I was given a set of unmolested older gold plated keys with the Cadillac crest on them. Is there a site that can help me determine what year Cadillacs the keys are for based on shaft length etc?
Thanks
Bob
Unmolested meaning uncut? Or just not very used? Are you talking about the late 60's to 90's square and round keys?
uncut & square.
Bob
The key blanks for all GM cars began in 1936 and were identical through part of 1966. Prior to that, blanks (keys) had a double bit (the part that is cut). In addition, the 36-66 blanks were identical for hex head, round head, and the special head used in 60S models only for 38-41 ignition-door.
I had a 66 Cadillac, and my key blanks worked in those locks. BUT, a friend of mine had a 66 Cadillac, obviously a later build, and he had the new blanks for that year.
The key codes were shown as 4 numerals, and there was a chart, telling the depths of cut for the 6 places in the key bit. While I do have the chart, they're possibly sort of scarce. I never counted the key combinations, but there are lots!
Regarding the special key for the 38-41 60S cars (Ignition), I understand that they can be found, but if you inquire about the price, have smelling salts handy. Fortunately, I have original keys for both my38-60S, and the 41-60S.
The 68 shop manual has a key code “decoder†if you will. It shows there are six positions for the tumblers and 5 levels for each position. By my math that comes to 15,625 possible combinations. When you consider the production numbers you can tell there are a lot of cars that use the same key.
I remember my neighbor had bought a new 57 Chevy Station wagon, the wife went to the shopping center and when she came back home she realized the car she brought home was equipped with a radio, the car they bought was not. The police were called and it was all straightened out. But her key fit the other car.
Thanks for the responses. From a few other CLC members the consensus is the keys are from the 60s or 70s but no one so far has been able to give me a definitive group of years the keys fit. Occasionally ebay has Cadillac keys for sale so I'll monitor the site & see if a set show up that have similar dimensions.
Bob
Quote from: 13912 on April 29, 2015, 01:40:33 AM
I was given a set of unmolested older gold plated keys with the Cadillac crest on them. Is there a site that can help me determine what year Cadillacs the keys are for based on shaft length etc?
Thanks
Bob
Sounds like the special "Presentation Keys". I believe they came in a jewel box.
You say they've never been cut? To be certain, please post a photo.
**I thought a "decoder ring" was what Ralphie used for the Ovaltine contest. ;D
Picture? The ignition key for our 68 Calais is gold with a round blue and gold emblem on it.
Starting in 1966 or '67, they changed from a groove 15. I don't know what the new groove number was.
Did you contact Joey Jesser? He'd know.
Maybe he got those:
These are from ca 1990 I believe; I can sell that set if someone is interested.
The keys in the photo started when the ignition got moved to the column? Which was 67? And lasted till around 95 for most models?
I believe they were only identified by a letter. Seems like the owners manuals said which blanks were OE for that year.
I think A, C, E, J were the square ones and B, D, H, K were the round ones. There was a slightly different designation for the later ones that had the plastic cover and the also added the 'chips'. I think there were 15 different chips so with those that made 30 'different' blanks before they were even cut.
If you have some that are not identified you can look online for a profile picture. IF they have the chip in them you can ID that with an ohm meter.
With how easy and fairly inexpensive the locks are to change in most cars I would not order keys based on what was supposed to be in the car. I did that one time and found out somewhere over the 40 years the ignition was changed.
Quote from: Roger Zimmermann on May 01, 2015, 02:47:07 AM
Maybe he got those:
These are from ca 1990 I believe; I can sell that set if someone is interested.
That style key was a part of the "Gold Key Delivery System" which began in 1984. Since they lack the chip which was part of the anti theft system, those keys predate 1990. I believe the letter code determines year compatibility. As TJ mentions, they are not interchangeable across all model years. For example, a certain letter code fits 1976 & 1983 (IIRC).
Still waiting for a picture of the OP's keys...
Folks,
Do a search using the words "key combinations"
You will find in the post an entry by Tim Pawl which specifies which keys fit which year car. Was posted in 2011.
The Johnny
Here is what Tim Pawl said:
Quote from: Tim Pawl CLC#4383 on June 21, 2011, 07:50:19 AM
Guys for your info, the Blank style of the keys repeated years as well. Did you ever see the "letter" on your keys indicating what "Blank" to use . Here are the codes versus years for the various blanks A & B years 1967,1971,1975,1979 C & D years 1968,1972,1976 E & F years 1969,1973, 1977 G & H years 1970, 1974, 1978 Tim Pawl CLC#4383
Were original keys issued in 1972 gold or silver in color?