Took the Back Seat out; now what do I do? Treasure in Trunk

[Southfork]

About 20 years ago I bought a '65 Impala Super Sport that didn't have any keys with it. I eventually borrowed an old locksmith's Master Set of 50's and 60's Chevy keys and tried them all in the door locks, ignition, glovebox door, console lock, etc. Two of the keys worked the ignition and all the doors, but not the trunk. I need to get in that trunk now that I've got a newly rebuilt 400 SBC installed in the engine bay and got the SS driveable ---- for several obvious reasons, but mainly because the guy who sold me the car back in the '80s told me there was a choice set of early five-spoke wheels and beauty rims, etc. stored in the trunk.

So-o-o, this morning I took the back seat out of the SS and when looking through the small openings in the metal panel that compartmentalizes the car interior from the trunk, I can see the five-spokes and I can also see the trunk latch. problem is, I can't see any obvious way to open the latch from the interior of the car. Anybody know how to open the trunk from inside when working from the backseat area of the 65 Chevy????

[Upchuck]

I think there should be a little slot where you can get a screwdriver into, its the slot that connects the trunk lock to the latch, might be able to grab it with some pliers to if it goes all the way thru

[ESnacky6]

the locksmith can't pick the lock..???

I'd find a different locksmith.....

[Smokin Joe]

Take it down to that key place by 17th and Yellowstone or call Mobile Lock & Key.

[manyolcars]

I have used socket wrenches on a LONG extension, 3/8 or 1/2 square stock, to take out the bolts holding the latch

[oldchevyseller]

shine a light on the latch and you will see you can trip the lock, and turn the barrel with a screw driver on the back of the latch, should be able to pop it open in a matter of seconds, it all depends how close you can reach into the latch

[Petejoe]

Call OnStar! they'll unlock it automatically for you!
Yes, If you can reach the lock, I think there's a release you can reach with a screwdriver. Hell, just drill the lock out from the outside if you have to.

[Southfork]

I can't see any slot to stick a screwdriver or some such in. Maybe I need a stronger flashlight since I'm about 5 feet from the trunck latch and it's dark in there. I'll try a more powerful light.

Hey, Joe, that locksmith you mentioned is where I borrowed the master set of Chevy keys.

BTW, another problem: the ignition switch works perfect with the new key when the ignition is not touching the dashboard. As soon as I push the switch into its hole in the dash and tighten the nut to hold it in place, no spark at the points in the distributor --- and the car doesn't start. So I have been test-driving the SS down the road with the ignitio,n switch hanging down by its wires and almost touchin the floor. I don't like doing this cause the 65 SS's gas pedal has stiffened up during all these years of sitting, and when I give it some gas, the pedal doesn't always come back on its own. I might need to turn the ignition off in a hurry because of stuck throttle and don't want to have to be leaning way down to reach the floor to do it. Anybody know why the ignition would work when not touching the dash, but not work when mounted in the dash???

Resurrecting these old cars is a hoot!

[oldchevyseller]

ok maybe yours has a thin tab coming out the back of the latch, you can turn that and it will pop the lock

[plan9]

[ QUOTE ]
Anybody know why the ignition would work when not touching the dash, but not work when mounted in the dash???


[/ QUOTE ]

sounds like you got a short somewhere. ive seen wires with their insulations sliced and brittle... they were still wrapped in factory tape. these conditions will make troubleshooting suck.

[Smokin Joe]

The trunk and glovebox should open with the same key unless somebody changed one of them. Put some WD-40 in that trunk lock and try it again. Could be just stuck. I had one I needed to lean down on the trunk lid before it would turn.

As for the ignition, sounds like something is grounding out when you touch the dash. Look for a frayed wire touching the body of the switch or between terminals.

This SS isn't blue metallic is it? Did you get it from a guy named Gambel that worked for Smith Chevrolet? Lived over by the graveyard? If so, those friggin mags were mine! I loaned them to Mike Gambel back in the 70's. When he died, his sister drove the car. Never caught up with her to get them back. Curiosity is killing me. There can't be that many 65 SS cars in this town with mags in the trunk. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Bring it over tomorrow and I'll fuck with it.

