Doh! Threw away only ignition key

[natesky]

During a fit of stupidity I threw my key ring (w/Fiat spider's ignition key) out with my lunch... didn't realize it until I went to leave for the day, but looking back that seems to be exactly what happened.

Hot wiring the car is obviously trivial, If I all else fails how would I defeat the steering lock?

I'm calling locksmiths, but without a key to copy, I'm not sure what I they can do...

Any suggestions?!

Feel free to PM me if you are concenred about web crawelers picking up things we don't want everyone to know

EDIT: Just did a search, found another similar thread.. reading now

Thanks!

-Nathan

[rlux4]

I dropped a set of keys in a river once (leaaning over a bridge to look at the water with the keys in my shirt pocket). A locksmith came out, and with the correct blank, put it in the ignition, wiggled it making marks on the blank, filed a little, and repeated this process until we had a working key. Total cost: $12.00 May be more now, this was in 1964.
Yeah, probably is.
Ron

[mbouse]

yup, i watched a locksmith once cut a trunk key for my dad's '68 Mercury (teeth on both sides) in just that same manner. insert, jiggle, remove, file, repeat..... BOTH SIDES of the key..... when he was done, the trunk popped open easy peasy. took about 30 minutes, and you could not tell that key from the original stuffed inside the trunk.

admittedly, that was roughly 1970. But any true locksmith worth his salt should be able to do the same thing today.

[mdrburchette]

And that's the only way you'll get the ignition unlocked. I ended up having to remove the steering column on one of my cars and replacing it with one that had a key. I have heard the key code is written on the back of the ignition switch, but I haven't seen it.

Did you go back to the restaurant and go dumpster diving? It may be worth it. My dad accidently threw his false teeth away at a pizza joint and the whole family pitched in until we found his choppers.

[mbouse]

Oh, yeah. forgot to ask......... how was lunch?

[natesky]

Great lunch!

I have a plate with a stamping in it in the ring around my ignition cyl. After i removed the chrome bezel I could read it all (well, not directly but by taking a picture of it and zooming in)

the sequence is as follows: XXXX-XXXXXXX-XX with a '2' stamped under and centered. Please tell me there is a four digit key code in there!!

-Nathan

[natesky]

BTW: new info. Found installation instructions for a ignition switch in the few papers I got from the first owner.

Looks like he installed it several years or more ago. Looks exactly like the part IAP sells, except that the plate that covers the steering lock is stamped with the code I previously posted (the lock cyl in thier picture has a blank plate).

Given that it is aftermarket, they must have thier own coding standard? I'll call IAP monday, (actualy did today and they were no help " no key, no way"). I can't imagine these numbers are meaning less.

I found a locksmith with the proper blanks, but everytime he ran four digit parts of the code (first four, then second four), he pulled up valid key codes for Fiat/Maserati/Ferrari door locks.. we couldn't find a subset of the code that mapped to a ignition key code.

Please, any ideas?

-Nathan

[rlux4]

Nathan, have you talked to a locksmith? If IAP doesn't/can't help, maybe a good locksmith will know if there is a key code in your numbers. Hopefully you can find a locksmith, and not just a key copier, which is the way things are headed in most crafts.
Ron

[mdrburchette]

He just tried that, Ron. However, maybe there's a locksmith in the area that can cut a key the way it was posted earlier, by inserting a blank and trimming to fit the tumblers. Good luck with it. Like Ron says, real locksmiths are going by the wayside.

[pauljdav]

I went through a similar problem I bought my car 2 months ago with no keys, but I had a locksmith who said it would be easy to get the key.

He bailed on me. After calling many locksmiths I found one who would work on my car. He cut the door / trunk lock no prob.

He could not get the ignition key to work so he had to drill it out.

Most locksmiths I talked to acted like working on Fiats is like working on spaceships.

Bottom line is I recommend drilling it out and replacing it, especially since it is an aftermarket switch anyhow. It will be easier, quicker, and probably cheaper than finding the "right" locksmith.

Note to ALL Fiat Spider owners.. Have MANY extra keys made and keep them is safe place. If it was any of my other cars any locksmith I called could have helped.

Paul

[natesky]

Paul sums it up quite well.

This morning I went to work, borrowed my steering wheel column (takes just ~10 minutes to remove). My drill only made it angry and soon I was polishing the small bore I managed to make.. Thankfully my plan 'C' also included a angle grinder w/ cut off wheel.. I kid you not.. 10 seconds of cutting and it was all over and I was holding the lock cylinder in my hand. Victory is mine! I made a video, not sure I should post a 'how to' on this though . Nothing novel, just cut around the bezel ring which is all that holds the lock tumbler/cyl in.

I ended up sanding and repainting the column & bracket as I had some surface rust around the ignition switch holder, so at least the car will be better off for my blundering.

I'm tempted to just replace the switch with a push button and toggles (I have a battery cut off in the trunk). Otherwise my existing switch is still usable via screw driver ( I removed the column lock bar/lock cyl, so only the switch part of it remains). IAP sells a aftermarket one (I'm pretty sure the one I just cut was the exact same). Does anyone know if there are keys for it that have fused rubber covers over the key head? (not a fan of all-metal).

Thanks Paul and everyone else for your replys and suggestions! Lesson here is that it really isn't that difficult (1 hour at most) to remove the ignition switch without a key.

-Nathan

[pauljdav]

What year is your car?

I have an original ignition switch with one key off a 1976 that I was going to put on E-bay if you are interested.

Paul

[mdrburchette]

The newer switches come with the plastic covered head on the key. Just make sure you find a good spot for that extra key! I had several extra keys cut for my cars after locking the keys in the trunk and having to call a locksmith to cut a new one from the lock cylinder just so I could get it on a rollback because of a broken centerlink. It cost me more to get the key cut than the ride home with the tow truck!

[ventura ace]

My '70 spider has a 4 digit key code for the doors, trunk, glove box, and a 5-digit code for the ignition key. I actually had a new key made per the 5 digit code (from the little tag that fell out of the rubber boot on the switch), but it didn't work. I went back to the key guy, and we finally realized that the tag was upside down. We flipped it around, and the numbers still made sense (0, 6, 8, 9). Made a key, and it worked fine!

Alvon