67 ignition switch

[Justin N.]

Dear Members,
I just bought a new cylinder with keys. Th old one had to be drilled out by a locksmith. The switch itself only has a 686 and then 1 on it. No other marks or Remy Delco. Is this original or repro? One of the two brass, spring loaded buttons is stuck down in the switch. The button beneath the small hole in the key cylinder that needs to be depressed to install new one. Do I need a new ignition switch? I can't fix stuck button and get to pop up. Thank you Much!

Justin #41362

[Peter L.]

Re: 67 ignition switch

Justin - This is a good one. I'm looking at the ignition switch (that I believe is the original one to the car) from my '67 (S/N 1476) and and it has 868 (underlined) and a 5 (about 1/4" to the right of the 868) on the face of the step from the key core cylinder holder to the switch mechanism body. It has two brass pins one at 1 o'clock (ignition switch light holder oriented straight up, 12 o'clock) and another at 7 o'clock. The pin at 1 o'clock is the one that holds the key core in the switch (the one that lines up with the hole in the key core face to release the core when you turn it counter clockwise) so it is the one that needs to function if the ignition switch is to work as designed. The back "Bakelite" plastic has a dark redish brown color (typical of original Delco-Remy (D-R) ignition switches and older D-R service ignition switches; newer D-R ignition switched have a black "Bakelite" plastic back) and has 5 terminals and D-R (for Delco-Remy at 10 o'clock again with the ignition switch light holder oriented straight up, 12 o'clock) embossed on the back. So, if your ignition switch has the features described with the D-R embossed on the back, it's probably the original to the car or at least a D-R service part.

I also looked at a Delco-Remy 1116686 (new old one in a string box) and it has 868 (underlined) and a 2 (about 1/4" to the right of the 868) on the face of the step from the cylinder holder to the switch mechanism body. But it only has one brass pin at 1 o'clock (ignition switch light holder oriented straight up, 12 o'clock). The back "Bakelite" plastic which is the redish brown in color has 5 terminals and D-R (for Delco-Remy at 10 o'clock) also (again with the ignition switch light holder oriented straight up, 12 o'clock).

The bottomline is if the brass pin that's stuck is the one at 1 o'clock, you might try to free it up using W-D 40; but if you can't free it up everything should work OK because the pin doesn't hold the key core in but it does prevent it from coming out when you turn it counter clockwise with the key. In the long run, I'd replace the ignition switch. Hope this helps, Pete

[Justin N.]

Re: 67 ignition switch

Pete,
Thanks for your help! I'll try the WD-40 and give it another go. The new key is a little sticky to turn and it did go around counter-clockwise and release from the ignition switch. I think it is the original piece from what you have described.

Justin #41362