Ignition switch cylinder repair on a 27

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Eric Sole
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 4:25 pm
First Name: Eric
Last Name: Sole
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1927 Roadster
Location: Barcelona, Spain
MTFCA Number: 31340
Board Member Since: 2015

Ignition switch cylinder repair on a 27

Post by Eric Sole » Wed Jun 29, 2022 8:14 am

I replaced the ignition and light switch contacts 30 some years ago. Everything worked ok, but I wanted to have the face plate nickel plated.

After disassembling everything I found the lock cylinder (tumbler) was missing 2 of the 4 wafers. The rectangular end of the pot metal cylinder wasn't so rectangular anymore - a chunk was missing where it fits into the fiber contact piece. It worked but had some play when turning to mag.

I bought a replacement cylinder kit and after seeing how many flaws there were to fix before it could possibly work, I decided to fix the original.

JB Weld to the rescue! (that's cellophane tape creating a kind of mold for the JB Weld).
1 Key_cylinder_repair_JBWeld.jpg
Picked 2 of the new brass wafers (they're all the same) that came with the repo cylinder...
2 Key_cylinder_wafers.jpg
...filed them and got them to fit properly. The marks are to identify the order and positions.
3 Key_cylinder_wafers.jpg
The wafers fall into the slot of the sleeve that surrounds the cylinder thereby locking it.
5 Cylinder locked.jpg
The wafers raise up and unlock the cylinder from the metal sleeve when the key is inserted. (excerpted from Locksmithing 101 :D)
6 Cylinder unlocked.jpg
Now for painting the light switch handle and then reassembly. I'll post the results, hopefully sooner than later.


J1MGOLDEN
Posts: 944
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 5:39 pm
First Name: James
Last Name: Golden
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Model T Roadster
Location: Bowie, MD
MTFCA Number: 14294
MTFCI Number: 13562

Re: Ignition switch cylinder repair on a 27

Post by J1MGOLDEN » Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:26 pm

Note #4 is hanging below the sleeve to keep the key from turning.

So, it will not work as advertised.

User avatar

Topic author
Eric Sole
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 4:25 pm
First Name: Eric
Last Name: Sole
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1927 Roadster
Location: Barcelona, Spain
MTFCA Number: 31340
Board Member Since: 2015

Re: Ignition switch cylinder repair on a 27

Post by Eric Sole » Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:38 pm

Good eye James, you're absolutely right!
I have been tweeking this wafer and it unlocks much better now.
I won't be able to paint the handle for at least a week, so the reassembly will have to wait a bit.

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