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  #11  
Old 01-26-2020, 02:37 PM
Postsedan Postsedan is offline
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Yes, but GM did not design it that way. The trunk lock was always the round key.
Why go against the GM makers, LOL!

Dan
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  #12  
Old 01-26-2020, 03:58 PM
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All of the original cores for the locks issued in each year had individual keyways back in the '70s and '80s. That means the cylinder was milled/grooved to accept a specific key section such as the following:

1969 Camaro Door Lock - Section E Keyway (Square Head Ignition Key Profile Only)
Note: this matched the grooves of the ignition key in 1969. Key codes are found on original locks!

1969 Camaro Trunk Lock - Section H Keyway (Round Head Trunk Key Profile Only)
Note: the glove box door was also grooved to match this key section and was keyed alike to the trunk in '69.

These key sections A/B, C/D, E/H, J/K were used in each year beginning in the late '60s through the 1980s and were duplicated every 4 subsequent years. For example, E/H was used in 1969 and again every 4 years until they moved into the VATS and later key sections in the late 1980s. This is when Briggs & Stratton locks became part of the Strattec Corporation who make all of the electronic locks paired to smart keys today.

In the late 80's they did away with the restricted key sections for the door lock service pack cores and the trunk lock service pack cores. This meant that the service pack cores had the milling inside the cores opened to accept any of the (8) key profiles. This effectively allowed them to make one core that could be used for any year as a service part. It was then used to service GM dealers and the automotive locksmith market through Briggs and Strattec Corp and remains that way today.

The dust-keeper door was changed in the late '70s as a "redesign" specified by GM. This was for two reasons. One was because people would often try and put an aftermarket key into the locks and/or sometimes their house keys, and they would always get caught on the tab you are referring to where the shutter would then break off its locating pin and jamb inside the lock case. I used to see locks all the time with broken dust shields and this was the primary reason why. The straight cut flap was designed to negate the shutters being jammed and breaking inside the face cap when someone would enter a foreign key into the lock. Also, GM shortened the milling in the key blade in the mid to late '70s and newer keys would bind on the gate and also cause them to break. As said above, these newer styled dust shields have been this way for decades now. Even the factory coded door service pack and trunk service pack with "year specific milling" in the cores use these straight-cut door flaps and dust-keepers. Again, this has been the OEM spec since the change was implemented by GM and that was a long time ago.

If you want to key your car to one specific key, you can now do that by using an uncoded service pack door or trunk core. This would allow you to recode a trunk lock and the glove box core to your current door/ignition key if you chose to do so. In fact, GM has been offering these features since the '70s as all police and emergency vehicles, military vehicles and fleet cars including taxi's had all locks coded to a single key.

To answer this question for Chevyman0429
Quote:
Originally Posted by chevyman0429 View Post
I have the two gm door locks and original ignition for one of my 69 chevelles however no keys and no trunk lock ! Can the keys be fitted to my existing locks and if I can come up with a gm trunk lock could the same key be made to fit all three locks?

Yes, any locksmith can use the code from your door lock or ignition lock case and cut a new key by code. Once the key is cut, the trunk can be rekeyed using a GM service pack core without keyway restriction. That would then allow the trunk lock to be coded to your E key section as used in the door and ignition. If you want the glove box to match, you would also use a service pack core for the glove box as well. Any locksmith who services automotive should be able to do this for you.
All the original Briggs and Stratton locks I use to code kits are the same locks GM has used for the past 3 decades. If you want to use the original cores and dust keepers that are in your original locks, that is easily done by taking your locks to any locksmith who services automotive. I doubt many of the new school locksmiths of the past 20 years know much about this stuff, so I would suggest when seeking a local locksmith, find an ALOA Certified CPL or CML who has a few decades of experience like myself. Most of us with CPL and CML designations have been servicing locks and cars since the '70s and '80s and know a thing or two about these.

I learned a lot of my craft from the best locksmiths to have ever practiced the craft. This included many courses from Len White (Briggs & Stratton Locks) and others like Hank Spicer. There were lots of drinking nights and stories shared between all of us back in the day. I hope this info services to help some of you with your locks and keys.

A final word to the quality of original USA made locks and that of all the clones that have flooded the market in the past 10-15 years. All of the made in China clones that are now on the market from places like D&R and many other restoration resellers including eBay are cheap knock offs. None of these locks or keys are the same USA made quality that originally came from Briggs & Stratton (Strattec Corp). The USA originals have high nickel content in the keys, knock out codes with original stamps, original "valid" key codes and correct fonts with the original GM coining on the heads of the keys. The lock cases are also better quality castings and materials, and the faceplates and chroming process are of higher quality than any of the clones now being offered. Another thing to watch for with the clones is that many of the offshore locks use the exact same key section and key coding for large groups of locks. This means that the guy with the restored car using cheap lock kits may be parked next to another with the exact same locks and keys!



