spaire tire lock re key

[Denny J.]

C -3 1972 I bought a after market spaire tire lock and wany to know can I rekey to my original keys my self. Or is this a lock smith job.I like to do thing my self.Denny

[Gary B.]

Spare tire lock rekey

Denny,

To rekey the lock you need a supply of the correct wafer tumblers and there is the question as to whether your year car has the same keyway as the lock, since the keyway changed each year staring in 1967. Please mail me off-line and I can give you the details and I may be able to help you out. My e-mail is: beaupre@va51.stanford.edu.

Gary

[Harmon C.]

Re: spaire tire lock re key

Denny

If the new spare tire lock has the same keyway as your 72 I can walk you through how to remove the cylinder and make your key work. If the key way needs to be changed I would head for a locksmith. The new spare tire locks I have seen in the last few years usally have a keyway correct for 1973.

Lyle

[Gary B.]

PS to my previous posting

Lyle,

The first thing to determine is if your existing glove box key will insert into the lock you have. If so, then the keyways match (or the lock is a so-called unrestricted or universal keyway lock) and then recoding the lock is definitely possible, provided the lock can be opened (e.g., picked), which is the one minor hitch.

gary

[John D.]

Re: Spare tire lock rekey

Gary, What ever happened to your buddy Peter Lindahl? IS he OK? Haven't heard from him in ages and don't see his name on the DB. John

[Gary B.]

Pete is fine. Maybe had too much Jan 1 champagne? *NM*

[Peter L.]

Re: spare tire lock re key

Denny - Bottomline is the to be "correct" the spare tire lock keyway needs to match the rear compartment lock key keyway. If I have it right, the original keyway for the spare tire lock for 72 should be a "D" keyway, so if you are planning to have the car judged or just maintain originality, you'll want to have a "D" keyway spare tire lock.

So if the lock you have hasd a "D" keyway, Gary can walk you thru rekeying it to work with your compartment key. If it's not a "D" keyway, I suggest to look for a "D" keyway spare tire lock because modification of the keyway should be detected in the judging process.

Pete

[Gary B.]

See John? Pete is alive and well. *NM*

[Harmon C.]

Re: spare tire lock re key

All
If D is the keyway for 72 I think you will find that E keyway is what the vendors all sell. If you have the key to a spare tire lock it removes easy you just insert a correct size drill bit smooth end to the bottom of the hole and turn the key and pull to remove the cylinder. If you get it out and your keyway is the same a quick fix is to insert the new key and file or grind off the high ones till it is smooth and round with the original key in the cylinderand insert back into the lock. The results will be a spare tire lock that won't open with a screwdriver or the wrong keyway but lots more keys with the same keyway may open the lock. From the out side no one but you will know all the pins aren't being used and the job can be done in less time than it took to read this.

Lyle

[Gary B.]

H keyway locks are still available

Lyle,

The spare tire lock that GM still sells as a service replacement part has an H keyway. So, if one has a '69, '73, '77 or '81 Corvette they're lucky since the H keyway is correct for those years. People who need B, D or K keyway locks for judging purposes will have to find a used or NOS lock with the correct keyway.

Gary