C2 key blanks

[Donald H.]

I recently had a need for additional keys. I bought a couple of the hex GM/Briggs & Stratton blanks. In shopping around I found that some blanks for sale have the knockout in place and some have the knockout already removed. For example, Paragon sells the 63-66 key blanks, and for the hex key with knockout their price is $7 and with knockout missing, their price is $4.50.

Why two versions and the big price difference?

[Joe R.]

Re: C2 key blanks

Supply and Demand!

JR

[Gary B.]

Re: C2 key blanks

Don,

A couple of things about those keys. Reproductions of the GM groove 15 keys (with the knockouts present) for ‘66 and earlier GM cars have been around for 5 to 7 years, I believe. When the reproduction keys first came out I bought some and I found that the key was hard to insert in some, but not all, of the Corvette locks I tried the key in. Whereas any NOS key I tried inserted fine in every lock. I concluded there must be some very minor difference in the tolerances of the keyways between the reproduction and NOS keys. That difference would probably fix itself through wear, with enough key insertions and removals.

Another thing about the Paragon #14796 secondary (pear-shaped) key is that from their website photo the hole for the key ring within the knockout plug looks like the smaller of the two hole sizes, that Pete Lindahl and I explored in an article for the Restorer some years ago (10? 12?, Vinnie Peters would know). The very small diameter of that hole was more likely to force owners to knock out the knockout plug and store it safely, since many key rings were too large to go thru the small hole. The survey Pete and I did showed that the small key ring hole started to appear with Briggs & Stratton keys in 1968. Our survey did find a few small key ring hole keys for earlier years, but our thinking was those were replacement keys, not original to ‘66 or earlier cars. Now of course you can carefully drill out the small key ring hole to convert it to the larger size, but then you’ll remove the nickel plating in the ID of the hole. Will any judge look for that? Or care? Probably not. And even if they do, it’s not enough of a difference from original to be worthy of a deduction.

So, the repro keys will work. But they might be a bit tight in some looks. Having said all that, 100% correct NOS key blanks can still be found; at about 3x the cost of the $7 Paragon repros. Supply and demand, as JR notes.

More than you wanted to know, I bet.

Gary

[Donald H.]

Re: C2 key blanks

Thanks,

I got two of the ignition keys from the seller on eBay with the knockout missing and had them cut at a local locksmith and they work fine.

My curiosity was what made the key with the knockout in place worth twice as much. Supply I guess?

[Gary B.]

[Gary B.]

Re: C2 key blanks

?.

My curiosity was what made the key with the knockout in place worth twice as much. Supply I guess?

Don,

Rather than supply, I’d say demand. The vendors know that people want keys with knockouts for judging, more than keys without the knockouts. So, they charge more, because they know customers will pony up more.

Gary

[Larry E.]

Re: C2 key blanks

I just purchased some keys from Pete Lindahl and are just what I wanted. The only original key(ignition) I had for my 66 had the knockout
punched out a long time ago so I ordered the key blanks from Pete with them punched out to match the original. This is the only way I will buy the
key blanks.WHY> IF YOU THINK YOU COULD PUNCH THE KNOCKOUTS OUT (IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE GM TOOL THE
DEALERS HAD BACK THEN) YOUR MISTAKEN. THEY ARE NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOCK OUT. DON'T KNOW HOW
MANY KEYS I HAD TO THROW AWAY BECAUSE THE KEY ITSELF WOULD START BENDING UNDER THE PRESSURE. JMHO
Larry P.S. Can't understand why the Judges will not deduct points if the knockouts are present because the dealers would
always punch them out before handing the new car to the customer.

[Gary B.]

Re: C2 key blanks

[Larry E.]

Re: C2 key blanks

Gary>Why anybody back then (When the cars we have where brand new) would be running around with keys with the codes
on them is beyond me. Kinda defeats the purpose. I personally never saw anybody with a GM car that had the knockouts
still in the key. Maybe those cars today with so limited use might not make a difference but back then never saw a one.
Larry P.S. If I where a betting man I would bet to say GM had a bulletin to the dealers to punch them out for safety.

[Gary B.]

Re: C2 key blanks

[Owen L.]

Re: C2 key blanks

Larry,

Your assumption is not correct. Many owners of C1s and C2s have original keys that never had the knockouts punched out. Some dealers punched out the knockouts, some didn’t. The circular hole in the knockout plug is there so that a key ring can be used with the knockout present.

Exactly. I've owned my '67 since 1980 and it still has both original keys with the knockouts still in place. Security? I use duplicates and keep the originals in my safe!