Other: Lost keys..........'52 Land Cruiser with Hurd ign/doors, Yale trunk/glove.

[Skvora]

*'52 Land Cruiser with Hurd ign/doors, Yale trunk/glove.*

Well, the clearly not very smart me has lost the only set of keys I had, and I'm having lots of woes regarding that. Local "locksmiths" were all for naught to try to remedy this, so I ordered a few blanks and luckily have a fairly clear picture of the backside of both keys (had I the front of the blade, this wouldn't even be a thread started......). Tried cutting one and it seemed to work, but then naturally really stupid me went to polish it off and got it out of spec, but at least the car is open now if I need to pull locks and etc.

What would you guys and gals recommend here? Judging by Studebaker-intl catalog, they do not sell matching set of 3 locks, and having 3 keys would be very, very annoying. I can't seem to find all that many lock smiths in my area, let alone old and seasoned ones to try and decode the locks for me, but I'll keep trying the ones I still haven't tried.

Does anyone have any smiths in their area they want to recommend, so I might send the lock off to and get keys made?

Does, anyone, have a decent guide on pin spacing and cut depths I could use to try my hand at it once more?

Does anyone have enough cut Hurd keys I could possibly send a picture of mine to see if they're close enough and perhaps try a copy of their key for mine?

And finally, would anyone by any chance in hell have a set of door/ign locks with a working key they'd want to sell?

I can keep trying to buy blanks and keep trying to get the cut right, but that's a frustrating way to spend time and money.....

[StudeRich]

Well since we have no idea What Year or Model this Car or Truck is, that info WILL be needed to get the proper length Door Locks.
All I know is it's a Commander, a '59 or earlier V8 or a Truck because it has Hurd Locks & Keys.

Usually if I find about 4 different trunk Keys from some of my current or former Studes. One will open the Trunk, but it will take many dozens to find a Ignition/Door Key that fits, as they Very rarely open with Close, they need to be VERY correct to work.

[LarkTruck]

As Rich said, what vehicle are we talking about??? We just had a local locksmith, (another dying breed ), cut missing keys for a recently purchased one owner 63 Lark. The car came with the original Dealer Retail Sales Invoice which had the factory key numbers on it. You can also get the key numbers off the Production Order, available from the Museum. No need to reinvent the wheel.

JS

[mbstude]

If you have the key number, there are lots of sellers on eBay that offer key cutting services. I've used this one for a couple of Studebakers:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255744183817

[Skvora]

'52 land cruiser, sorry about that. And i sadly do NOT have the key codes or this would've been a sitch.

[Skvora]

Well since we have no idea What Year or Model this Car or Truck is, that info WILL be needed to get the proper length Door Locks.
All I know is it's a Commander, a '59 or earlier V8 or a Truck because it has Hurd Locks & Keys.

Usually if I find about 4 different trunk Keys from some of my current or former Studes. One will open the Trunk, but it will take many dozens to find a Ignition/Door Key that fits, as they Very rarely open with Close, they need to be VERY correct to work.

Sorry guys, added that its a 52 Land Cuiser.

[BRUCESTUDE]

I’ve had luck using the correct type new blanks from an SDC vendor, and taking them and a lock cylinder to a locksmith.

[Big Dan]

A good locksmith can make you new keys from the locks on your doors.

What they do is insert the soft metal key blank in then put pressure on it such that it impacts the pins in the lock and makes an indentation in the key. They'll file it then with a knife or small rat tail file, repeat, and eventually cutting all the grooves in the key.

If all you r locks don't take the same key and you want it to, once you get a key that works in your door locks, you can pull your ignition switch and (I'm assuming Studebaker is the same design as all the other makers ignition switches) the can repin the ignition switch lock cylinder, and glove box lock cylinder to match. Shoot, they can re-pin your locking gas cap if you have and ORIGINAL or early aftermarket that takes the same key.

I did that with my Ford Truck and now I have ONE key that fits everything. Plus, I had about 10 new keys cut!

Good luck!

[DieselJim]

Michiana Lock and Key in South Bend, In. Take the Ignition switch, and door locks to them and they will make them one key.

[Skvora]

Lucked out finding an older enough smith in my larger area and now have both 3 sets as well as ig/doors key code since the smith managed the cut codes - valuable lesson learned to say the least. Hope to see everyone at the meet!

[DTHolder]

'52 land cruiser, sorry about that. And i sadly do NOT have the key codes or this would've been a sitch.

Are the locks original? If so you may be able to order the Production Order from the Studebaker Museum which will have the key codes?

[Skvora]

Are the locks original? If so you may be able to order the Production Order from the Studebaker Museum which will have the key codes?

That's one thing I'll only be able to find out now if I order the production order, which I will sooner than later IF to just verify the fact now that I have the Hurd code.

[nvonada]

You found the secret. Look for the oldest, most cluttered locksmith shop you can find. These are NOT hard locks. I was able to get keys made for my car that way.

[Skvora]

You found the secret. Look for the oldest, most cluttered locksmith shop you can find. These are NOT hard locks. I was able to get keys made for my car that way.

What's wild is NOT being able to even buy code books relatively easily for the old tech......I could file down a key myself if I knew the specs(which I can at least measure out now).

[Hallabutt]

Funny, all the old locksmiths used to have a huge keyring with all the key choices for that particular car. When I was 17 my first car, a 1953 htp did not have door keys. I went to a very old locksmith in White Center (Seattle area). The locksmith handed me the ring and some needle nosed pliers and told me to go to it. After about 20 minutes of trying I found one that worked. Some of these key sets must have survived.