Door Locks type of keys?

[lotusbaz]

Hello Everyone,

When i bought my 1965 S2 the previous owner had lost the keys for door locks! I have removed the door mechanism and it is stamped with the number 903 on the barrel mount.

My question is will the keys be FS903, FP903 etc?

Any help will be appreciated,

Best Regards, Baz

[elanfan1]

Fit?

no idea - sorry. They are quite cheap so maybe worth ordering one of each to try?

[ftsoft]

Doorlocks are the same as the ignition right? My key (66 S2), which I think is original (I'm the original owner), is stamped un/18 on one side and s71/B or 8 on the other. It's pretty worn. Hope there is something useful there.

Frank

[garyeanderson]

This key locks and unlocks the boot, both doors and ignition. I don't know if its original or not but it came with 26/4997 and it had 4 years of service before cylinder head problems put it off the road in the autumn of 1969. The tie wrap allows me to find it in my pocket when I remove it and put it in my pocket.

[ericbushby]

Hello Baz
My key is Union FK series and three numbers with a wide rectangular top. It fits ignition and doors but I do not know if it is original. The boot is FS 880 which is always a good key to have as it fits most fork lift trucks and everybody`s cupboard.
Best of luck
Eric in Burnley
67 S3 SE,
Not been out lately as it seems to have been wet for weeks here in the Lancashire hills.

[archigator]

This is an original door lock with keys. The number on the keys says "FT 186." I don't know if that's of any help to you...

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[69S4]

I've got much the same as Gary and Eric - a door key numbered FT 182 and a boot key numbered FS 887. Both of them are original - judging by the state of them anyway.

[john.p.clegg]

Congratulations all for making it easier to steal your pride and joy???

John

P.S. the code to my bank account is 87623965 pin No 3476

[archigator]

Congratulations all for making it easier to steal your pride and joy???

My lock, although I suppose I could consider it my pride and joy, alas, is not installed. I've had it on the shelf for twenty years.
You can steal my lock, and you don't even need a key.

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[Elan45]

FP series keys and locks were typically used from the mid-50s through about 1962. You will find them in MGA, TR3 Frog-eyed Sprites and probably Lotus Elites and some 7s.

FS keys and locks began about 1963 and carried into the early 70s, so surely a S2 Elan will have originally had an FS ignition tumbler and locks. S3's the same. They also were on TR4, MGB and later Healey 3000s.

FT keys are double edged and were introduced in 1968. This may have had something to do with the US "safety standards" which came into effect Jan 1968. Some cars probably had FT ignition and perhaps FS for doors and boot. There were probably FT locks for doors so it could go either way. But this would have been the situation on a S4 or Sprint.

My S3-Super Safety has one FS key that fits everything. And this thread has made me realize I've brought that I've brought the car to Florida to finish putting it together, but the key is back in Ohio on a shelf. Oh well, I hope Bean or RD sells keys by the number. I'm going to want to want to drive it down here.

Roger

[archigator]

Roger, always good to have another Elan in the Sunshine State!

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[lotusbaz]

Hello Again,

Many thanks to everyone for the info about their keys.

My door locks use a single sided key so i have just bought an FS903 from ebay so hopefully when it arrives i will be able to lock the doors!

Best Regards, Baz

[Leo Leentvaar]

I have to admit something here, I never ever locked the doors of the convertible cars I've owned. I'd rather have tresspassers have a looksee inside to find nothing of value in there, than let them rip open my hood or damage the doors. I do lock the boot though.

[Elan45]

Out of sight is out of mind. I too only lock the boot.

But when I lived near OSU campus, many years ago, someone slit the top on either my Frog-eyed Sprite or TR-3, neither lockable. On the other one, they just stole the entire top.

Roger

[ricarbo]

Had a problem connecting tonight and haven?t tried to put up photos before so may not be successful, but:

Easiest solution is to buy new locks with keys as a matched set. Shouldn?t have thought that was too difficult, but I haven?t tried it lately.

FP, FS, FT etc denote the style of the lock/key, that is the number and position of the grooves on the business end of the key. The numbers denote which ?differ? it is, that is the raised bits that look like saw teeth. So, any FP key will go into any FP lock, but it will only turn if it is the correct differ. The good news is that these locks are pretty basic and it isn?t hard to alter them to suit your key. You do need a key from the right series, FP, FS, etc., otherwise it won?t go in because the grooves on the side are in the wrong place. I can easily believe other makes of key may well go in, as others have suggested. These things are not exactly high security/ precision. Once you have that, you need the right pins, which are stamped out of brass sheet. There are only three different pins, and you just need to swap them around until none project when the right key is inserted. If you haven?t got enough of the right pins, a few old locks from your local ?Scrappy? should sort you out with plenty of spares. Or you could just leave some pins out, but that increases the chances that someone else?s key will open your lock. Another way to make your key fit is to insert it into the barrel and then file off any projecting pins, but obviously this isn?t too clever, as now several keys will work the lock, but I?ve seen it done.

The way they work is that the pins in the barrel stick up/down into grooves in the barrel housing, thus preventing the barrel from rotating. Insertion of the correct key moves the pins so that they no longer project outside the barrel and it can then turn. The different pins only vary by the location of an oblong hole, cut into them, causing them to move to a different height when the key is inserted. There are five of these pins, so that, coupled with the three different sizes, gives the maximum number of variations, or differs. The pins can be pushed out of the barrel and swapped to a different position with a firm push from a small screwdriver, without damage. Be careful not to lose the little brass spring under the tang of the pin.

To do this, you have to remove the barrel from the lock, which isn?t hard unless it?s corroded. Remove the complete lock from the door, then remove the blue steel snap ring from the end of the barrel housing, revealing a pin which secures the lever at the end of the barrel. Remove the pin (it is a loose fit), then the lever falls off and the barrel slides out. You need to make a note of where the lever was fitted as there are four different possibilities and only one is right for your application.

I attach some photos which show a door lock intended for a pressed steel door, hence the snap ring to locate it in the door. Fibreglass door locks have a nut around the barrel housing to secure them, if I remember correctly.

Problems include the barrel should have an operational shutter where the key hole is to exclude water therefore ice, the metal is a very soft alloy which allows it to wear, so the wrong key works, particularly if forced.

Couldn't put up the photos, sorry, must be an easy way if only i knew.

Richard