[oldchevyseller]

[ QUOTE ]
The trunk and glovebox should open with the same key unless somebody changed one of them. Put some WD-40 in that trunk lock and try it again. Could be just stuck. I had one I needed to lean down on the trunk lid before it would turn.

As for the ignition, sounds like something is grounding out when you touch the dash. Look for a frayed wire touching the body of the switch or between terminals.

This SS isn't blue metallic is it? Did you get it from a guy named Gambel that worked for Smith Chevrolet? Lived over by the graveyard? If so, those friggin mags were mine! I loaned them to Mike Gambel back in the 70's. When he died, his sister drove the car. Never caught up with her to get them back. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Bring it over tomorrow and I'll fuck with it.

[/ QUOTE ]yeha that sounds right, 20 yrs and they turn up, stranger things have happened http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Smokin Joe]

Mike was one of my best buddies in high school. I was in the NAVY planning on getting leave and we were going to swap the wheels out on Mike's car when I got home. He died in a work accident and I didn't make it home because we had to go to sea. I'd planned on getting married on that trip too, and Mike was going to be my best man, but that's another story.If the trim rings were in the car, there's probably a set of baby moons too that were on his old wheels. Mike told me he had the wheels in the trunk ready to go a week before he died. This has really got me curious now. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[oldchevyseller]

well that would be cool

,sounds like a match

[Deuce Rails]

[ QUOTE ]
About 20 years ago I bought a '65 Impala Super Sport that didn't have any keys with it...I need to get in that trunk now that I've got a newly rebuilt 400 SBC installed in the engine bay and got the SS driveable... the guy who sold me the car back in the '80s told me there was a choice set of early five-spoke wheels and beauty rims, etc. stored in the trunk.

[/ QUOTE ]

It took you over twenty years to see if there really were wheels in the trunk???

[Southfork]

YE-A-aH, SUCCESS!

Manyolcar's suggestion was the one I decided to use, and it worked! Since there was no slot in the latch and those tiny tab things don't always work, I decided to use a 7/16 socket on a long extension. I got a 10-foot length of 1/2 inch rebar and whacked off 4 feet. Then I welded the socket one one end and a foot-long "T" handle on the other end. In 1 minute I had the two short bolts out that hold the part the latch latches to, and then the trunck opened right up! I can now oil up the latch with WD-40 and see if i can get the glovebox key to work the trunk latch, but so far it hasn't. If I have to, I can take now easily take it to a locksmith in the big town (Idaho Falls).

So what treasure did I find in the trunk? Well, there were six wheels --- all 4 original 14-inch SS wheels (with the "SS" in the wheel center hub, and two early after-market mag Five-spokes that I haven't yet identified. I also found some of the headlight assembly trim, etc.

As to the "mystery" raised by Smokin Joe ....
Sorry, Joe, the 65 SS is white, except for a replacement fender (which is blue), so I guess it's not the same one your buddy had. I've had it about 20 years and got it from a guy in Firth, Idaho. There was a blue one in Idaho Falls that had a 'For Sale' sign in the window the year before last, and there's another white one in this two-bit town of Rigby that I live in. There was another killer '65 SS in my town a few years ago with air shocks under the back that jacked the rear up giving it a wicked stance, but that one plowed into a deer and ruined the grill, hood, etc, it was later sold off to California.

Anyway, thanks everybody for all the suggestions, both about getting the trunk open and also about the problem with the ignition switch. I'll take a closer look at the wiring going to the switch in the morning to see if I can spot a frayed wire.

[Southfork]

I never really got too excited about verifying that good wheels were in the trunk, because I didn't have it running until now, and 'I guess I just took the seller at his word. I remember him saying that they were in there, and I guess I believed him because he held firm on his $500 asking price, insisting that "the wheels in the trunk are worth half that, and the car only has 75,000 miles on it."

[Smokin Joe]

Snap a picture or 2.

I checked out the blue one that was for sale and that wasn't Mike's either. The guy wanted too much for it too.

My wheels were a set of ET's
Also a pair of Ansen Sprints for the back. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif