1938 ignition lock?

[Guest mowog]

Of all the ...!!! Okay, my year-plus engine rebuild is done, everything back together, it RUNS! Yay! I swear, the timing even came out spot-on, far as I can tell. Took the car down off the jackstands, ready to back her out of the garage, go for a little shakedown spin ... the key won't turn in the ignition switch! It HAD been catching a bit, and I WAS a little worried, but NOW it won't turn at all! This, of course, means I can't unlock the steering (or I'd just drive her around hot-wired). The key comes out and goes in with no problem. Will "jiggle" a tiny bit, but hits a hard stop as soon as I try to turn it. Two different keys, same thing. No amount of WD40, yanking the wheel one way and the other, tapping with a hammer, does any good. Has anybody had this happen? I wasn't prepared for this; don't know what to do. I'm no rocket scientist, but I swear I know more about the inside of a rocket engine than the inside of a lock. Thanks for any suggestions.

[critterpainter]

Quit using the WD-40 as it will dry and gum you up worse. Use Kroil or a graphite lubricant. You might be able to remove the electrical contacts from the backside and also add penetrant from there. I think there is a tiny hole up from the bottom between the lock cyl and the steering column that the factory drove a lock pin into to retain the lock but I may be wrong about this.

Remember perserverance and profanity will win out.

bill

[Guest mowog]

Thanks, Bill. Well, I've thrown plenty of profanity at it; I guess I could TRY perseverance!

There is this odd screw on the underside, about where you describe the "tiny hole". I unscrewed it and almost lost the little bitty ball bearing that was sitting on top of it. Don't know what it does, but the lock still wouldn't turn with it out so I put it back in. The shop manual has some drawings, but I can't make heads or tails of 'em. I just don't know. It's not like it's rusty or anything, it was working fine, then all a sudden "catch-jiggle-turn", next "catch-jiggle-jiggle-turn", then "catch-and-that's-all-folks". I don't know if it's the lock itself, or the pin that goes into the steering column, or what. I even tried jacking up the front end and working the wheels from side to side to see if I could loosen something up. No dice.

[critterpainter]

ahhh the MG explains your handle.

I am out of ideas on your lock as I don't have one handy to refresh my memory. sorry

bill

[Guest mowog]

Yippee! I did a little web-surfing last night to learn something about how locks work, in particular the side-bar wafer-tumbler cylinder lock in question (all new to me). Today I went and talked to a local old-timer locksmith, who said it sounded pretty certain that the lock was just dead, side-bar stuck, and if he came over he'd most-likely wind up drilling it out. And he wouldn't have a chance for another week. When I got home, I went to the garage and fiddled with the lock some more, but this time got mad enough that I got out the power drill and a half-inch bit and drilled it out myself. Then started up, backed out of the garage, and went for a cruise around the block. First time in 15-16 months! Still got some sorting out to do, setting valve lash and the like, but I'm on the road again! Guess I'll just figure on pulling the rotor out of the distributor whenever I have to park the car .... (yeah, I know I'll eventually have to do something about that hole where the lock's supposed to be, but for now, I'm happy!)

[Gene Brink]

Happy cruising, Dan. So which one spends the most time in running condition? The Buick or the MGA?