I am new to this forum, and I was recently gien a 1977 Oldsmobile Omega, but the keys are long lost. I have the VIN number, but that about it. Is there any way to get replacement keys made based on the VIN number? What other options do I have?

 

I just asked my dad this yesterday I think you need to get the number off the lock and do it that way BTW welcome

 

Welcome, x2 on the number off the lock.

 

Also post pic of the omega

 

Thanks for the info on the keys. The car is a "barn find" type car. I need to get it from Jacksonville, FL to Stuart FL. Was hoping to get keys so I can get it into neutral and roll out of shed.

Question is the key code typically stamped on the body of the key cylinder? Once the lock cylinder is out, and the code revealed, can pretty much any locksmith cut a key?

 

Arrrrrrghh!!!!!! It has a SBC in it!!!!

Looks to be in good shape, though.

Usually you can pull a door cylinder by pulling out the slide retainer that comes in from the inside rear edge of the door.
The door cylinder should have a number stamped into it, and the door and ignition key should be the same.

A good, old fashioned locksmith should be able to punch you out a key from the numbers, no problem, and there are members on here who should be able to help you as well.

Welcome.

- Eric

 

Wow a four door nice find how much for it

 

The car was given to me, I just need to get it out of the garage. It has 19,000 original miles on it, but it hasn't run in 19 years. Verified the motor is not siezed by turning by hand. SBC?

I was thinking a crate 350 might be a good replacement, it has a 260 V8 in it right now.

 

SBC: Small Block Chevy

- Eric

 

If the doors are unlocked & you just need an ignition key to get it going swapping out the ignition switch is another cheap option just to get it going. You'll need a steering wheel puller but besides that its pretty easy.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-Cadill...0dad00&vxp=mtr

 

That's true, too.

You can pull the wheel, release the lock cylinder, and use a screwdriver to operate the switch.

- Eric

 

As others have noted, there are four character codes stamped on the outside of the lock cylinders. These codes allow a new key to be punched. The door locks use the same key as the trunk. The ignition is separate. You can remove one of the door locks by disassembling the interior panel. You can remove the ignition lock by pulling the steering wheel, lock plate, and turn signal switch. If you get the codes I can punch new keys for you - I have a code book and key punch machine. The first key for each code is $10, copies after that are $2 each, mailed to you. Let me know.

 

Joe, do you recall what year it switched from
One key for trunk and glove compartment / one key for doors and ignition, to
One key for doors, trunk, glove compartment / one key for ignition?

- Eric

 

I may need that forbmine I'll let you know joe that seems like a fair price

 

The literature I have says the change was for the 1974 model year, but I seem to recall that I owned a 72 442 that used the oval key for the doors and the trunk. Now, this car may have had the locks changed before I got it, or my memory could just be going...

 

Yeah, I can't remember every car I had, but of those I do remember, my '68 Oldses had octagon key for doors and switch, my '70 chevies had round key for doors and trunk, and my '73 Olds has square key for doors and switch again.

I can't keep track.

- Eric

 

As far as the engine goes, if my documentation is correct, in 1977 there were 3 V-8's available in the Omega. The V-6 231 was standard equipment, but you could get a 260 (Oldsmobile's worst engine ever), a Chevy 305, or a 350 (I'm not sure if that was the year that some 350's in Olds' were Olds and some were Chevy or not). My guess is that if it is a Chevy like Eric says it is, it is the 305.

 

Whadda you think?



- Eric

 

I can barely even see an engine in there . Is the oil fill on the valve cover the giveaway?

 

Plus the shape of the valve cover, plus the shape of the alternator bracket, plus the location of the compressor, plus, of course, the COLOR.

- Eric

 

What's that color its something orange my boss told me it a few weeks back I can't remember

 

Could be any Chevy Motor though , it's orange ,later 70's Chevies were Blue or Black I do believe.Maybe it's a 283 ?,307?

 

It's a word that's dirty and starts with a "C".

- Eric

 

Also on your ignition try pulling the rod down by the switch and try to unlock the steering when it should work

 

lol

 

Could be any size, but they're all SBCs.

Why would someone change the motor in a glorified Nova with 19,000 miles, though?

- Eric

 

Oh and hardgreg there's my omega

 

Who knows ? it was the late 70's maybe the original motor was a V-6 and with no power to pull the scum off rice pudding!

