Why does Vintage Speedsters install the ignition switch upside down, so the smooth backbone of the key is on the bottom?
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So it won't fall out while driving...? Is this a fact that all VS's are installed that way? I'd bet it was just overlooked by the installer.
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mine came upside down...
Maybe the car is upside down
Mine is as you say but what exactly is "upside down"? If I were at the bottom of the earth would I not be upside down, yet, right-side up at the same time?
Look under the dash at the back of the switch and see where the wires are coming from that need to connect to it. Then look at which side of the switch has the contacts that get the wires.
If you were installing it, and wanted to make life easier for yourself, which mounting orientation would you choose?
Confucius say, car with upside down key switch is not ...
My 1969 912's key goes in with the flat side down. Never thought of it as being upside down but rather the way the key goes in.
I bet they mistakenly put in an ignition switch that they use when building cars for Australia.
Mine is "upside down", however that is the way I installed the switch. The previous switch was on a newer vw column.
The Bosch "Classic" switch website shows the key/switch in the usual position.
Happy New Year.
Art
My 2013 is key flat side down- maybe a trade mark. Some day I'll loosen the holding knob and rotate the unit without binding the wires.
My JPS is flat side down too. Never thought about it much..
Since I'm a GM guy and their keys were always flat side up, I loosened my lock ring and just rotated the switch 180. It works fine and besides having the tumbler notches up reminded me of an old Ford (pre 65) which I just don't like.
My 56 T1 is flat side up and the ignition switch only goes in one way (it has a notch). VS is trying to make it like an original, I guess...
When I was a kid, my Dad had a fleet of school buses, mostly GMC but a few Fords over the years. The GMCs had the key going in with the teeth up, while the Fords had the key going in teeth down (or maybe it was the other way round - it's been almost 40 years, now). Used to drive him nuts - really - so my brother and I filed the switch collar on the weird ones and turned them the other way to make them all the same.
It's the little things in life that count.
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James- if that's a Porsche key the teeth face down. Not sure from the picture, just assuming.
Michael B (aka bluespeedster SoCal) posted:James- if that's a Porsche key the teeth face down. Not sure from the picture, just assuming.
This is a Bosch ignition switch replacement for 356As. The teeth face up in this example. I used this picture from an Emory Outlaw in order to determine how to install the switch in my car. Below is the switch I used.
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James- in all my years around 356, I have never seen the teeth up- I see in your PIC the larger section of the key, where the fingers go is facing down in the common direction.
Thank you
Michael