A funny thing happened on the way to the forum!

I took a nice road trip this past weekend and was close to being stranded! I need some help with this one. You turn the ignition and nothing comes from the solenoid/starter. Turn it again and again and maybe out of five tries one time the starter keeps going, jiggle the key and it stops. Do it again and it turns over. Must be the switch or electrical portion, yes? So, just how do you replace it? Its a rats nest of wiring back there so do you go from the front, in back of the dash or through the oil temp guage? I have that lovely knee level a/c vent to complicate things. If I were to take in to my mechanic what would be the fair "book rate" on this R&R. Anyone who has been here before your assistance is always appreciated.

BR
'73T

BR,
There's a mechanical device at the end of the ignition switch mechanism with a spring loaded detent that prevents you from turning the starter motor twice. If the spring goes weak, the security does not "reset", and the switch stays as if you already turned the starter once. When you wiggle it you release that security detent. I wish I could be more specific, but that got repaired by my mechanic during other work so I didn't tackle it. It's straightforward repair once the ignition lock is out, but you have to drill out the retaining screws in the dashboard.
If you find a diagram of the parts, it should become clear. That was the cause of the exact same problem on my 1983 3.3 Turbo.
Hope this helps, GeorgeK

George...
Thanks. My mechanic also mentioned that the electrical portion may not necesarily be the culprit and that the mechanical end should be inspected as well. Was it a costly repair?

BR
'73T

No, the part is cheap. My mechanic is a friend and he obviously did this for me as a favor. You'd be better off taking the ignition lock out yourself and looking at it first. It involves drilling out the 2 safety bolts and removing the big electrical connector behind. I'd say you can find and repair the fault yourself if you can take the lock out (which is the hard part).
GeorgeK