any tricks or tips on how to unlock the steering column on a Zephyr? I bought two parts cars and do not have keys and would like not to destroy the locks. Thanks
The other option might be getting your hands on a whole bath of old keys that fit the locks where one might turn it to unlock it then you can get the lock unlocked and take it to a lock smith and have a key made. I think Pist-n-Broke's suggestion of finding an old locksmith that knows the old ways holds sway when you carry the parts in the door of a lock shop too.
Not sure how FoMoCo did things, but GM used a round plate below the steering wheel, with notches the locking pin clocked into. Just remove the steering wheel, removed the plate, and replace the steering wheel. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
This is actually as good an idea as @Pist-n-Broke 's idea of an old locksmith. Ford like many companies did not use that many keys. Just for grins in January I went to look at a car and when we got there the man remembered that he didn't have the key to the gate. It had a Masterlock padlock on the gate and I just happened to have my lucky key ring with me. It has a Masterlock key on it (although I don't remember what it is for) so I said, "Let me give it a try." Slid the key in the lock wiggled it a little bit and Bam the key turned the lock and opened it. So two very good suggestionss here.
If it is a six pin lock, there is something like 32 different keys that will open it. It has to do with how the tumblers break. They will open it but if used continuously they will mess up things inside. Look for U-tube video on "lock sport" It will teach you how to pick locks. Some go in depth and have a lot of info on how a lock works. A Master lock is a 30 second or less pick.
Most manufacturers don't use that many keys. Its not like everyone has a different key for the 100s of thousands of locks made.
For what it's worth..... finding an "old locksmith " is a problem today. Almost all old locksmiths that made a living fixing auto locks in the 50's are REEEEALLY old now... (as in dead). Today not many locksmiths want to bothered with an old car( if they even know anything about it )when they can charge a good buck just to open Moms Toyota. Yes, I know there may be a few out there... but less and less every day. To make a key for that LZ try taking the door lock cylinder out of the door. It should have a code number on it. A few guys out there (I'm one of them) can cut a key to that code. It should work the ignition too. Or you can drill the ignition cylinder locking pin out and take the code off that cylinder. I'm on the Fordbarn... 32phil. PM me on the 'Barn and I'll call you back and try to help/walk you through it. Just an FYI in 1932, Ford had 250 different keys for the 1932 model year. After that, they added a two more pin SIZES and then the different keys numbered in the thousands from 1934 and up. The Ford locks always had five sets of tumblers. The different combinations were created by using mixed sets of pin sizes in random order, each set of 5 having it's own distinct code number.
Not necessarily,I vividly remember my aunt got in someones identical 58 Chevy,3 on the tree,black sedan and stuck the key in the ignition of the car,she figured out it wasn't her car because the seat was too far back and there was a large box sitting on the back seat. HRP
I called a Locksmith and asked what he would charge to open my condo when I lost the key. He said $300. That's the way locksmiths are in today's world. What did I do? Broke a window, removed the glass pieces and crawled through. It cost $35 to get the window repaired and 5 minutes to clean up. Sometimes you have to come up with alternative methods.
I'm curious too, I have a really nice 33/34 Ford column with the drop/lock on it and I would love to have a key for it without trying to drill it out and potentially destroy it. If Ford really only used 30 or so key cuts, is there anywhere a guy could just buy them all? The lock picking/key videos sound interesting too but will they apply to 30's era Ford stuff? I doubt that is their focus, not sure if it would make a difference or not.
I just finished building a large project for my son and daughter in law, where they live in two floors above their business. We bought 8 locking door knobs for all the exterior doors from Lowe's and it is amazing that about a quarter of the eight have interchangeable keys. Couldn't believe it. I also used to dispatch a fleet of 38 peterbilt trucks, and when someone lost a key, you just went to the office in the shop. ON the back of the door, we had a key crossover chart that showed which keys fit which trucks. They had a code stamped on the key that was something like C173. The crossover chart for our 38 trucks had probably 3 or 4 trucks that used the same keys. I always said, if you had a key for one of those, and went to a truck stop, and there were 4 trucks on the lot, your key would likely open at least one of them. As my 4 year old grandson says, "simply amazing".
Years ago a friend went to a wedding reception and had a few too many. He left, went to the parking lot, and drove away in his new Bonneville. The next day, the police were at the door and arrested him for auto theft. Here he had driven away in an almost identical car that his key worked in. It took a while, but it got straightened out in a while with no penalties. They didn't even go after him for a DWI, because of course, he had sobered up. I wouldn't count on it going that easily today.
My nephew is a serious MoPar builder. He produced a 9" diameter key ring with 60 Chrysler products' keys, he had collected them from various Bay Area auto wreckers over 10+ years. We had to repo a mid-'70s Dodge one weekend, Otto walked up and was in and leaving in less than a minute. My '47 Ford sedan is the last of the lock columns in that series, ('48 on didn't use the column lock any longer) my ignition key worked, but you had to 'wiggle' it... One day it wouldn't do the trick any longer, a 'locksmith' said a new key from a blank wouldn't work, but I asked about just buying the blank, I'd file it by hand. "None of those blanks in my book, they're all gone..." were his last words. Last words, because I'll never darken his doorway again.
When you look at the above pic you can see how a lock works. Notice the tumbler is next to the key. When they line up correctly the lock will turn. There is a spacer between the spring ant the tumbler, the lock will also turn at that spot if it lines up to turn. Eventually the spring will wear and foul up the works. That is why one key will make different locks turn. @porknbeaner
If it's anything like most early Ford column drops, there should be a break off bolt that holds the lock cylinder in place. You can probably drill it out with a reverse drill bit and remove the lock cylinder from the drop. Then you can take the cylinder to a lock smith and have a key made or just replace the cylinder. I use a set screw to retain the cylinder on reassembly.
my buddy bought a 47 ford truck without a door key it had a late model coulum. took it to a lock smith to have a key wiggled and cut the locksmith went out to do it seen a number on the key cyl checked on a computer program punched in the number that cut a key
Back in 1968 i had a 55 chevy, friend had a 64 impala, another had a 67 GTO.We could all start each others car. Gm products back then were notorius for that, especially if you had a worn old key.
If it still has the door lock cylinder, take it to a locksmith and have a key made for it.. Should be the same key as the column lock.. At least it was on my 38 Ford with the same problem...
If you look on the display boxes they all have a key code plainly visible. You can mix and match. If you go to the hardware desk in Lowe's they have a Schlage tumbler kit and will rekey the locks for free. Make them all different, or all the same, or match a key if the existing key blank matches a new door lock.
H380 is right, they intentionally have several sets available with the same key so you can put lock sets on all of your exterior doors at one property and they will all have matching keys, for convenience. If you want every door to have a specific key, you have to pick out that many different key coded boxes.
THRILL3R. Been there and done that. The Zephyr uses the same approach as the Ford, but in keeping with Lincoln's upscale image, it's a bit more sophisticated. The steering column lock is a "saddle" device which mounts to the column but is hidden inside the dash, with just the lock peeking through. The "saddle" is held in place with two bolts with "break away" heads. On installation, you apply enough torque to seat the bolts firmly and then twist the heads off. To remove the saddle, drill out the mounting bolt heads and use an easy out to remove the remaining portion of the bolts. The lock will then come out. It looks like this. You have now freed the steering column. You can bring the lock to someone who can make keys. Some big box stores (Home Depot, etc.) have employees in the key/lock section who can make a key at reasonable cost. Lucas
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