Hello all!

I just bought a 1971Capricethat has been sitting for 10+years. After paying $800 for it, I ended up having AAA tow it back home!

The needs an interior, and new contertible motor & top. Beside that the engine, tranny, body is all in good shape. My immediate issue is the ignition key lock cylinder. At one time, someone must have tried to steal the car and has completely damaged the ignition lock cylinder.

How do I go about removing the damaged lock cylinder? So far, I have removed the steering wheel, the turn signal switch. Do I need a new steering column?

I also though about rigging up a push button switch to bypass the need for replacing the ignition lock cylinder if I had to. I understand the security risks involved with this setup, but am planning on keeping it garaged and will never leave it unattended.

Any input on helping me get past this is greatly appreciated!


Thanks in advance!

if you go deeper into the column you will see a screw or a release that will allow the switch to be removed.

The lock cylinder on a 1971 Caprice is held in place with a metal tab that sticks out of the lock cylinder. The screw retained cylinder didn't come along until 1979.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/JIML82/IgnitionLockCylinderDrawings-1.jpg

You need to depress the tab by reaching behind the turn signal switch and finding the correct rectangular slot in the housing. Measure 1.75 inches from the underside of the lock cylinder (if there is anything left) to find the slot.
This is a scan of a standard (non-adjustable) steering column housing showing the location of the slot. Sometimes you have to reach into the slot and clear away a very thin skin of die cast material in order to reach the tab. If you have a tilt column, the housing is similar and the 1.75 dimension is still correct.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/JIML82/LockCylinderWedgeLocation.jpg
Jim

Thank you for the pics and the diagram of the steering column! The diagram looks similar to what I saw. I will take nother look at this today and will post my findings.

So after letting all of this settle, I decided to take another crack at it.
I ended up sticking a very slim flat head screwdriver into a slot behind the trun signal switch. Once I did that, the old lock cylinder slid out! The new lock cylinder did not slide in easily, so I wiggle it in as fat as I could then I finished it by tapping it into place with a rubber mallet. After assembiling everything back together, I ended up losing the little metal tab that held the trun signal lever on the column. Besides that, everything looks and works great.


Thnks for all your help guys!