Hi
I went to get keys made for my 1953 Cadillac and the locksmith told me that the 53s came from Cadillac with only one key that fits everything (ignition,doors,trunk an glovebox). I disagree and say they came with two, one for the doors and ignition and the other for the trunk and glove box. Can anyone tell me for sure on how they came ? Joe T
PS Of my two keys, one has an 8-sided head and the other has a round head. Thanks
Isn't it good when occassionally you can tell someone "I am right and you are wrong". You need to have that conversation with your locksmith. There are several ways to go about this . . . .The Tarzan way ie "Me Tarzan , you Jane" with appropriate finger gesturing. The US government way ie send in an airstrike. Or the 13 years of marriage way ie you go to your back yard where you can't be seen or heard and whisper it quietly under your breath ,while doing an Indian tribal dance. Q
ps the hex key is glove and trunk and the round door and ignition.
Joe,
They are WRONG! Two keys. The squared off one is for the ignition and the doors and the rounded one for the trunk and glove box.
Did they start doing this way in 1953 ? and for which reason ? my 1952 needs only one key for doors, ignition and trunk (no glove box lockbutton). I still have the GM original key with numbers stamped on it, although I use a newer key.
Quote from: P W Allen CLC# 20193 on October 31, 2011, 03:25:55 PM
Joe,
They are WRONG! Two keys. The squared off one is for the ignition and the doors and the rounded one for the trunk and glove box.
IT WAS LATE, I WAS TIRED, I WAS THINKING OF OTHER THINGS, YOU ARE RIGHT, I AM :-\ :-[ ??? . . . . . w r o n g :-X
Quentin,
You forgot the 28 years of fatherhood way (or maybe you just haven't got there yet!):
Hand write it (you can still do that, Yeah?) on a piece of paper, fold it eight times and place it in a plain envelope addressed "Whatever". Place the envelope under your heaviest tool box in the garage that your kids would never be found dead in ('cos it stinks of penetrating oil and kerosene) in the knowledge that they will surely find it when you are dead and they are selling up every bloody thing of yours they can lay there hands on.
Last laugh! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Guys,
You always FORCE me to dig out either my MPB or look at an invoice.
In this case the invoice for my 53 & a friends 53 invoice both show TWO keys. Cadillac used 2 keys for years & I'm not sure if they ever went to one key.
Hope this settles the discussion. LOL, Bob
From the 1937 shop manual:
Quote from: Bob Hoffmann CLC#96 on October 31, 2011, 09:09:18 PMCadillac used 2 keys for years & I'm not sure if they ever went to one key.
I bought my '52 in the 1990s with only one brass key, looking original. I had a duplicate cut at that time from a GM blank (pictures below). I mostly use the duplicate and keep the original at home.
Both actuate all locks (doors, trunk, ignition) on the car. Could it be a special order ? Or an exported-cars-only feature ? Or a cylinder replacement ?
Could a previous owner have had the car re-keyed for both keys to have the same 'code'?
Ray Schuman
Quote from: Raymond919 on November 04, 2011, 11:36:49 AM
Could a previous owner have had the car re-keyed for both keys to have the same 'code'?
Ray Schuman
That would be my guess.
The original code is stamped somewhere on the lock cylinder or the door handle depending on year. By comparing the code on the door and trunk locks you could find the answer.
The original answer is that there were two keys. The modern answer may be there is one key. The problem I had the last time I needed a key copied was the round headed blank wasn't avalible to my key maker. The blank for both round and hex is the same so they only were making (stocking?) the one blank,but it can be used for either. Warren
When I bought by 53 CDV in the 80's from original owner, he had already duplicated both keys into one by an expert locksmith, so one key fit all four spots. good and bad. Dave