Trunk Lock Picking

Maintenance advice to keep your Spider in shape.
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Scarpa
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2023 11:57 pm
Your car is a: 1981 SPIDER

Trunk Lock Picking

Post by Scarpa »

Can someone confirm that the trunk cylinder rotates counterclockwise and has pins on both sides? I'm left to pick it or drill it out, since even with the title in hand, locksmiths in a large city don't chance on-site visits of potential GTA.

Thanks in advance.
Wolfman2332
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:27 am
Your car is a: 84 black fiat 124 spyder

Re: Trunk Lock Picking

Post by Wolfman2332 »

I have an '84, and it does rotate anti-clockwiise. Good luck!
Black '84 w/tan top
spider2081
Patron 2024
Patron 2024
Posts: 3015
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:45 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Wallingford,CT

Re: Trunk Lock Picking

Post by spider2081 »

Can someone confirm that the trunk cylinder rotates counterclockwise and has pins on both sides?
My 81 trunk lock key rotates counter clockwise to unlock the trunk latch. I think the key can be inserted either side up and still work but I don't think the tumbler pins inside the lock are on both sides. I think the pin are only on one side.
The trunk key should operate either door and the glove box locks have you tried the key in those locks to see if the key works in all of them?
18Fiatsandcounting
Posts: 3798
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Trunk Lock Picking

Post by 18Fiatsandcounting »

Spider trunk locks are really pretty "sloppy", at least the early ones. Back in the day, I used to carry an assortment of old trunk (door) keys with me to the junkyard when searching for parts, and if the trunk or glovebox was locked, there was a pretty good chance that one of the keys would work well enough to open it. The door locks are a little more precise.

Probably fairly easy to pick the lock.

Another option, although not for the faint of heart, is to remove the license plate and holder and drill a hole in the valence behind it, so that you can push on the trunk release lever with a screwdriver through the hole. The trick is to find the right spot, but I recall this has come up before on this forum. After you're done, you can cover the hole with a rubber plug. With the license plate back in place, it will be hard to notice.

-Bryan
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