Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi Guys and Gals, the ignition switch on my 1000 van is getting progressively looser by the day. I am afraid if I don't do something soon it will just fall apart . It is now about an eighth of an inch clear of the panel. My question is how to gain access to the place where the switch is mounted. I have never removed the speedo, but have seen the holes in the glovebox to get to the screws, but am not sure if that is the way to get to the back of the switch. Without some advice I am reluctant to fiddle with the speedo because of all of the connections involved.[frame][/frame]

You do not need to take hte speedo out..

put a key in the ignition to hold it, then you can put a screw driver in one of the two "cuts" on the surround and screw it up tight by pushing it around with the screw driver..

Thanks very much for that. I was doing that for a while and each time it seem to nip it up, now I seem to have run out of thread. I may be wrong, so will have a good look in the morning..Thanks very much

Whichever way you try, disconnect the battery first, as there are all sorts of connections and lots of bare metal about behind the dash!

The front chrome 'bezel/nut' has a limited internal thread length, as you have found out! There is a 'back-nut' on the ignition switch thread that should be set so that the front bezel can tighten up before it bottoms on its thread, and you need to get the back-nut screwed further towards the front, then retighten the front chrome bezel.

You do not need to completely remove the speedo, just the speedo cable, and leave all the electrical connections in place. Without the speedo cable connected, the speedo head will pull forwards enough to be able to get at the ignition switch a bit (enough!). If you do decide to move the speedo forwards, only undo the retaining screws (2) about 1-2 turns and it will slide forward.

If you don't fancy removing the speedo, try this very fiddly method, but the there is a risk that you might drop the switch off the end of the key and have to move the speedo to get it back in place, but you are no worse off than starting that way!

With the front bezel protruding slightly (1/8"), try using a pair of opened scissors to engage the thread behind the nut to prevent it falling into the dash. Keeping the scissors firmly clamped into the thread, undo the nut completely and remove it, carefully insert the ignition key, turn the ignition on, remove the scissors, push the whole switch inwards until it drops down slightly and you should be able to just get a very small screwdrive blade through the gap and turn the back-nut in an anti-clockwise direction to get it back up the thread, towards the key end. After adjusting the back-nut one turn, pull the switch back into the hole, and check to see if there are around 2-3 threads clear of the front of the hole, keep adjusting the nut until there are. Once the back-nut is in the right place, re-engage the scissors, turn the ignition off, remove the ignition key, replace the front bezel and ignition key, remove the scissors and try tightening the front nut, using the key to prevent the switch from turning out of position. It must tighten without 'bottoming'. A pair of slim long nose pliers will engage both slots, but push very firmly on the pliers to prevent them slipping out and damaging the lovely chrome bezel.

Very very fiddly, but might just avoid the need to remove the speedo.

Great, fabulous info..I will have a look at it today. good advice on the battery disconnection, I wouldn't have thought of that and there was bound to be drama..from little things, big things grow on all of my "quick" fixes..Just one thing, how do I disconnect the speedo?

From the passenger side, reach up behind the dash and find the speedo cable, run your hand along it until you feel the back of the speedo and at the end of the cable is a knurled fitting. Turn it anticlockwise to undo it and pull the cable out of the speedo. I find it easier to reach in from the outside of the car, rather than do it from sitting in the passenger seat, but worth trying either way.

Once you have done that, I would still consider just releasing the 2 screws from each side glove compartment and slide the speedo head forwards. The process of adjusting the back-nut is exactly the same, except you now have access through the speedo hole, rather than fiddling through the ignition switch hole!

Don't move the car or turn the speedo drive from the rear, so that once you have finished tightening the ignition switch, the cable will slip back in very easily, with the square on the cable matching the square in the back of the speedo in the same orientation as it came out.

Great, off to do it now..Thanks for your very clear instructions..

Thanks very much.. 100% success using your "fiddly" technique . Only took a few minutes..As I say, your clear, concise instructions , avoided me letting the whole lock disappear into no mans land..The scissor technique was very clever indeed. Thanks again

Glad to hear it worked well.

I know this probably isnt recommended but, after dismantling the glove boxes, removing the speedo, blowing my electrics cos I didn't disconnect the battery, tightening up the lock nut and adjusting the Bezel so it was tight I put every thing back together, sorted the electrics put the glove boxes back in went for a drive and all was good and I was happy and satisfied A couple of days later the ignition started to spin again I took everything apart again, AFTER disconnecting the battery!! but this time I put a DROP of the lightest Loctite available on the Bezel threads and 4 weeks lter (fingers crossed!!) the ignition is solid!!

Wow, sounds like you had quite a drama..I took the advice and disconnected my battery. The shortcut method of using scissors to hold the barrel worked well for me and so far the lock seems to have stayed tight, but having said that, the old van does vibrate a fare bit, courtesy I think of poor cam timing and if the lock does work loose I will take your advice with the lock tight.
Thanks for that and cheers