I have a 76 F150. Got it without keys, so years ago I had a locksmith cut a key to fit my ignition, only. I've never been able to lock the doors. Well, I'm tired of no radio/CD but before I put something in I want to have a working door lock.

Can I pull the door lock cylinder and change the innards to match my ignition key? Are there a different number of pins that makes this not possible?

I've seen some stuff on utube but I figure this is the place to find out the real deal.

Thanks!

 

A lock smith can and you probably can if you had an assortment of pins. I was lucky to find my old 79 i was getting parts off of for my fixer upper one had a good ignition and door locks that did just use one key. The problem i think is having the pins. Being a carpenter i have done a lot of house door locks that way and they are built allmost like our truck locks.

 

You can also scribe one side of the key for ignition and the other side for doors. That's the way mine are. Unlock the doors, turn the key over and start the truck.

 

a local lock smith could help ya out.

 

I pulled apart one door cylinder. Using my ignition key, it looks like I can reposition 4 of the 5 pin sets and have it work. I'm planning on just leaving out the one set of pins that's too long.

I'm soaking everything in mineral spirits right now. I should know if I've got it in 1/2 hr or so.

 

You can buy new locks on ebay for like 70 bucks. It will have 2 door locks and an ignition lock and 2 keys.
Here is a link to some......

NOS 1979 FORD TRUCK IGN. & DOOR LOCK SET 79 F100-500 - eBay (item 370429695544 end time Mar-06-11 13:16:57 PST)

 

nairod,

Take the 5 pins from your ignition down to your local Home Depot. Go to where they cut keys in the hardware dept. Show the associate the pins. HD carries pins for rekeying Schlage and Weiser locks. Measure the length and width of the pins you have and try to match them up. I bet HD won't even charge you for them.

Cheers,

John

 

With the key in the lock , if you have the pins exposed , use a file to shorten the ones that are too long ...

 

Well, I lucked out. I moved the pins around until I had 4 of them flush with the inner cylinder's outer surface. I left one out. Put it all back together and it works great.

If you look really close, you can see I did slightly mar the outer trim piece when I removed it. A few scratches... heck, doing it myself and having a working door lock sure outweighs those blemishes.

Rick, that's a great suggestion, by the way.

 

Yep , I have done it many times ...