D;

It is with high confidence that I can say that ALL vintage volvo owners are familliar with the hard-to-turn-ignition problem...because it is built in by design! It is caused by the very heavy return spring in the switch itself (behind the lock cylinder or "lock tumbler"), so I have to dissagree with Phil's No. 1...replacement of the lock cylinder will NOT cure the problem because in just about all cases, the lock cylinder doesn't contribute hardly anything to the turning resistance, so it is not what is causing the problem...beside the fact that they are around $60 (at least still available last time I checked), they do not directly address the root cause. If you buy and install a new lock cylinder, you will have a nice new key, but this too will not be long for this earth...soon you would experience the "Beatles Effect" of vintage Volvo keys.

No.2, don't like that much either...replacing the ignition switch altogether means cutting through the armoured cable (not fun) and installing a switch which can simply be hot-wired from behind (no security).

The ONLY final and long-term effective fix is as Phil states in No.3...installation of a momentary start switch. Period! Switch and OE key are retained for appearance and security, but switch does all the hard work. Life is good!

See also: http://www.intelab.com/swem/swemkits.htm

Cheers