How to remove ignition switch on 64 Fairlane keys missing

[Galaxie]

Back in the summer a friend of mine that does one of those cash for junk cars came across a 1964 Fairlane rust free and in decent although far from perfect. 4 door 3 on the tree 260 V8 (ok ok its not a I6 but i have been on the board with my other I6 projects and you guys were really helpful) well keys are MIA turned the car over looking well I got a replacement switch figured no big deal ... well I was wrong, I tried for an hour yesterday to remove the old ignition switch no success tried borrowing old style ford keys ... no luck only thing left I know is to drill it out. Is there a trick or another way
Thanks

 

[PhantomAce]

Couldn't find the keys for my Falcon, had been years since I had seen them, so I decided to just buy a new ignition and door lock set. One good tug with a slide hammer and the old ignition switch popped right out.
Of course, I found my original keys by chance a couple weeks later...
If you try this, you WILL risk damage to the bezel and/or dash, so go as gently as you can.
YMMV.

 

[The Plankster Prankster]

the slide hammer is the favorite of car theives, who have no concern for breaking the parts around the lock, which in a 64 are likely hard to replace. i believe your lock is held in by a little pin that is designed so it can be pushed into the lock only when the key is turned. this should be located on the side of the lock cylinder, and usually requires some disassembly to get to it. you may (or may not) have luck drilling out this pin. i haven't tried it, but it seems like the smallest piece to try drilling. drilling the cylinder itself is a messy process, but i have done it. sometimes a stray lock pin will grab your drill bit and break it, sometimes springs grab the drill bit and fly out in your face, but a persistent operator with a set of drill bits can do it.

 

[MPGmustang]

a persistent operator with a set of drill bits

My dad and I did this on our 53 packard patrichian, L8, and we drilled it out, when we got to 3/8 inch the whole rusted ignition swich fell out very easily, but make sure some kind of pliers are holding onto the other side so the switch don't "spin in place" with the drill.

 

[bubba22349]

Door locks will use the same key (if they have not been changed) You can take out a door lock easy than take it to a locksmith and have a key cut to fit than you don't need even change the ignition lockand best of all there's no damage. Have done it many times.

 

[mustang6]

I like bubba22349's suggestion if you are going to keep the same door locks. If not, I have always been successful getting the ignition switch lock out by picking it open to the left (Accessory) position and then using the release hole to pop it out. I am no locksmith and just use a paperclip, so that shows how easy these are to defeat. Take a thick paperclip and unroll a leg or two of it, then using a pair of pliers put a bend near the end of it, making it look like the end of a hockey stick. Then use a small flat screwdriver that leaves the top half of the key slot open, insert it in the bottom of the key slot and turn with a slight pressure counterclockwise. Insert the paperclip into the upper half of the key slot pushing it all the way in, apply upward pressure and pull the paperclip forward. You may have to repeat the paperclip "raking" 10-20 times to get it right, but I've almost always done it in 5 minutes or less.

Here's an animated picture that is worth a thousand words.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/lock-picking2.htm