Garbled

I recently got a 1968 Cutlass 442 and it came with only one set of keys. A set of 3 keys. Obviously I will need an extra set so I ordered some blanks off of Ebay, but I am wondering why I have 3 keys instead of two.

The first (pear/C) is the trunk/glovebox and is a Rochester Products Division key.

The second (octagon/D) is for the doors, and is a Briggs & Stratton key.

The third (octagon/D) is the ignition and is a Rochester Products Division key. This key has two small notches in each side (see picture), that appear to be original.

The obvious answer to me is that the doors came from another Cutlass, hence the extra key, but that doesn't explain the little notches in the sides of the ignition key. I have photos of the car prior to its restoration, and the doors on that picture look perfect. Another reason that replacement doors does not seem like the correct answer. All three keys appear to have the same level and type of wear on them, making me think they have been together a long time.

Has anyone seen a key like my ignition key with the notches before?

Why Rochester Products Division and not Briggs & Stratton? I thought they all were Briggs & Stratton?

Should I have 3 keys made for the car or can a locksmith rework the door locks to match the ignition or vise-versa? Do I even want to do this, and just stick with 3 keys?

Any help with this conundrum is appreciated.

svnt442

My guess on the notches is the owner did that at some point in time to differentiate the door from the ignition key. It didn't come that way.
Yes a locksmith can re-key your lock cylinders for you. I wouldn't know the cost. He should be able to do it from your ignition key so you wouldn't need to pull the ignition switch.

bccan

I had the Briggs key for my '68, I seem to remember it did the doors & ignition but can't swear to it. Pretty sure the notched key was done by owner to differentiate keys.

Garbled

Thanks for the replies!

To have the door cylinders rekeyed to match the ignition, do I need to remove them from the doors or can they be worked on in place?

bccan

Gotta remove them. Bring key & locks to locksmith, prefferably an auto oriented one. Not particularly expensive. Alternative is to buy a new lock set(Fusicks,etc) & just change all of them.

rocketraider

Door and ignition would have been keyed alike from factory. One or the other has been replaced.

An original GM key will have GM or RP cast into the key head. Replacement stock thru locksmiths or sometimes GM itself will have the Briggs and Stratton blank. The same key blanks were used from 1935-66.

The letter-coded blanks were used starting 1967. 67-68 depending on carline, some cars had large rectangular and oval head keys, others used the octagonal and round head keys. All GM cars went to rectangular/oval in 1969 with the advent of the anti-theft locking steering column.

Interesting that every fourth year, GM used the same key blanks. Sometimes E-cars got different ones than the rest.

joe_padavano

Actually, the obvious answer to me is that the ignition switch has been replaced and the doors are original - unless you have other info such as evidence that the doors were originally a different color.

Every five years, right? The blanks are A/B, C/D, E/F, G/H, and J/K.

delmontcrusier

Briggs & Stratton hmm for a min I thought we were talking about lawn mowers.I have to replace all locks on my newest project as there are no keys what so ever and the locks are either missing or damaged.I may run into this problem and have to visit a locksmith.I went to a locksmith place and had a second set of keys made shortly after I bought my blue olds but only had two keys to copy.You will have to let us know what you decided.

Garbled

Great replies folks! Thanks for the help.

The reason I assumed that the doors were changed and not the ignition is that the ignition key and the trunk/glove box keys are both Rochester Products Division. In my mind the doors were the odd man out as it is Briggs & Stratton key.

My '71 cutlass "S" back in the day had the two newer keys (square and round), so I was just guessing about these.

Thanks all.

68Tom

If you're at the point that you need to remove the door locks and have them rekeyed, why not simply get a door lock/ignition kit from OPGI? This way, you have new cylinders in there. I mean, they are 40+ years old. I'm guessing it would cost around the same amount.

It's pretty easy to replace the ignition lock. You just have to be careful with the plastic bezel that holds the assembly in the dash. They crack easily (if it isn't cracked already). To remove the lock assembly, you'll see a hole the size of a pin on the face of the ignition lock. With the key in the ignition, get a paper clip and place it in that hole. Push in and turn. It should come out with a bit of wiggling.

Lady72nRob71

This is what I would do. The kits are available from several different places and will probably the same cost or cheaper and would be quicker to do. Gotta pull the door cylinders anyway.

NMCarNut

The notches are most definitely a previous owner modification so they could tell the door from the ignition key at a glance. As stated by others, either your ignition lock or both door locks have been replaced on your car. What does not make sense, however, is in 1968 the primary key (octagon bow – ignition /doors) is a C blank and the secondary key (oval bow – trunk/glovebox) is a D blank. Did you accidently reverse the letters?
Regarding your question of Rochester Products (RP) versus Briggs and Stratton (BS) keys: Way back BS was the only supplier of locks essentially from the start of GM. Somewhere in the late 40s due to insufficient production RP received licensing agreement to make BS look-alike locks for GM to use as an alternate source. RP supplied locks used a RP key instead of the BS key used on BS locks. In body assembly at Fisher, the primary locks and secondary locks were each supplied as sets. Where it gets confusing is that either BS or RP lock sets could be used so on a particular car you could find either including the primary and secondary lock sets from the different suppliers. So the fact your secondary key is a RP does not mean that your primary BS key for the doors is incorrect. Unless you have evidence the doors have been replaced then the ignition being replaced is more suspect and your door and trunk locks are original (assuming the trunk and glovebox are keyed alike).
Unless someone knows otherwise, I only know of original style BS replacement blanks being available.

Oldsguy

NMCarNut, welcome to CO. I think it is very commendable for you to make your first post as an answer to someone's problem, a nice gesture. So start a thread and tell us about yourself and your Oldsmobile.

oldsonharmont

I found out about the letter stamped on the GM keys just the other day. (my 71 has an A/B combination) 'A' is for door and ignition and 'B' for trunk and glove box. If you can get the correct letter for your year, then you can get a locksmith to key the door cylinders to match your new ignition switch. ($20 at NAPA)

Yellowstatue

The key codes for your car should be on the factory shipment sheets...the problem is finding those sheets (these are not the build sheets, each line on the page is a car built and shipped that day)

Chesrown 67 OAI

is there anyone out there that can still make a key using the cylinder numbers?Years ago the chevy garage had a key maker that worked like a label maker. you just dialed the lock cylinder code into the maker and squeezed it to cut the key to that code. Does anybody still have a cutter like this this that will do a 69 key? I have 2 cylinders that need keys.
anyone know about this?

RetroRanger

if you have have the cylinders out any competent locksmith could make a key for them...

also Joe p said he had a machine but i dont recall if he could make a key froma code

steverw

Joe P has one and can make a key, he did one for me, works perfect.

joe_padavano

Yes, I can do it and either mail the keys or do it at Spring Carlisle if you are planning on being there. PM me for more info.