'66 Cutlass Questions-O-Plenty

[Radar]

Who doesn't love new guys to the forums that ask alot of questions?

I have 5 problems/question that I would like help/feedback with on my '66 Cutlass:

Frozen driver door lock cylinder
Since 2002, the driver door lock has had a frozen (or stuck) lock cylinder. When I first acquired the car in 1998, the lock was very stubborn, but after a few "jiggles", the lock would turn. From 99 to 02, the lock got progressively worse until its eventual current unmovable state. I can unlock the door from inside, but when using the key, the thing just wont budge. I don't want to have to re-key the car because of the lock but climbing in through the passenger side is getting old quick. I thought of installing auto door locks, but I would prefer to keep her as stock as possible. Any suggestions on how I can get that lock functional again?

Door Panel Removal
Relates to the 1st question... I tried removing the panel with no luck, thought I had every nut and bold out... little help?

Blinkers & Reverse Lights KIA
Yet another progressive issue, the blinkers use to be rock solid. Now, they are completely non functional. I checked all the bulbs and everything is good to go. The blinkers took about 4 years of a steady "flaky" behavior before they just outright died on me. Anyone with notes or tips on troubleshooting/repairing turn signals? The reverse lights have never worked, but I think it might be related to the below issue.

Interior Electrical
Not an urgent issue, but the previous owner had a CD player installed and the driver side "under dash" and rear dome lights do not turn on when the door is opened. I am electrically retarded when it comes to cars, so any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Electronic Ignition
I am thinking of replacing my old points system with a Pertronix Igniter II system. Anyone have any tips or warnings before I take the plunge?

I'm sure there will be more questions to come.. but for now.. yea.

Thanks in advance,
- Radar

[71rocket]

Door lock..........wd-40 where the key goes in.
Signals..............blinker solinoid under the dash.
Pertronics works good for me, easy install.
Not familiar with 66 door panels. Where are they hanging up?

[Redog]

I took the points out but now I wish I didn't. Points require a spark plug gap of .032, unless that new coil says otherwise.

Not too familar with the wiring question on a '66, but I would climb under there and take a look that the connections and maybe even find the fuse box and see if the wires meet there or not. I would storngly suggest finding a wireing diagram before doing anything like that. It's really helped me a lot in both my cars. It's a lot less trouble and tons of money saved on Advil to find the right wire the first time

[joe_padavano]

Door lock cylinder - Just so I'm clear, the door latch opens and closes once you unlock the car from the inside? It's just the cylinder that won't turn? If so, then WD-40 is probably the correct thing to try first. The lock cylinder can get some internal corrosion and it doesn't take much to prevent the cylinder from turning. Assuming that works, follow it up with regular applications of lock cylinder graphite lubricant. If this doesn't work, you'll need to pull the lock cylinder and have a locksmith clean it or replace it. A new cylinder can be coded to match your old key. In the meantime, you can swap the driver side and passenger side cylinders...

Interior door panel - There are about four chrome phillips screws along the bottom of the panel in the carpet. Remove the armrest, the lock knob, and the window cranks and inside door handle. You should now be able to gently pull the panel away from the door. There are a series of metal clips on the front and back edges of the panel that fit into plastic receivers on the door. Just pull these out. Once you have them all released, pull the bottom of the panel away from the door and gently lift to disengage the top edge from it's clips. It usually helps to have the window rolled down at this point.

To remove the lock cylinder once the interior panel is off, you simply have to remove the U-shaped spring clip that slides out sideways from the backside. Then simply pull the cylinder out of the door. Note the lever with slot on the back of the cylinder. This slot needs to engage the post on the lock mechanism when you reinstall the cylinder.

Good luck.

[Oldsguy]

Good stuff Joe, as usual.

[Radar]

Thanks for the great tips everyone! I will give you a full report with how it turns out.

Cheers!

[Olds64]

I highly recommend Pertronix ignitions. Especially if you are running an aftermarket manifold like an Edelbrock O4B and can't run HEI ignition, or if you want to maintain a stock appearance. I put one in my 64 98 and it is trouble free. All it does is replace the points with a variable reluctor that works with the stock distributor shaft. They work great and are a great investment. I don't know why anyone would want to keep stock points.

[67olds]

I have a 67 Cutlass wiring diagram--probably the same for 66.

Reverse lights are powered by a green wire that is fed through the long harness that runs under the carpet. At the under-dash end the continuation of the wire will meet up with a switch on or around your shift linkage and/or transmission. I've got a 4-speed and no reverse lights installed, so I can't go check location for it. Other side of this switch is fed by green & white wire that goes back to a fuse. Same circuit also feeds fuel guage, parking brake lamp and idiot lights--so if those work and original wiring hasn't been hacked too badly over the years, your reverse light problem may be in the switch. Also consider a bad ground at the reverse lamps.

Dome and under-dash lights are fed by an orange wire that originates at the fuse block. The orange wire also feeds clock (where equipped), cig lighter and trunk lamp. Maybe someone borrowed this wire for a stereo? I notice you mentioned only the driver's side had the under-dash (courtesy) lamps malfunctioning. Does this mean the passenger side lamps work?

-jeff
67 Cutlass Supreme Convertible