VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1930 Chevy 2 Door Ignition Switch Won't Turn

I inherited my dad's '30 Chevy, which is in AMAZING original unrestored condition. I want to fire it up, but he told me the key stopped turning years ago.

He's been cranking it over once a month for 25 years. All it needs is to get the switch to turn, and I could drive it!

Any advice from y'all would be great!

Hello John,
I see that this is your first post in Chevy Chatter. Welcome to a most knowledgeable web site for Chevrolet information. Please consider VCCA membership. Lots more available to you besides this forum site. OK, well, what do I know that might help you with your request for advice? Not all that much I expect, but lets try, and I expect others may respond also. First the facts- 1930 Chevy 2-door, original unrestored, key stopped turning years ago, Dad cranks engine once a month for 25 years. Now for some questions- Have you tried working the key up/down/in/out carefully to possibly turn on? Do you know if this switch is an original electrolock and the key is the correct key? Electrolocks are complex, but they can be repaired if not damaged. Is the cranking done with the battery and floor starter button, or by way of a hand crank at the front of the engine? Cranking means the engine is not frozen. Engine numbers on block near distributor and data tag info on cowl and front passenger floor (31 Chev) help alot in understanding what your working with. Let us know more and you'll get more ideas to help you out.

If you have an original "pop-out" Electrolock, then the chances are fairly good that your pot metal lock cylinder is frozen. Both the lock cylinder plug (the part where the key goes in and turns) and the lock cylinder are pot metal and pot metal tends to swell with age. If this is the case you will need a qualified and experienced locksmith (as far as I know there were only three left in the country and one died last week) to carefully remove the plug from the lock cylinder. Once this is done the inside of the lock cylinder can be reamed and the plug can be polished (with the wafers removed first). After this procedure the plug can be reinserted into the lock cylinder and the key should turn easily and the lock cylinder will then "pop-out" to activate the electrolock and the ignition.

I am not as experienced as some of the others sending you help, but I also have a '30 orginal survivor and have had ignition switch problems with it. Mine has an aftermarket Electrolock that I just wired around and use a toggle switch. Not very elegant, but works for a great tour and driver car.

If you are not familiar with the Electrolock - it is the old-time anti-hot-wire theft deterent system. You can identify the electrolock by the heavy spiral sheilded conduit for the wire running from the in-dash ignition switch to the distributor. The basic concept is that when the key switch is locked in the off position the distributor contact points are shorted to ground and hot wiring power to the ingition coil on the firewall won't allow the ignition system to work or start the engine. When the key is moved to the on position, the grounding is removed (inside the in-dash switch), power is applied to the + coil terminal and the connection between the points and coil is now free to do its thing pulsing the coil and generating the spark.

If you are lucky as I was, the grounding process was not working. All I have to do is supply power (+6 volts) to the + terminal of the coil and the engine is ready to run.

You need to determine if the electrolock key switch is shorting out the points. You could apply a jumper from the battery (available at the starter switch) to the + terminal of the coil and monitor the voltage at the - coil terminal as the engine is turned over. If the - terminal voltage stays at ground, the points are permanately shorted. If the voltage fluctuates between 0 and 6 volts as the engine turns (or you manually push the points apart) you should be good to go for an attempt to start.

This hot wire approach may not be your final solution, but could get the old stovebolt 6 running for a test drive.

If the points are shorted in the electrolock, you may be able to find a way to remove the electrolock connection to the points at the distributor and put a jumper wire from the points to the - terminal of the coil. Not easy, but anything is possible when needed.

Good luck, Bob Strattan, Tulsa, OK

OK, I'll try to answer all the questions. I appreciate all the input...

1. Yes the key is original, as is the elecrolock. I have a duplicate key, which also does not work.

2. My dad cranked it over with the electric starter until the battery died. From then on, it was hand crank every month. He was religious about keeping the motor spinning.

3. It's the original electrolock, with the heavy conduit running to the distributor.

4. I put a jumper between the + on the battery to the + side of the coil. I pulled a plug to see if there was a spark when I cranked it over, which it didn't seem to have. I can't be 100% certain the plug was grounded properly. Would I need to actually disconnect the electrolock at the distributor to get it to fire?

Thanks everyone!

JC

Not sure if you need to disconnect the electrolock but if it hasn't been run for years, the points probably need cleaning.
If the switch grounds the circuit as has been said you need to disconnect it.

Running a wire from the positive on the battery to the plus side of the coil will do nothing since the negative side of the coil goes to the points in the distributor through the electrolock. Also, the electrolock is grounded when it is in the off position.

John,
You will need to disconnect the electrolock from the points in order to hot wire it. Then connect the positive lead from ignition switch to the coil and negative coil lead to the points. Make sure to put a condenser on the negative lead.

Lots of great advice guys! And all appreciated! I'll try and see what I can get done...

Well, I have a replacement for the Electrolock. All I need is someone to call me to tell me how to get the electrolock off the distributer!

847.803.0400

You can call me if you wish. It is relatively easy to remove the electrolock. If you have a hex nut on the stud extending through the side of the distributor all you have to do is remove the nut and slide out the stud. If you have the original rectangular nut you will need to remove the three small screws holding the two clamps and points plate in place. Push down on the points plate to give enough space to rotate the nut and remove it. Then remove the stud. Replace the plate and screws, install the replacement stud and switch. Be sure to either reinstall the condenser or replace it with a new one.

I have sent you a PM with my phone number.

Followed your directions. I got the old Electrolock out, came out just like you said! Next issue... the stud on the new Electrolock is sheared off! Seems I can't win... Somehow, I suppose I'll need to get the stud off the OLD, and onto the NEW. Advice?

Some times you can take a pointed end needle nose pliers to fit into the slot in the brass retainer in the end of the electrolock. I have a spanner wrench I made from a piece of metal to take it out. Once you get it apart you can switch parts. Just make sure you know what order the parts were taken out so you can put them back in the same order.

Then send me your old electrolock so I can play with it and try one more time to get one unstuck. I have done it a couple of times but failed many more than that.

You might want to test your replacement electrolock first to make sure it is working before you install it on your distributor.