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Well, y'all are geniuses!

By jacking up the rear end far enough, I was able to get the jack stands under the frame, which enabled me to have enough clearance to get left rear tire off.

Now, I have a hub puller putting constant tension on the drum, and the axle, I've sprayed the area with heavy duty penetrating oil, and I'm waiting for it to penetrate and maybe come loose. I got it to move a little bit, but not much.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

I haven't pulled my rear hubs, but have had plenty of guys tell me that they rarely come off easy. Need a good puller, the kind that you can hammer to tighten. Also leave the axle nut on, but loose, because when the hub does let loose it can go flying.

That’s a good point as sometimes the drum hangs down to just the right spot where it prevents removal so sometimes lifting it helps. I had forgotten about that possibility!

Here's an idea. When the car is supported on the chassis and the axle hanging, the Panhard rod will pull the rear axle to one side. This is a design fault, the stud on the chassis end of the Panhard rod is too short. Mine was broken off when I got the car, I replaced it with a 4 inch set screw, with an extra nut, washer and rubber inboard of the chassis mount. This means when the car is lifted the Panhard rod isn't under tension, and it still has play when on the ground.
Gary

Attached is a picture of the type puller that you need. The "dog-bone" is designed to be hit with a hammer.

Many years ago I was struggling to get the rear hubs off a Packard. I had the proper puller and I was beating on it with a hammer but no progress. I contacted an old time mechanic and he observed, "You need a bigger hammer!". Since then I have used a 6 pound sledge for this purpose and never had a problem.

Some tips: Loosen the large axle nut until it is flush with the axle end while you are beating on it. This will protect the threads on the axle and keep the drum from flying off and damaging your toes. Wear safety glasses. My puller has a little notch where a splinter of metal was knocked off.

Attach file:

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  puller.jpg (34.50 KB)

Like longjohn said, the right puller makes all the difference. I bought mine from Amazon and it works well enough.

This may help someone who has not done it before: