Going to order new ignition, door & glove box locks. Was the door and glove box the same key and the ignition another?
DOM
DOM
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Dom,
For '67 the primary (octagonal) key works the doors and the ignition. The secondary (pear-shaped) key works the glove box lock and the spare tire lock.
Gary -
Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
DOM - Adding to Gary's post. For '67 the octagon head key should have the "A" code & the pear head key should have the "B" code.
I don't know where or from whom you are going to get your "new" '67 ignition, door, & GB locks, but if you are looking for originality &/or planning to have the car judged in NCRS, many if not most of the locks being sold have what I will call a "universal" keyway where any GM letter key can be inserted into the lock but of course the key must have the correct cut to operate the lock. The original '67 locks had what I would call "specific" keyways so only the "A" code keys could be inserted into the ignition & door locks & only the "B" code keys could be inserted into GB & spare tire locks & only the correctly cut key would operate the locks. The '67 judges are supposed to check that the "A" code key cannot be inserted into the GB & spare tire locks & the "B" code key cannot be inserted into the ignition & door locks & assess a deduction if the locks fail the check.
Let the buyer beware.
PeteComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Thanks Gary & peter,
Peter I was about to get bit. I was going to buy the set from LIC.
My old key was brass and is so worn that I just about gave up on getting the ignition cylinder out when I restored my cluster.
I've had this car sooo long that I don't remember changing locks which we did rather than going to a lock smith when a key was lost back in the 70's.
I will take a look and see if I can tell by looking at the tumblers.
When I got the vette in 1971 it was doomed for scrap and was going to be parted out as they were only worth about 1500.00.
I didn't want the BB as they had their valve train problems but bought it any way and saved it car from the vulchers.
I don't remember if I re-keyed it then as I am sure it didn't come with keys and I was a mechanic at a chevy dealership where the locks & keys were available.
On the other hand I do remember the parts guy handing me a few dozen keys on a chain and telling me that there were only 20 something keys used and one should fit which he would duplicate. Don't remember if it was the vette.
DOMComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
DOM,
I'm not sure what your parts guys was referring to when he said there were 20-something keys. But with the start of the letter keys with the A and B keyways in '67, there was a total of 4,000 different codes for the A keys and 4,000 different codes for the B keys. Then '68 had a new set of keyways (C, D) and 8,000 new codes, etc. This is compared to a total of only 1500 different codes used from 1935 thru 1966, with the exact same codes used every one of those years.
GaryComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Gary, What are new uncut GM A blank keys worthComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Gary,
That's good info. He was refering to 20 something combinations and was leading me to believe that one of his keys would work.
He said it was the lost key chain they used when misplacing a customer key.
I can see that there would be thousands.
On a different key situation: I have a key that works in about half the airplanes it fits in. I have given many away here. Some say its a master key, (not as in master locks) and sometimes it needs to be worked back & forth to work. Strange.
DOMComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
DOM,
Speaking of master keys, I have a high-quality set of sixty-four Baxter GM try-out keys that are described by the manufacturer as being able to open 85% of all GM locks for '66 and earlier. Basically this try-out set is as close as one can get to GM "master" keys. I've tried using that Baxter set five times with a total of zero successes. I find it much quicker to open a tire lock with no key using lock pick tools rather then even try going thru all sixty-four of the try-out keys. There is no such thing as a master key or set of master keys when it comes to GM locks. A master key set that would open all 1500 different codes for '66 and earlier GM locks would consist of 1500 different "master" keys.
GaryComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Ralph,
Prices for NOS GM keys with the knockouts in place continue to rise as availability continues to decline. Some of the "no-R" GM octagonal blanks (Dec 1962 and earlier) with the knockout in place sell for up to $50 per blank on e-bay. The least expensive GM blanks with knockouts in place are often in the $10 to $15 range, but others are in the $20 to $25 range. It all depends on which blank you're looking for and whether it has the small or big key hole in the knockout. Blanks with the knockout plug removed are understandably much cheaper.
As an aside, some of the catalog companies are now selling repro blanks, but I've found that some of those repro blanks will not insert properly into some locks. Somehow the companies screwed up on some of the keyway dimensions. So, while the repro blanks are relatively cheap at $3 to $5 each, you might be wasting your money depending on the lock you have.
GaryComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Gary - The 64 keys set is designed to open 85% of the pre-1966 GM ignition & door locks that use the lock bar configuration & they don't help in opening the spare tire locks so "picking" the spare tire locks is the way to go. PeteComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
Pete,
I'll give a side-bar lock a try. I sure would like to those try-out keys work at least once in my lifetime.
GaryComment
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Re: 67 keys, which locks used what?
PS. Pete, to my defense, as far as I know, nowhere does Baxter state that their try-out key sets only work on side-bar locks. In the eyes of a court of law, their 85% success claim would apply to all '66 and earlier GM locks.
GaryComment
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