When i bought this kool49 Fleetline it had no keys for anything . I had a key made for the glove box , i was told one key fits everything ? Is this true ? The key i had made only fits the glove box, so i removed the trunk handle to have a key made for it , hoping this key will fit the doors and ingnition . Im dropping it off today so i wont know for a couple of days . Just thought someone would be able to tell me which keys fit what ? Thanks
Not sure about the 49s, but my 50 (assuming that the 49-52 models are all the same in this area) has separate keys for the ignition and trunk.
Have u visited the VCCA website. Its all chevy restorers and they know a lot about chevy. Heres a link to themhttp://vcca.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/forum_summary
You should have had a key made to fit the ignition and doors, then had the locksmith change the glovebox and trunk cylinder's to match=one key. I was told glovebox/trunk were different for security when handing off the ign/door key to a valet attendant.
Those old Chevy's were the victims of the bean counters! The glove box uses the same key as the rest, but there's one less tumbler in the cylinder. Thus, you can't get a key made for the glovie that will work anywhere else! Been there, done that! Take a cylinder out of the door and get one for it, that one will work. Well, as long as the locks are all original, after half a century or so, who knows?
The Ign could have been changed. The door lock is your best bet. and passanger door is the least used.
Thanks everyone , it seems as if they did several types of key/lock matches at random ? Anyway i just got my trunk lock key made . Havent been home to try it out in the ingnition or doors yet . I do hope this fits them , that would be real nice.
Door and ignition key. pull the door cylinder and have a lock smith make a key from it. It should fit the ignition if it has not been changed. Glove box and trunk key. take the glove box cylinder with you. This is how it came from the factory. Anything could have been changed over the years. You can buy key replacement kits from old car parts houses that have all the cylinders to replace all the keys and cylinders but that's a lot of work. If you have a lot of friends with early GM cars try their keys. There were only a few hundred possibilities for all the GM cars in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s up until they changed the shape of the keys. We have unlocked several GM cars at shows by asking for people to try their keys.
YUP! GM started a separate key for the trunk in 1965 passenger cars. Unless somebody changed the locks it should take 1 key. I usually take a door lock cylinder to the locksmith and he either makes a key from the number on the (original) cylinder. I have collected a couple rings full of old GM keys over the years and I take them with to the junkyard just in case I need to check in an old trunk for forgotten goodies. I can get in the trunk about 3 out of 5 times.
Every '49-'54 Chevy I've owned used one key code for ignition, doors, and trunk. While GM made key blanks for them with two different shaped heads, they were the same key. All General Motors cars and trucks from 1935-66 had one of 1499 key code possibilities. Most dealerships used to save stray keys and put them on a wire, and when someone lost their keys, they'd take the load of keys and start trying them until (hopefully) they found one that worked.
If one key fit all the locks, why would GM bother to issue 2 separate keys with every car? The octagon was always ign and door and the rounded one for the trunk and glove box. The odd shaped hole for the key ring is because the factory keys had the key code stamped into the elongated bottom of the key hole. An original key came with a round hole. You were told to knock out the bottom with the code on it and keep it in a safe place so that a lock smith could make a replacement if you lost the keys. Once it was knocked out you had the odd shaped hole. Anything could have happened over the years including worn tumblers that work with other keys. I don't doubt that one key may work in all the locks on some of your cars but I am saying that it didn't come from the factory that way. I've had too many GM cars from the 30s through the 60s that were keyed this way.
Ages ago I had a key out of a '64 Rivera from one junkyard, we found worked in a '56 Special in still another junkyard. If you can't find that GM hex head key blank, the shaft is also the same as 1970s AMC trunk keys, I had one cut to work in my '60 Pontiac and kept it as a spare in my wallet for ages.
<!-- icon and title --> Re: 49 Chevy with NO keys <hr style="color: rgb(229, 229, 229); background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> Door and ignition key. pull the door cylinder and have a lock smith make a key from it. It should fit the ignition if it has not been changed. Glove box and trunk key. take the glove box cylinder with you. My 47 has both original keys.
There should be a key code stamped on the extension rod on the trunk lock and the door lock. I took mine to a locksmith and he made a key from the code. Took him 5 minutes.
Over the years, I've cut many keys for these cars, and all I can say is that it didn't matter if you used the ignition key blank or the trunk key blank----different shaped heads, same key. I cut trunk key blanks when that was all I had, and they worked in the ignition, and the two original keys that came with my '57 Chevy when I bought it still had the factory knockouts in them, and they were the same code.
Oh I agree you can cut a trunk blank to work in the ignition and vice versa but on all of my GM cars the trunk key would go into the door but not turn it and the ignition key would do the same in the trunk. The purpose of the different shaped key blanks was so you could feel which key that you had in your hand in the dark. I made the mistake lots of times. As soon as the key wouldn't turn, you swapped keys in your hands and continued on. I guess there are exceptions to very rule. I can only speak about my experiences.
This is excatly what i did today . just got home and tried the new key from the trunk lock , it works in the trunk and ignition only !The new keys i had made for the glovebox only works in the glovebox ! Now i just have to get keys for the doors . The place i took them to said both parts had the ( code )#s on them so she just made a couple up . Only took 4-5 mins tops. Thanks everyone for the inputs , I may end up having everything matched , it would be so much easier..................
there were not many key differences, when i was in high school, if ya lost your key you could ask everybody to try their key in your door it didn't take long to get someone to open your door start your car for ya .
My new replacement keys are as follows. Ignition and trunk are round , the glovebox is a ocatagon. dont know about the doors but neither of the 2 i have now will work . They both fit but wont turn .
as far as i have had with my early 50's stuff both of my 51s(deluxe cars) have 2 keys but my 52(special) has just the one for the ignition, trunk, doors and glove box.
My new glove box key only fits the glovebox ! And it is GM original # on the tumbler. The new trunk key i just had made fits the trunk and the ignition, and it to has the origianl GM # on it as well. Now i just have to get keys for the doors , i may end up having them all made the same. My trunk and ignition keys are round and the glovebox keys are octagon .
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