The ignition switch/cylinder in my '71 Cutlass has been acting up lately. It feels kind of loose, and the chrome bezel slides in and out up to 1/8". The major issue is that I can often have a problem turning the key to the Start position. It turns from ACC to Off to Run no problem, but comes up to a hard stop when trying to start the car. Sometimes you can find that sweet spot and start the car but that's been getting harder to find lately. Column shift, auto.

Is this a sign of a bad ignition cylinder, or is there something else in the mechanism that might be causing the issue? I have a working cylinder in my '70 and will swap the bad one out for the good one, but want to make sure I'm not overlooking something else.

 

It's possible that the cylinder is worn, but it's also possible that the shift linkage is worn, causing some of the problems. And it's also possible that the rack mechanism in the column that the cylinder operates to actuate the electrical switch is damaged. This is not uncommon and parts are available.