Slab Side key question

[1970FuryConv]

I was having a Facebook discussion, if you can call it that. I have owned 8 fuselage Mopar's from 1969 - 1973. For all of those cars the ignition key and the door key were the same and the trunk key was different. The fellow that I was talking to contended that his 1965 Plymouth Fury has ignition keys and door keys that are different from each other. I thought I would check with the experts and find out when Chrysler went to making the door keys and the ignition keys the same before I commented further in our discussion. Thanks for your help! (and no a search it under "keys" in this forum did not provide me an answer).

 

[bronze turbine]

I can tell you for certain that in 1968 there is one key for the doors and ignition, and another key for the trunk, glove compartment, and any other lockable compartment. This is called "valet keys". In my opinion it shows just how genius Chrysler was in those days. You could lock your valuables in the car and keep that key for yourself, only providing the key for the doors and the ignition to your valet driver. From what I can remember, Ford and GM had one key for the ignition and another for all the other locks, which made no sense at all. I don't own a car newer than '03, but my '02 Odyssey and '03 Sable both only have one key, which I presume fits every lock in the vehicle. Is this how most new cars are? If so then they don't provide the security that Chrysler provided 50+ years ago! By the way, the fellow you were talking to may have had his ignition cylinder replaced, hence the different key. We owned a '64 Dart and a '67 Dart when I was younger, but I honestly don't remember how the keys worked on those.

 

[CBODY67]

On many "modern" cars of recent vintage, there is a key cyl for the ignition (on those that do not have pushbutton/brake pedal starting), one in the driver's door, and one in the deck lid (on fleet vehicles). Otherwise, the car is opened with a keyless entry fob or "active arming" where the car recognizes you as you walk up, it unlocks the doors and you push the button to start it.

The OTHER thing that Chrysler had to follow GM on was "pushing the lock button on the front door down to lock the door, then close the door and walk away". Rather than having to lock it with the key. Both orientations have their merits, though. BUT if you have to use the key to lock the door, you most probably will not lock the keys in the car, as they are in your hand. Remember, too, that ALL of this was in a time before key-fob locking.

Perhaps one of the Chrysler parts books will detail which keys go where?

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[glhs0075]

My '65 has the same key for doors and ignition. A separate one for the trunk, and a third key for the glove box. The original owner restored the car in the early 2000's, so he might have changed it at that time, but I doubt it.

 

[Davea Lux]

'65 Chrysler has the same key for the door lock and the ignition and a separate key for the trunk.

Dave

 

[live4theking]

'65 Chrysler has the same key for the door lock and the ignition and a separate key for the trunk.

Dave

Agreed, every Chrysler I've owned in this era.

 

[bronze turbine]

The feature of the lock button popping up when you slam the door shut is a good feature as well since it prevents you from locking the keys in, though it is a bit annoying at times. I don't remember ever locking the keys inside any of my Mopars. One make of car I owned which I can't remember, probably GM, worked the same way, but you could override it by holding in the release button on the outside door handle as you closed the door.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

All 60's & 70's Plymouth's that I owned were diamond key for door & ignition, round key for glove compartment & trunk, even my PK cop cars.
Now fleet cars from the factory could have a "Same Key" or "One Key" option to open and lock all, think of taxi, police, or other fleets where one key will open and start all cars in the fleet or a single key would open doors, ignition, glove & trunk.

It's not unusual to find a restored car with a mismatched set of locks, locksmiths can be expensive and re-keying is out of the realm of modern day 'Techs'.
I had a box of keys & cylinders from years of scrapping & collecting, I think the only time I re-keyed was when my Fury III was stolen (2x) that I finally took apart the cylinders of several locks to get the correct pins so that I had the same key for the doors & ignition since the ignition lock was dent pulled & pitched. It's not that hard, not really a lot of combinations in the key cuts, there are pictures around the net of the 'Master Set' (year specific?) of keys for Chrysler products, it's not that large.

.

 

[SPF Required]

Interesting topic. My ‘68 300 convertible has the round key for the door and trunk and diamond key for the ignition only. Makes me wonder if this was changed during a previous restoration of if perhaps they treated verts differently?

 

[gyknot]

My 68 charger had different keys for the doors and ignition. Obviously it had the round key for the trunk. That was in the late 70's so if it was changed it was done within the first 10 yrs of the car being around. Was it that way from the factory or did somebody swap something out? I don't know. The car gave no indication that anybody had done any major work to it.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

My 68 charger had different keys for the doors and ignition. Obviously it had the round key for the trunk. That was in the late 70's so if it was changed it was done within the first 10 yrs of the car being around. Was it that way from the factory or did somebody swap something out? I don't know. The car gave no indication that anybody had done any major work to it.

