Hi everyone, I have a simple-ish question I believe.
The alarm key spot on the back of my 73, is that suppose to have a special key?
I have a key for my door locks, a key for my ignition, but neither fit the key lock for the alarm.
Thanks!!!

 

The door lock key should work on the doors, alarm, and spare tire lock.
Somewhere, sometime one or two of your locks have been changed

 

Thank you for the quick reply, much appreciated!

 

Your welcome,
But do you know for sure that the alarm lock is not "frozen" from lack of use?
Might want to try spraying WD40 into it and letting it set

 

Good call, I hadn't thought about that actually. Thanks, again!

 

Eric,
On the ' 73 the key for the door locks and ignition is the rectangular head key 'E' ( yellow arrow in photo). An oval head key'H'( red arrow in photo)
is for the rear storage compartment, spare tire lock and alarm.
Hope this helps
Tooch

 

That confirms it. My locks have been redone at some point. My square key operates ignition, my oval key operates door locks. I do not have a key to operate the spare lock or alarm lock.

-Eric

 

Yeah Eric, I'm thinking you door locks were changed out previously. Just curious though, is your 73 a very late build? Reason, I ask is that in 74 the Oval head key worked the door locks, storage tray, spare lock and alarm keyway. The rectangular key just worked in the ignition.
I highly doubt this is the case here, but stranger things have happened with these cars..
If you're certain your spare tire and alarm locks are original to the car, try to see if a locksmith can make you a key.
Tooch

 

FWIW, 73 should use an E and H key pairing
M

 

You can remove the alarm key/lock and take it to a REAL Locksmith. They can change the pins (inside the lock) so that your existing key for your spare tire and glove box will operate the alarm lock/switch.

 

Thank you everyone for your responses and thoughts. I will need to contact a locksmith and have the locks keyed.
Tooch1 - No, it is a very early 73, built in late 72. You're right though, weirder things have happened with these cars!!

-Eric

 

When I recently purchased my 1973 convertible, I received two keys with the E (square head) and H (oval head) stamps. However, I also was given another square head key (photo attached) stamped with an A. The head doesn’t have GM on it like the E stamped key - instead, it has ESP on it.
Can anyone tell me what this key may be for? When I took the original keys to a local locksmith to have duplicates made, the A stamped key duplicate was made using a GM blank.
Any information is appreciated.

 

ESP is just another company that made key blanks (aftermarket if you will) the A is the shape of the key that GM detailing the grooves that run along the key NOT the tumbler
Ideally the A key would only fit into a lock made to accept A keys, sometimes there are some that have a wider groove and they will fit into a narrow groove lock cylinder type of thing but not really correctly
M

 

Stolen ruthlessly from another site

The "Letter Keys" - Key Blank Design

The eight "letter key" blanks are actually four pairs, since each vehicle with this locking system uses two different key sections. (The key section is the exact cross-sectional configuration of the key blade region as viewed from the bow toward the tip, as shown in the previous illustration.) One of the four pairs is used in each model year, rotating through the following order: A/B, C/D, E/H and J/K. The first designation from each pair is the primary (or "square-bow" key) used for ignition and door locks (later - only ignition); following this is the designation for the "oval-bow" key used in the secondary locks (trunk and glove box - later also the doors).The different designations for the key blanks reflect differences (in geometry and location) in the milled grooves that run down the length of the key. Four pairs of grooves in the new system instead of the single groove in the old system allowed additional combinations of keys, which provided additional security. For example, the key cuts can be identical on keys from two different pairs, say an A blank and a C blank, but they physically can't be inserted into the other lock because the milled grooves are in different locations. (Exceptions to this can occur in aging systems due to extensive wear on both the keys and locks that can allow worn keys of some letters to be inserted into worn locks of other letters. Additionally, there are some non-OEM replacement locks, including some by Strattec, that use a universal keyway and will take any of the B&S blanks, but these were never used on GM vehicles at the assembly plant.) The different milled grooves are shown in the side-by-side comparisons of the ABCDEHJK blanks in the previous illustration.

Starting in 1974, the primary key was changed to fit only the ignition and the secondary key was applied to the rest of the locks. As noted several times previously, the actual bow-shape of the 1967-68 letter key blanks differed from later years, with the primary keys having a bow shaped like an incomplete octagon (sometimes called the "hex" key) rather than a rectangle/square, and the secondary keys being tear-drop shaped rather than oval. These 1967-68 key bows were the same as those used in the previous key design from 1935-1966, but the key blades used the different letter key sections.

The letter-key designations are stamped on the keys. According to Len White, Chief of the B&S Automotive Locks Division, during the years when both Rochester and B&S supplied locking systems on identical key blanks (1969 and following), the stamps from the two suppliers were oriented in different directions. Rochester Products (it is believed) stamped their keys so that the letter was correctly oriented when the key is held with the blade horizontal to the ground. The stamp on (B&S) was correctly oriented when the blade was held perpendicular to the ground.
M