'35 Ford Coupe spare tire locked-no key

[Robert Dip]

Need some help on how to remove the spare tire. Locked cap with no key. I don't want to butcher anything up to badly. The lock barrel seems to be solid stainless.......Ideas or experience with this will be greatly appreciated....Thanks

[paul2748]

Got a locksmith in your area? He may be able to help.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Here's what I did when I could not find the key to the spare tire lock on my '35 tudor sedan. I went into the storage area behind the rear seat and removed the fasteners that held the spare tire assembly on the back of the car. Once this was off the car I was able to work a long blade screw driver in through the back of the wheel and release the little spring loaded pins that held the locking cap to the wheel. It was not easy but I did get the locked cap off without doing any damage to anything. The same approach may work on your coupe. Good luck!

[Robert Dip]

Thanks, I did bring a similar lock barrel which I removed from another on I have....no luck. I would need to find an experienced automotive lock smith.....any out there that would make a key for this lock? I guess there must be a gentleman out there that does this for a pastime.......much like the guys rebuilding instruments and ignition systems.

[Robert Dip]

Thanks, however, I have never seen any spring loaded pins on these locking cap....I have a few extra ones.....collected over the years......and what holds the cap is three sliding bars, which opens when the back of the locking barrel turns......much like a balled cam and slides these bars inward.
Appreciate your input.....Robert

[FlatheadTed]

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JM 35 Thats good advice .I think he may be able to get to the bolts from the out side .

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Robert Dip

Thanks, however, I have never seen any spring loaded pins on these locking cap....I have a few extra ones.....collected over the years......and what holds the cap is three sliding bars, which opens when the back of the locking barrel turns......much like a balled cam and slides these bars inward.
Appreciate your input.....Robert

Robert, what you are calling "bars" I am calling "pins". I believe if you check the locking "bars" as you call them, they are spring loaded unless they are not working properly because of rust, or broken springs, or maybe for some other unknown reason. I know how these locking caps work as you have described. I have worked on '35 locking caps on my three cars and I have several extra locking caps that I have purchased over the years, and all have spring loaded bars or pins that allow the cap to lock into the center of the wire wheel. Check yours out more carefully, I think you will find they are also spring loaded.

PS........when you get that cap off, send me a PM and I can explain how to remove the lock cylinder from the cap. Sometimes, but not often, there will be numbers in a certain location that will allow a good locksmith, who has a code book, to cut a new key for that cylinder. Or he could remove the pins and re-key that cylinder to a key you already have.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by FlatheadTed

JM 35 Thats good advice .I think he may be able to get to the bolts from the out side .

Ted, many years have passed since I removed that entire spare tire assembly from the back of my tudor sedan with the spare mount bracket still attached to the wheel. Somehow I was able to get the three mounting bolts out and everything came off the back of the car. Then I was able to access those three spring loaded pins enough to push them in and remove the cap. It worked for me as they say

[David J]

Originally Posted by FlatheadTed

JM 35 Thats good advice .I think he may be able to get to the bolts from the out side .

I agree and if for some reason like stuck plungers or whatever you cannot get it off with a long screwdriver just take the entire spare assy to a good locksmith and he can make you a key without taking anything apart . A-Daves in North MPLS does this for me for $15.00 and supplies 2 generic keys . He's done ignition , door , trunk handle and spare cap locks for me . ANY competent locksmith can do this - I think he calls this " impressioning " . Not sure on that but he has done all I've brought him . Lawson Cox had a thread about 35 pickup locking caps that covered the function of these and JM 35 sedan is giving you accurate info about the spring loaded plungers . This applies to both Hurd & Basco{ Briggs and Stratton } caps . David J

[Robert Dip]

Thanks David, JM35sedan is correct. I dug out another locking cap that was in better condition, and now saw the function of the (inner hidden spring) 'pins'. Since I now have two locking barrels in my hands, I'll just drill out the one that's on the car and scrap it to remove the cap. One of the caps I have is scrap anyway, so I will find a locksmith and send these barrels out to have keys made. I'll report my progress.....hopefully others can also learn from these discussions....as I am doing now...... with everyone's help.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Robert, why not at least give it a try to remove the complete spare mount from the back of the car and see if you can push those pins in to get that cap off. You may be sorry later if you distroy that cylinder by drilling it out. That just might be one of the rare cylinders that has the key code numbers that would allow an automotive locksmith to easily cut a new key to those numbers. It's obviously your call but if it was my car, I would exhaust all possibilities before ruining that lock cylinder. That is just my opinion. Good luck!

