C3 Door, Spare Tire Locks

[Tom R.]

How have others resolved this particular dilemma. I've got a glove box lock with key that matches door locks but the spare tire lock on the 78 is gone. I can pick up a lock assembly for the spare tire but than new keys which don't match anything else...so, what's the fix?

[Terry M.]

Re: C3 Door, Spare Tire Locks

Email Pete Lindahl through this site. He is the "key man" as John DeG put it.

[Gary B.]

'78 Spare Tire Lock

Tom,

Yes, you can pick up a new lock as you say. But if judging is a concern, for a '78 you'll need a lock with a K keyway, which are getting to be hard to find. Several months ago (Dec 2006) GM discontinued the last of the spare tire locks to service 63-79 Corvette. That recently discontinued GM lock was typically available in only an H keyway, which also is the keyway that all the catalog companies still sell for about $50. At least they will sell the H keyway locks until their inventories are depleted and then people looking for the H keyway locks will have to rely on other sources, the same way people now do for the B, D and K keyway locks, namely, e-bay, swap meets, Corvette dismantlers, lock restorers, etc.

Also, there is the question about whether you want a lock with a so-called B1 lock case or the B2 lock case. The B1 and B2 lock cases are noticeably different, apart from the fact that one has an B1 and other a B2 emmbossed on the bottom. Locks with both cases were sold by GM as service replacement parts. In recent years (the last 10 or more, I'm guessing) GM only sold spare tire locks with the B2 case, and some people are not convinced that the B2 case locks were actually used in production. So, not only is the keyway an issue, but the lock case is a separate issue. So, just "picking up a lock" is a little more complicated that you might have thought.

Gary

[Gary Schisler]

Re: C3 Door, Spare Tire Locks

Any reputable locksmith can rekey your "new" spare tire lock if you take him your keys and the new tire lock. In addition, your rear compartment lock has the same key code as your spare tire. You can pull this lock out with a single screw (if it's like my 72). Then you easily disassemble the outer cover and the key code is engraved or stamped into the lock. Take this key code and your new lock in and get it rekeyed.

Fwiw, Pete Lindahl walked me through this process and it is VERY easy. If you want original keys, he is your man too.

Gary

[Gary B.]

Rekeying spare tire lock; clarification

Gary & Tom,

I wanted to clarify that you cannot simply change the tumblers in an H keyway spare tire lock and make it work with a K keyway key. The H keyway lock will not accept a K key regardless if the correct tumblers are in the lock or not. Soooo, your rear compartment lock and your spare tire lock have to have the same letter keyway if you want the same key to work them.

There are such things as unrestricted or universal keyway spare tire locks that will accept all the different letter keys, but these should result in a points deduct during judging, if that matters to you.

Gary

[Gary Schisler]

Re: Rekeying spare tire lock; clarification

Gary, I have read your various posting with interest and you certainly seem to do your homework. If you interpreted it any other way, let me clarify that I was talking about functionality versus originality (judging and points). I know nothing about any keys other than what I read in my 70-72 TIM & JG and don't mean to imply that keys from one year may or may not be correct.

Pete Lindahl's help was extremely valuable in assisting me in getting the lock out and the key code visible.

Gary

[Gary B.]

Rekeying spare tire lock; clarification

Gary,

I don't know that many Corvette things, but I do try to be accurate about the few things I have learned over the years. I've been studying both the obvious and the subtle differences of 63-79 spare tire locks for a number of years now. Did you know that, depending on how you count them, there are 7 or 11 distinctly different spare tire locks from 63-79? Many of those differences have to do with different keys and keyways, but any of those 7 or 11 different locks will function on a 63 or a 79 or anything inbetween.

It's always hard to know if someone is mainly interested in functionailty or if someone is interested in mimimizing deducts during judging. I've bought too many incorrect spare tire locks for my '66 over the years and I just wanted to make sure Tom knows what to look for in case judging deducts are one of his concerns.

Gary

[Tom R.]

Re: Rekeying spare tire lock; clarification

Gary, Gary & Terry:

Most helpful and informative. Full funcationality while minimizing point deduction is the objective. Since I'm dealing with a late model C3, I shouldn't have the challenges you early C3 restorers are confronted with...thanks.