Needing New Keys...

[Scarpa]

Hey there

My good friend had his 81 Spider in storage for a long time, and his nephew lost the keys to it, so long story short, I've taken ownership/title of the car now; however, I need to move the car out of his storage and solve for these missing keys.

Does anyone know any of the following things that could help me out:

• 1. A good car storage in Portland, OR area
  2. A good/cheap car transport for a 3.5 hr trip in the Portland / Washington area
  3. The extent of effort and cost to replace the ignition to get new keys? There is a Euro car mechanic down the street from me, but I don't have a relationship with them yet, so I figured it best to ask the experts here.

Thanks much in advance

Scarpa

[spider2081]

This is a tough situation. New original Sipea ignition switches are not available there might be some used ones out there. The ignition switch has a steering wheel lock so if the key is out of the switch the Steering wheel lock should be engaged.
The upper sections of the steering column that the ignition switch is mounted in is available used. That section of the steering column is fairly easy to remove from the car with the ignition switch remaining in place. I suggest removing the steering column and bringing it to an old time lock smith to see if they can make a key. Other wise the existing switch is often destroyed to remove it. The ignition switches most are using is made for a Lada and requires some wiring changes to work.
I would cut the steering column with a die grinder to remove the ignition switch before destroying it by drilling out the tumblers section.

[PaulC]

Keys for classics out of Australia can cut new keys if you can find a number on the lock itself.

[Scarpa]

This is a tough situation. New original Sipea ignition switches are not available there might be some used ones out there. The ignition switch has a steering wheel lock so if the key is out of the switch the Steering wheel lock should be engaged.
The upper sections of the steering column that the ignition switch is mounted in is available used. That section of the steering column is fairly easy to remove from the car with the ignition switch remaining in place. I suggest removing the steering column and bringing it to an old time lock smith to see if they can make a key. Other wise the existing switch is often destroyed to remove it. The ignition switches most are using is made for a Lada and requires some wiring changes to work.
I would cut the steering column with a die grinder to remove the ignition switch before destroying it by drilling out the tumblers section.

Just to make sure I understand as I was thinking an automotive locksmith would be able to come on-site to the car and fix it without damaging anything else ideally, but you think this won't be the case simply because its likely the cars steering wheel is locked when the key isn't present in the ignition?

[spider2081]

its likely the cars steering wheel is locked when the key isn't present in the ignition?

The Key needs to be rotated to unlock the steering wheel. It also needs to be rotated to remove the ignition switch from the steering column.
You could try and find a locksmith that can unlock the ignition switch and make you a key at the cars location. For a 40 year old Fiat that might be hard to find. Few local locksmiths have key blanks for older Fiats. As mentioned some of the switches have the key number stamped into them. Sometimes the number is located under the shinny metal cover that surrounds where the key goes into the switch. Removing that cover with the switch in place is a little tricky. Other times it is stamped into a little round tag under the electrical section of the switch. The electrical section of the switch has to be removed to see if that tag is there. This too is not easy to access when the switch is installed in the car.
My guess is less than 50% of the switches have a key number in either location. Many have no number as the number was stamped into the original key.
In order to rotate the steering wheel the key needs to be turned clockwise from the off position.