Im out of here! (lol)
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Last edited by NorCam; 01-27-2020 at 03:01 AM.
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  #13  
Old 01-26-2020, 05:39 PM
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I rebuilt ours in the Yenko but now use OEM ones from PY Classic locks (available through Ground Up) but remember to specify OE locks with the slots.
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  #14  
Old 01-26-2020, 06:05 PM
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I saw Paul Spots post in another forum offering these lock kits. They are using the exact same locks I have been using and putting together for the past 20 years. The only thing different is they are using used original dust shields for anyone wanting them to look concourse correct down to the shutter door, but with the same cores I use. They are also using the staked caps for recoded door locks. These look fine when installed, but NCRS deducts points if the locks have been rekeyed and the cylinders do not have crimped on caps. I still have some coded pairs of NOS original door locks with staked on caps for those who want a perfect concourse set of locks. Just have to find them here.

It's nice to see other guys have picked up where I left off. I stopped offering these kits publicly about 15 years ago and used to sell a complete lock kit for $125 plus shipping back then. I only do them for people I know these days. It appears Paul is charging $60-$80 for the Ignition and Doors, and another $60-80 for the trunk and glove box. Here what they appear to be offering in terms of kits.

Quote:
We have a good supply of original NOS 1969 ignition cylinders - both coded and uncoded. All 1969 GM cars use a square head "E" key and a oval or round "H" key. The E key was used for the ignition and doors locks. The H key is for the glove and trunk. GM repeated this code every 4 years. When new, the keys had knock outs with a 4 digit code. Some dealers "knocked" these out, some left them as is. We have both red line and non red line E coded ignition cylinders. From my research, the most common one is the red line. Correct door locks in 69 have a small notch in the shutter where the key enters. These are no longer made and most replacement door locks have a perfectly shaped rectangle(no notch). A true original or NOS door lock will be factory crimped as well. The key codes are also stamped on the door lock case. We do not have any of these door locks. We can, however, use available kits and use the notch shutter for correctness. These kits use a 4 tab retainer that is not seen when installed. So looks wise they will appear NOS. We will offer correct style 69 door and ignition sets with NOS "E" keys (with knock outs and codes) for $60 a set. Our part number will be PY106B69C. If you want your correct code and we have it, the price will be $80.00 a set. If we do not, we can make the set but keys will not have knock out or code and we can not guarantee the key blanks will be NOS. The current E and H key blanks and NOS ones are nearly identical.

On the glove and trunks - we only have the reproduction glove inserts and trunk locks, but same as the doors - we can use the notched shutter and supply NOS coded "H" key blanks Price on those kits will be $60.00 or $80 for your code. part number will be PY197C69
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  #15  
Old 01-27-2020, 12:46 AM
chevyman0429 chevyman0429 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Postsedan View Post
Yes, but GM did not design it that way. The trunk lock was always the round key.
Why go against the GM makers, LOL!

Dan
Dan excuse my ignorance but I for some reason or the other was thinking the door locks also used the round key! Lol
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  #16  
Old 01-27-2020, 02:48 AM
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GM moved to use the round key in the door locks and started coding the doors with the trunk locks in around 1971 if I recall correctly. They also stopped putting key codes on the lock case at this time as thieves learned that pulling a door lock would net them with the key code for the ignition as well. It was said that GM instructed B&S to change this in order to assist in cutting down on car thefts from keys being cut to code. I have forgotten so much of this stuff over the years that I opened a few of my old Briggs & Stratton technical manuals tonight and refreshed myself on a few service bulletins. The dust shield door itself is pushed open by the key and that gated slot in the shutter face used to fit the side milling of the key blade. Upon being fully inserted the key would park the dust shield at 90 degrees and it fits into an opening that was cast into the core of the lock. When GM and Briggs shortened the keys up in the late '70s, they also shortened the side milled groove in the keys and the dust shield had to be changed to eliminate the gate as it didn't work well with the shorter keys including most of the aftermarket blanks from Ilco and Curtis which would bind.

So it's now been about 45 years since they redesigned the dust shield shutter. If you use the original gated shutters with the newer or shortened key blanks, chances are it will bind and/or break inside the lock when you put the wrong blank into the lock. With that being said, if you're going to use the old original shutters, make sure you stick to using the older key blanks and not the newer ones with a shortened slot milled onto the side of the key blade. These old original keys are becoming harder to find nowadays so if you see some NOS GM key blanks, buy some and have them cut to code by your local locksmith. It's better to have them code cut rather than duplicated since code cutting is much more accurate on both the spacing and depths. Any good locksmith can code cut them just a fast and any duplicate key is cut. If you have your key codes it makes it even easier.

Your car will love you for it.

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Last edited by NorCam; 01-27-2020 at 10:55 AM.
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  #17  
Old 01-27-2020, 01:58 PM
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Anyone ever find any Rochester Products NOS blanks? I need a trunk key for 68. My car had one B&S and one RP, I still have the coded originals but would like a duplicate.

BIG
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  #18  
Old 07-04-2020, 07:51 PM
68camaroz28 68camaroz28 is offline
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Info concerning 68 keys and locks from our master locksmith including orig tool to punch cut keys as originally. https://www.camaros.net/threads/time...ost-1783083619
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  #19  
Old 07-04-2020, 08:14 PM
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Those are Curtis #14 clippers and they are not how the keys were originally cut. Original keys were cut on an automatic code machine. I stopped using those clippers back in the 80's when they were replaced by Curtis #15 clippers.

The clippers actually cut the keys at a 45 degree angle and the cuts are then beveled. Code machines cut a much better key. Just an FYI
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