 

The thing I'm not sure about is whether they still used the 2-Jet in '77.
Olds was using the DualJet by then, but I'm not sure about any of the others.

Maybe Grandpa got really PO'd when he saw the 305 under the hood, drove back to the dealer screaming, they told him it was all set up for a Chebby engine, so that was all they could put in there, and he got them to put in a low-mile older Chebby engine with some guts.
Or maybe that's just a crazy, crazy story...

If it's an older SBC in there, though, then maybe the OP got lucky.

- Eric

 

At about the same time as that Omega was made (77) GM was working on the X body models which really pulled GM down into the toilet for quality ,I was working at a Pontiac dealer in 1980 when they started rolling in ,none of the Mechanics were impressed thats for sure with the front wheel drive setup and the wheezer 4 banger motors .

 

If not for the paint, I'd believe that was the original 305 2bbl. They were very common in those cars. Very odd that it has the Oldsmobile decal on the air cleaner lid, too. From what I remember, the lid should be plain and the engine should be corporate blue.
And so far as I know, the Chebbies did still use the old style 2-jet. Even my 78 Buick V6 had one on it, but my 75 Cutlass 260 had the DualJet. Go figure.

 

Just FYI on the motor color. The guy that gave me the car was the son of the original owner, and the motor has never been swapped out. Don't know if the "Chevy Orange" is really faded out red? Does that make sense?

 

Nope.

In '77, all engines were theoretically painted GM "Corporate Blue," regardless of Division. Individual Division colors stopped around '75, maybe '76, so nothing should have been Chebby Orange or Olds Red at that time (Olds Red was last used in 1969 anyway).

Could just be that some "C" engines were still coming down the line painted orange in '77.

- Eric

 

Eric,

Any easy way to tell if it it a 260 or a 305?

 

The Olds motor was a 260.
The Chev. was, I believe, a 262.

I don't know the newer Chev. Engines well enough to answer that question, but the answer should be available on line.
All of the SBCs, as far as I know, had their engine number or VIN derivative, and a three-letter code, stamped into the head sealing surface of the right bank of the block, where it sticks out forward like a half inch wide shelf at the front of the engine. That three letter code should tell you exactly what it is.

- Eric

 

I just searched StevesNovaSite.com and according to several posters there, the changeover to "corporate blue" didn't take place until partway into the '77 model year.
Thus, early build date '77 models with Chevrolet-built engines were still "Chevy orange".

Knowing how GM worked, this makes sense. They certainly wouldn't repaint already finished engine assemblies just to change the color. They also probably wouldn't shut down and clean out the engine painting station in mid-run. When they ran low on the orange paint, it was probably replaced with the new blue color.

Now we need to know the build date on Greg's Omega to see if the theory holds water.

 

That makes good sense, Copper, and pretty much explains the whole thing.

Original SBC, still unknown whether 262 or 305.

Does the VIN have a code for engine type in that model and that year?

We'll all stay tuned.

- Eric

 

All GM cars have had the engine code in the VIN since the 1972 model year. For 1977, it's the fifth character of the VIN. Of course, that will only tell you what engine was installed from the factory, not necessarily what's in there 35 years later.

 

So, GM provides information about 1977 VIN engine codes here.

According to their VIN card, the only engines in the displacement range to have been a SBC in an X-body in 1977, which were installed in Olds (Division 3) were:

260, 110 HP (Olds V8), Code F
350, 170 HP (not sure whether Chev. or Olds), Code R
301, 135 HP (probably Pontiac), Code Y

The 305, 145 HP is a U code, but is not listed as going into Oldsmobiles.

What's your VIN say?

- Eric

 

Eric,

The 1977 dealer brochure shows that the available V8s in the Omega line were the 305 2bbl and the 350 4bbl (Calif and high altitude only). The 305 is clearly a Chebby motor and is the only 2bbl V8 offered. The 350 is of indeterminate origin in the brochure but I'm guessing it's the VIN R Olds 350, since that was also used in Firebirds in Calif in the 1977 model year, so it is probably the one that was emissions certified.



Yes, I understand that the 305 2bbl is not shown as being used by Olds on the VIN card, but that conflicts with the brochure. The engine in the photo is obviously not a Pontiac 301 (the only non-Chevy V8 with a 2bbl offered in 1977), so the 305 is the only other option.