Been there, done that. Though oddly it didn't seem to me that the electrical connector was locked to anything when I did it.

Now, of course, I know that you can just grind off the pin on the ignition lock housing and the whole thing comes right out.

I was never quite as happy as when I pulled the nasty aftermarket tumbler from my '83 and replaced it with a VIN-matched dealer item. Having separate keys for the trunk and ignition is something up with which we need not put.

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1983 300SD 467,000 km - 473 champagnermetallic

location: 34°5' N 106°53' W (Socorro NM, USA)