Bought my first Vette! lost my only set a keys a month later!!!!

[Guest jsocko]

Hello everyone,

 

i Just bought an 81 C-3, and I loved every mile of it for a month and then my  3 year old son obsconded with the keys!  They have absolutely vanished. Lucky I already had it stored for the winter and  had

the battery disconnected and all covered up to try to keep it warm during the winter.  But spring approaches and i am so sad, and so lost as to what to do.  I am so new to being a corvette owner, let alone

a classic car owner.  A friend of mine told me to go join some forums and I will find my new family and at least one person who this has happened to.  I was ofcourse told by a Chevy dealer they only go back

10 years, but I am thinking, of all the people in the world who are absolute classic car lovers and enthusiasts, there has to be someone who knows someone who can tell me how to get another set made.

I am grateful for any advice, help, tip or clue to follow.  Thanks so much!

[factoryben]

I bought a 70 Impala convertilbe where the previous owner had lost the keys. I had to pull the steering wheel and disassemble until the lock cylinder was visible. There is a number on that cylinder that my locksmith was able to decode and cut a new key. I would think the 81 column would be same but I am not sure. Good luck. Ben

[Larry Schramm]

If you can get into the door, there might be a code on the lock cylinder.  There used to be.

[brasscarguy]

I purchased a C-4 Corvette and only got 1 key with it. This is the first year of an electronic pellet in the key that allows the computer to make the starter circuit complete. Well guess what we lost the key!!!

 

After an exhaustive search to try and override the ignition lock out system, there is no way to cheat the computer lock out.

 

There are 20 plus different pellet keys and the only way to start the car was to buy all 22 keys and have them cut to the lock. Well sounds easy but wait, to remove the lock from the steering column you have to nearly disassemble the drivers compartment just to get at the orange and white wires that run from the key switch down thru the column into the maze of wiring behind the dash and into the security system located in the center of the dash behind almost everything including all defroster ducts.

 

Well we removed the lock assembly and had a key cut then had all the new pellet keys cut to that key. Then trying 1 key at a time starting with #1 thu 22. Interesting enough key number 5 was the winner. I took key number 5 to the locksmith and has several duplicates made. At that point he told me, off all the pellet keys he has made over 20 years, they were all number 5!!!!! Not sure why he did not tell me that in the beginning.

 

There are devices to read the pellet resistance but most are inaccurate and you need the original key which we lost.

. I was able to solve my problem and with several duplicate keys I should never have that problem again.

 

Brasscarguy

[Larry Schramm]

You can buy one key that matches the ignition lock cylinder and then replace the VATS module?  The new module will relearn to the new key.

 

Might try this.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=vats+module&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=vats+module&_sacat=0