I just picked up an 85 Brat that has been sitting for about 1.5 years. The steering wheel is locked so the key will not turn at all...I am unable to move the wheel enough to unlock the ignition switch. Any ideas?

how many miles on it? It might also be a matter of a worn ignition switch. Mine first subys was worn in such a way that i could only turn the key if it was not inserted all the way in. Play around with the key some more and you might get lucky.

200k on it. I played around with it for about 30 minutes and no luck.

I just picked up an 85 Brat that has been sitting for about 1.5 years. The steering wheel is locked so the key will not turn at all...I am unable to move the wheel enough to unlock the ignition switch. Any ideas?

This is off the wall, but any possibility that they gave you the wrong key? Usually, putting pressure on the wheel in one direction and then the other is enough to free up the ignition lock and allow the key to be turned.

how many miles on it? It might also be a matter of a worn ignition switch. Mine first subys was worn in such a way that i could only turn the key if it was not inserted all the way in. Play around with the key some more and you might get lucky.

Thats how my Brat is now. I have to insert the key all the way, then pull it back out just past the first "bump" to be able to turn the key. matts8008, did you try something similar?

If you have a spare, it's a lot easier to just swap the whole column out if you have to move it. Two bolts, a few electrical connections, and the steering u-joint are all that holds it in. Also helps to take it out if you need to work on that switch/lock setup. Just pull the whole column and work on it on the bench.

 

GD

I played with it for a long time today and finally got the key to turn (the steering wheel unlocked automatically once the key started to turn).