o crap lost my ign key.

Even the new cylinders are pertty lame. Any key that is close will turn it on if you mess with it enough. Rack it in and out while trying to turn it. Bet it takes less than a minute.

no, you don't need the key to change the cylinder. That's a Ford thing. You do need a lock plate remover. Pull the steering wheel, then the lock plate, there is a small bolt on the right side that holds the lock cylinder in. Remove it and the cylinder will slide out

pontiac guy said:

no, you don't need the key to change the cylinder. That's a Ford thing. You do need a lock plate remover. Pull the steering wheel, then the lock plate, there is a small bolt on the right side that holds the lock cylinder in. Remove it and the cylinder will slide out

Click to expand...

I wanted to update this since I have new information and I HATE people who put bad info out there. The internet is full of that and I wont be part of it.

Update: Apparently 78 tilt, floor shifted automatic columns are different. I just finished building my manual transmission column for my GP. Both the donor columns were as they "should have been". Offset screw to remove and it slides right out. The 78 tilt, cruise, floor shift automatic column has a stupid little tab that needs to be depressed to remove it. Took abut 10 solid minutes of playing around to realize I had to turn the key forward as well. The cylinder doesn't even have a provision for the offset screw. I have never seen one like this in my life and I have literally seen hundreds of them from when I worked at an auto parts store and my own cars.

Right now I am willing to believe that the 78 column is unique and the 79 and up stuff utilize the offset screw. That isn't the only thing about the 78 column that would be unique, since the 78 uses the splined lower shaft and not the double D version that is standard on everything 79 and up that has the Saginaw column.

That non screw set up was used from '69 to '78. I have a '78 manual column for my '81 & will be taking to the one local locksmith to swap out the lock cylinder to use the '81's original key in a new cylinder. I'm not a fan of that earlier design.

pagrunt said:

That non screw set up was used from '69 to '78. I have a '78 manual column for my '81 & will be taking to the one local locksmith to swap out the lock cylinder to use the '81's original key in a new cylinder. I'm not a fan of that earlier design.

Click to expand...

I thought that might be the case. I skipped those years in my collection so far. It didn't seem plausible that GM had a 1 year only ignition cylinder.