[32phil]

I can cut most early ford keys (32 - 56) by code. Most spare tire locks don't have a code on them . The few I have found were on the the small disc that holds the pins in place.

[Robert Dip]

Hi John, I know what you mean about the cylinder, my thoughts also, however, getting at the upper bolts is next to impossible. The two lower ones are accessible through the spoke wheel. The two upper ones are verticly in line and the top one is so close to the mount that I found it impossible to reach it. ( can I tell you it's a rust free virgin....never touched 3W coupe......you would love it....took me 25 years to finally obtain.....long story ) Well, I drilled it using a 9/32" bit and slowly going down to a depth of approx. 13/16".....making sure to leave enough to turn the remaining cylinder with a screwdriver. It worked just fine....the 'pins' were not jammed on the springs. The cap needed a little prying to remove from the wheel....so many years being in place.....call it 'time welded/stuck'. I have not removed the cylinder from the cap yet, I'll let you know if it has the #code. The other two cylinders I removed from the other caps have no #s marked on the outside portion. I'll check with 32phil on the 'disc' # location.
PS....nice collection of '35's.......you are probably like me....love '35's more than the '36 models.......for some unknown reason......other then the fac that I had almost every model '35's when I was a kid.... many moons ago.
Appreciate your help and comments......are we having fun yet??

[Robert Dip]

Hi Phil, are you the ford key man......thanks for the note. I presume that the disc you mention is the very thin brass plate neatly slotted in the cylinder. On one I removed, I did not see any stamped #'s. In fact, I was sure that when removing this thin brass semi circle disc, the center pins ( tumbler ? ) would come out.....no such luck. With this in mind, how does one get a key made? Hope you can help. Thks

[Marv]

Robert, take it to a locksmith and he should be able to pick it and make a key. You may need a key blank to take with you, because they may be hard to find these days. I had a key made for a antique airplane door. Marv

[danliveshere]

Robert, Dennis Carpenter Ford Parts sell hurd key blanks to suit so that you can take the blank to your locksmith and end up with an original hurd key , not a generic if you so desire.

[dbrock]

I had the same problem with my '36 Ford Sedan last year. I located a fello in Missouri who had a few blank Hurd keys. The nice thing is that he had the punch numbers for the ignitions and tire covers etc.. My lock will work only if you push in/down on the lock ass'y before you turn the key. I can dig around and see if I can come up with his info. Let me know if you need it. Tnx D.B.

[Roger - WI]

I had the same problem with my 36. No key. We went in through the trunk area, since we were dismantling it anyway and took the bolts loose.had to cut them, so rusty. Then I was able to remove the lock cylinder from the rear and an older guy (not many of those compared to me, I guess) locksmith was able to make a key. I think the numbers were on the cylinder. Please try to get the thing off and repair it rather than drill it out. I know your mechanism on a 35 is different from my 36, but still worth a try to use the old.

[Robert Dip]

Hi DB
"My lock will work only if you push in/down on the lock ass'y before you turn the key"....now there's something interesting. Did I possibly have a correct key and did not 'push down' before turning ?? Anyone out there have to do this to open the lock.....or is this lock a special one made for you?? Need info....yes, I think all the education we can get is more than welcomed.............Robert

[Chris/Mass]

Is the spare tire key unique to that lock? I needed an ignition key for my 36 and one of the old Barners here told me that it was the same key as the passenger door lock which was fairly simple to remove. Took the cylinder to a locksmith and the problem was solved. Just a thought.
The name of the gentleman who helped me was Dale Sandman. He is missed on this Forum