I disassembled the ignition switch on my car (1972) this weekend. Something inside was jamming the switch when I tried to rotate it to the start position, preventing the car from starting.

When I took the lock cylinder out of the housing, a small pin fell out. It has two ends, one end is larger diameter and that slips into a recess in the lock housing near the steering wheel lock mechanism. The other end is smaller and rides in a channel around the outside of the lock tumbler (cylinder?)

What does this pin do? I think I have seen it referred to as a locator pin, but I've never seen pictures of it before. The lock seems to work fine without it. I assume there is a spring that goes with it - what does this spring look like and where can I get a replacement?

I think it's what prevents you from engaging the starter again once the engine is running. you have to turn the switch back to the off position before engaging the starter again. It rides in the groove and drops into a lower slot after starting.

I did some work on mine...
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...ignition+switch

That explains why the lock doesn't pop out reliably when I remove the key (it hasn't for some time!)

Do you have a picture of the spring that belongs under the pin?

My spring/pin didn't come out so I'm not familiar with that part of the mechanism.

Mine is sticking again. I wonder if a different lube would be better. I think I used lithium grease, which I recently read can get "gummy".

I can use the key to pull it out but it's not the ideal situation.