Interesting Key find

[01ragtop]

Okay maybe not that interesting, but I thought it was an unusual. A guy I work with is an old school locksmith. We got to talking about my car one day, and the next day he brought in these key blanks he had on the shelf in his personal shop. He told me that all the keys back then were made by Briggs and Stratton of small engine fame. The key blanks he brought in were in plastic bags, and though he couldn't be sure, he thought they were originals from the 60s. He used a caliper on my keys to get the depths of the cuts then cut them without using my old keys as a guide so they wouldn't have the rounded edges They came out perfect! Then he gave me two more blanks.

Any Ideas on the originality of these keys? I was under the impression the the Mustang key was a different shape, but the ones he cut work better than my old ones.

 

[StangDreamin']

Those were "standard" Ford keys up through 1966. The double-sided keys we're all used to didn't come out until 1967. One reason you don't see a lot of those original keys is that most Mustang owners, when given the choice, opt for the more familiar "Pony" keys; such as these:

Pony Keys with new locks

I Don't know if anybody repops the original Ford keys. Repros from Mustang vendors (like Mustangs Unlimited) usually are shipped with repro "Pony" keys; so your NOS keys are actually pretty doggone rare!

Congrats!


EDIT: OBTW; I don't know if it's still true; but Ford locks used to actually only use "one side" of the 1967 and up double-sided key. Enterprising locksmiths and/or their customers used to cut keys with two different "cuts" for two different vehicles. Somewhere in a box, I have a door/ignition key cut on one side for my Dad's 1970 F100 4x4; and on the other side for his 1971 LTD. (He had a buddy who "side-jobbed" as a locksmith).

 

[01ragtop]

Thanks for the info.

On the double sided key note though, my dad has a 1965 Country Squire Station wagon that has a double sided key so

Dan

 

[StangDreamin']

I was still editing my post when you replied, so I just missed it. All I can think is that, somewhere along the line, the ignition switch was replaced and a newer model was used for the replacement probably not a hard swap, as they were all dashmounted swithlocks until like 1968 or '69.

In that same box (wherever it is, I haven't seen it for a few years) are square- and round-headed keys like in your first post on a ring with an enamel "500 XL" key fob. The only Galaxie 500XL my Dad ever had was a '66 model; so........

 

[01ragtop]

Yeah back then, who knows. It could have something to do with the fact that my dad ordered the car while he was stationed in Japan, and it was delivered once he got back to the states. (43 years is a long time to own one car. ) It came original with a 289 while most, I believe had the 390 or 352. Old cars are such a mystery.

I'll ask him if he ever switched out the key cylinders.

 

[StangDreamin']

Jeeze, you and I seem to be the only ones online at this time of night. On the other hand; we're "sort of" in the same time zone (AZ doesn't mess around with DST, so I'm pretty sure it's 10:35 in your neck of the woods as it is in mine).