Backwards keys?

[JonnyRock]

Apparently I didn't pay close enough attention and recently bought NOS Nissan keys that are mirrored. What I mean is, the slots are on the opposite side from mine. Can anyone tell me what they are for? Are they RH drive keys?

[Mike B]

Jon,

Those are two sided keys. Unless your locks have been replaced you should have a one sided key for a 1970 (doors, hatch, and glove box) and a seperate one sided key for the ignition. There are two types of two sided keys, one with a groove on the left side and one with a groove on the right. A car could have either the right groove or left groove type depending on what locks it had.

-Mike

[JimmyZ]

I believe there are three keys which are used in our Z's. (four actually) Earlier cars had the one sided key. Then there were two series of double sided keys.(DA24&26?) If you get an aftermarket ignition switch then it is for an even later style Nissan switch. (1982+ I think)

I recently went to my dealer and tried getting duplicates for my newly purchased IGN switch. They tried the two double sided styles which came with 70-78Z's. The keys didn't match so the locksmith figured it out in minutes. I think the keys went in an '80's Maxima or ZX???

Moral of the story is to visit the locksmith.

2c

Jim

[JonnyRock]

Alright. I learned from an earlier post a few months ago that my car should have one sided keys. Unfortunately, at some point my locks were replaced. I now have one key for my ignition and doors, and a separate key for my hatch. They are this style of key, but the grooves are on the wrong side.

[sblake01]

The ones you pictured, part number KEY00-00056, are the ones I have for my 78 280Z. The 'mirror' of them, KEY00-00055, are the ones I have for my 79 810.

[heyitsrama]

Just to some food for thought about locks....

If you are looking to re-key your locks make sure that all 6 lock cylinder housings accept the same key type. I just had a passenger door lock that i opened up only to find that the housing will not accept its mirror key style. When i was testing some keys out, a very worn out OEM Nissan Key that was mirrored to the housing fit, but the key that I was setting them all to did not fit into the housing. The worn out key was worn out enough to get stopped by the housing.

I don't think that the glovebox housing can be re-keyed, I could not find a way to open the housing, it might be possible without total destruction. The later style dashboards can have their housings re-keyed. Ideally you can source the key from the glovebox, then key everything to that. If you have to re-key the set, pray that you don't have to mess with the door locks, their a pain in the arse to open, the replacement face caps from Auto-Security Products is not a good match, so you'll have to reuse it.

Stuck:

Fits:

 

 

[Captain Obvious]

13 hours ago, heyitsrama said:

I don't think that the glovebox housing can be re-keyed, I could not find a way to open the housing, it might be possible without total destruction.

Not sure about the 240, but the 260-280... Easy-peasy:

[CanTechZ]

Totally different design on the 240, here's one from my parts 1970 car. I wonder if you could grind off the peened over end of the pin, so that it and the latching lever could be removed, to let the lock cylinder slide out? To re-assemble hopefully a center punch or two to the edge of the pin would be enough to retain it. Or change to a spring pin.

Edited June 24, 2021 by CanTechZ

[heyitsrama]

@CanTechZ yeah I was thinking that’s really the only spot you can get started with, if I come across a spare I’d love to try it out and document it. 
 

the ignition was not to bad, you have to remove the pin that’s jammed into the body and the tumbler housing, 3 small drill spots and can push it out. 

@Captain Obvious IMO another reason I kinda like the later series cars more….. and the HVAC panel…. I repinned it on my 260z I thought it would be easy on the 240z as well. 

[CanTechZ]

Working from home today, so I took a break and took my spare apart. I did mangle the pin a little, but it might still be reusable.

 

[heyitsrama]

Wowow great to know, the owner of the locks wanted me to ship them back ASAP, but I’ll keep it in mind for next time.

[CanTechZ]

I have no key for the lock, so no big deal to take it apart. The mistake I made was trying to remove only the peened part of the pin with a chisel and then driving it out. Due to burrs it got stuck part way through and bent slightly. One thing to watch out for when driving the pin out is that the mounting flanges bend quite easily. I held it in my vice by one flange and blocked the side for support, while driving the pin out.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by CanTechZ