The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Removing Ignition Switch

This has absolutely nothing to do with a 'bolt,but I'm hoping some of the "tribal elders" can tell me where to go to find the information I need. The situation: a locked 1971 Impala for which the keys were lost in a home invasion robbery. The car/keys belonged to my now-deceased mother. I need to move the car from her property to mine, and would like to get the column-mounted ignition cylinder out and replaced so that at the very least I can get the car out of park to winch it up on my trailer. Does anyone out there have any info on how to remove an ignition cylinder without the original key being inserted? Or am I at the mercy of the friendly village locksmith? Any valid information is greatly appreciated.

I havent done this in a long time but i know if ya remove the steering wheel , then work your way down ..take of the plate under the wheel an you see the ignition switch , there is a slot ya stick a flat head screwdriver into and it will release the barrel and the whole ignition switch will slide on out .

Or you can disconnect the linkage off the column or tranny to take it out of park. I agree with SW you take the steering wheel off, lock plate, unscrew the
t/signal switch to access the release tab on the lock cylinder.

I just did this on an 82 corvette. As SW says,remove the steering wheel,then theres the "lock plate" and it takes the special tool to compress the plate against the spring so you can remove the"c" clip.(i bought it at the auto parts store,15.00) From there,its pretty much either the screwdriver deal or there might be one screw that holds the key cylinder in,remove that screw and the key cyl. will slide out.
From there you can use long needlenose pliers to turn the switch and start it. Sounds drawn out and complicated,but its really not. Once you get into it,,its pretty much self explanatory.
Good luck,Marty

OK I must had a few brain cells from the late 70's that i didnt kill reactivate ! it comin back to me now , on the 70's chevy's MOST had a flat blade sticking outta the ingnition switch that turned the mechanism , so once ya get the ignition switch out ya can use a large blade flat head screwdriver to start the car and run it like that for as long as ya need to or get a replacement ...I did that on my Old Laguna for a long time , lost keys at a party out in the sticks when i was 16 luckily my one bud had tools in his pickup we used the hammer an pull method to get the wheel off and with some help to push the plate down to get the C-Clip off we were home free , I rember now my then Gal-freind askin what is that screwdriver for when she needed to borrow the car to go to Softball practice ?, .a tool would be cool ...but ya can do it without ... Man those were the days !

Will this technique work on a 76 GMC. I attempted to remove it once before, but was unsuccessful. I believe that I had left the shifter in Park. The tumbler unit that is presently installed is worn out and could die at anytime.
Bob

Thanks for the rapid replies, folks. My terminal case of "oldtimers disease" had caused me to forget about the lock plate/retainer ring set-up on these cars & trucks. Saw this thing done once, but never had done one myself. Again, many thanks.

Hi big block and cooter,,,,I think the worst part about this whole deal is the lock plate and retainer "c" clip. It CAN be removed without the special tool,if you have a extra set of hands standing around watching you,,but i just figured id probably use the tool again somewhere down the road so i went ahead and bought it.
Once you get past that,,its a breeze,,,,,,,,,,,
Marty

Thanks, Marty
Bob