it off? I would like to have the steering wheel in hand when I remove it.
A person would have to remove the light switch and the spider with spring & C-clip to free the light switch/horn rod mechanism enough to pull it up. Loosen the steering wheel nut and you will be able to see either splines or a key.
All of the late 2-tooth units were keyed but not all 7-tooth were and it is likely that all 7-tooth units were splined. Only the early 2-tooth shafts were splined according to the shaft list on Vince's A/B Ford Garage site. Ford would have used up the shafts and steering wheels before completely changing over on the 2-tooth units. Ford was manufacturing so many cars that they needed the production to keep the lines moving. A link. https://www.fordgarage.com/pages/lightswitchrods.htm