I got so weary of always having to push that button down to turn the key completely off in my 86 p/u. Unable to come up with a good reason for it to be there, I opened up the steering column cover to see what could be done.
Here's what I did;

It was quite simple, I just held the button down and drilled a hole threw the cylinder and button and then ran a machine screw through it. If you match the hole size to the screw you use, it threads in snugly. Just make sure it's not so big or too tight that it splits the little metal cylinder your going through.

 

Neat. That's cleaner than what I did. I did it how 4Crawler shows it. I smeared JB weld into the space between the button and the metal cylinder, pushed the button a few times to work it in, then clamped it overnight. Both ways work, and neither one shows with the column covers on, but your way is reversible and professional looking.

 

The reason it's there is because it's supposed to be a key lock. The key won't come out of the ignition unless you push the botton down and turn one more position. With that being said, most of our trucks are really old with worn out keys and ignition cylinders so the key falls out when it shouldn't.

Good mod though.

 

Great idea. I glued mine down too. This was one of the most satisfying mods i've done so far!

 

So I'm not the only one who got annoyed then. :-D You're right Rob, I can take my key out no matter what position its in.

 

Yeah, my 83 Celica you could pull the key out when it was running. It was useful for cold winter mornings, start car, remove key, lock doors, go inside. I killed the battery a few times leaving it in that first position with the radio on and not noticing though.