Ignition Key Will not turn back to the arrow

[jmontes]

Did some searching... Now that I have the 71 up and running, my son won't quit driving his new ride.  I'll bet he has put 500 miles on it since last Sunday.  :biggrin:

Last night when he got home, the ignition key would not turn all the way back to the arrow. It turns back enough to kill the car, but not enough to take the key out. 

To complicate things, the car was once an auto that has been converted to a 5 speed. From what I read, sounds like there is a "lock rod" inside the column?

 

[MikeGriese]

Yup - the car was designed to be in reverse before you can remove the key from the ignition.  Sounds like your conversion is incomplete.

 

[Hemikiller]

There's a backdrive rod that originally ran from the trans shift lever to the column. The 5 speed has no external linkage, so there's no way to hook it up. You can grab the column in front of the key and rotate it counter clockwise. You should then be able to remove the key. To permanently fix the problem, safety wire the lever up that's down by the rag joint. 

 

[jmontes]

Thank you Hemikiller! What I was looking for!