Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

 

Don't be impatient. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum but not everyone checks in as often as you'd like. Good deal on the Nitro Special by the way! I've got one but I've never had it apart. Sorry I can't help with yours.

 

I'd post in the Ithaca forum. Someone there will know.

 

Thank you both for the advice. I will also check out the Ithaca forum. Here's a picture from the auction site:

https://media.sandhills.com/img.axd...=0&t=&lp=&c=True&wt=False&sz=Max&rt=0&checksum=aSc/WR4twoc453Gjlj3uEN2tX2JqO4iJ

 

I figured out how to remove the lever.
First, I removed a "J" shaped piece call the "trip" that I had missed in the disassembly.
(See https://diamondgunsmithing.com/LeFever.html for Lefever Nitro Special parts list and schematic.)
Then I removed the spring that fits into the top lever post by carefully removing the post that holds it in. I had to heat the post with a heat gun until it was too hot to touch and then slowly unscrew it with a screwdriver that I filed to fit the slot exactly.
Once the spring was out the top lever and the post were loose, but wouldn't separate.
I inserted a punch into the screw hole in the top lever post and tapped gently until the top lever and the post separated. As it turns out, there are two prongs in the top lever post that fit into holes in the top lever and rust had been holding the pieces tightly together.
As an aside, I have found that a heat gun (vs. a torch) works very well to help in the removal of stubborn screws in firearms disassemblies.
Hope this info is helpful to someone else trying to work on one of these old classics.

 

Good info! Thanks for sharing.

 

Hi Mike, it's almost 5 years later, but this bit of information really helped me out to disassemble my top lever. However, now I'm trying to get it reassembled and having trouble. Any tips on how to put that retention spring and stake in, then slide that post back into place? Feeling stuck on the reassembly.