If 1 diamond key opens both doors and another diamond key works the ignition switch it could be most likely be a stolen car victim of a dent puller thief as the dent puller destroys the switch and very rarely is the tumbler part left behind as it is screwed pretty well unto the the dent puller.
Now if the switch has been replaced the original tumbler can be used unless someone got a complete assembly and was too lazy to change it over.

.

 

[rapidtrans]

The feature of the lock button popping up when you slam the door shut is a good feature as well since it prevents you from locking the keys in, though it is a bit annoying at times. I don't remember ever locking the keys inside any of my Mopars. One make of car I owned which I can't remember, probably GM, worked the same way, but you could override it by holding in the release button on the outside door handle as you closed the door.

Which is exactly what I did soon after we got our ‘71 Satellite. First year you didn’t need the key to lock door.
FWIW: Previously, with power locks you could lock all doors by pushing the button down and only the door being closed would pop back, up needing key to lock.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Interesting topic. My ‘68 300 convertible has the round key for the door and trunk and diamond key for the ignition only. Makes me wonder if this was changed during a previous restoration of if perhaps they treated verts differently?

If you had the one key option it was a round key, typically these were fleet cars like police and taxies. If down the road someone needed to replace the ignition they most likely would end up with the standard diamond key (first time for me to hear that term is this thread, for me it was always the Pentastar key)

Alan

 

[Mike66Chryslers]

If 1 diamond key opens both doors and another diamond key works the ignition switch it could be most likely be a stolen car victim of a dent puller thief as the dent puller destroys the switch and very rarely is the tumbler part left behind as it is screwed pretty well unto the the dent puller.
Now if the switch has been replaced the original tumbler can be used unless someone got a complete assembly and was too lazy to change it over.
.

I think a lot of people are lazy or just don't know that you can swap tumbler mechanisms into another key switch very easily. A friend of mine has a 66 Chrysler with a different Pentastar key for the ignition than the doors, because the previous owner probably swapped a used ignition switch into the car to try to diagnose a problem and didn't swap tumbers. (I also know the previous owner of that car and this is very likely the case.)

Interesting topic. My ‘68 300 convertible has the round key for the door and trunk and diamond key for the ignition only. Makes me wonder if this was changed during a previous restoration of if perhaps they treated verts differently?

All 3 of my 66 Chryslers have one Pentastar key for doors and ignition, one round key for glovebox and trunk. One of the cars is a convertible, one 2-door hardtop and one 4-door sedan.

 

[gyknot]

Out of probably over 50 mopars I've owned, that 68 charger was the only one to have a different door and ignition key. I always suspected one was changed. Just pointing out that he is not the only person to experience that.

 

[Big_John]

FWIW, more than one of my old beaters had the tumblers removed from the trunk/and or glove box locks.

Then any key would fit...

Of course, there were a few with no lock set that had the universal trunk key too.... A screwdriver.

 

[1970FuryConv]

Posted a link to this thread in the FB thread. Thanks for all the answers. We can all read and learn.

 

[SuperDave]

I acquired my Newport thru a Mechanic's lien, no keys at all. It was abandoned at our lot after Hurricane Michael swept thru Panama City, FL. Ended up buying NOS key set on fleabay to ensure a correct matching set - ignition & door the same, separate trunk key. I would have gotten the glove box tumblers also but they didn't offer it. Yet they are original "Diamond" Pentastar keys, not aftermarket blanks, which is what I wanted to begin with. You know how rare those are for a 50 yr old car?

But back to the original thread, yes - in the 60s & 70s, ignition & doors shared the same key on Mopars, trunk/glove box were a separate key.

 

[SPF Required]

My ‘68 300 convertible has the round key for the door and trunk and diamond key for the ignition only.

took the car out for a drive the other day and realized I never actually use the door key…. Like NEVER. Being a convertible, I was always taught to leave the doors unlocked and leave nothing of interest in the car for someone to steal. The thinking being I’d rather have someone open the unlocked door and realize there is nothing to steal rather than cut a hole in the top (on the rare occasion the top is up) and come to the same conclusion.

any how, back to the other day…. I decide to check my key in the door and wouldn’t you know it… the door key is the same as the ignition key (the pentastar key). The round key is only for the trunk. That is probably the first time I have put the key in the door in the 25 years I have owned this car.

 

[Sport Fury 67]

I remember long ago that cabbies who drove Mopar products would leave the round key in the trunk lock. When they pulled up at the airport, the cabbie kept the motor running and and could open the trunk and throw the luggage in the back. As a kid I thought it was odd not to carry the key in your pocket.