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Neither outside door lock works on my Clipper, which obviously bothers me when I have it parked away from home. The trunk key will slide into the lock, but it won't turn. What I'm think is when my car was restored, replacement door handles were installed, but either a) the necessary keys were lost or b) one of the subsequent owners forgot to pass them on. Of course, neither key works on the glove box either.

Is it possible that the door handles may be the original ones and the locks need to be removed and serviced, or should I replace the locks and add the door locking keys to the ignition and trunk keys?

I'd want to "recode" the door lock cylinders to match the existing ignition key, which should have a round head. While just that much might be possible for a seasoned DIYer, I recommend you seek out a willing and able locksmith in this case.

If the other key, with an octagonal-shaped head won't turn either the trunk or glovebox lock, hand this over to the locksmith, too. He should be able to determine if both cylinders are functional and coded the same. If coded differently, I would expect the glovebox to more likely be original, and would want the trunk lock cylinder recoded to match. Heck, it's possible, after all these years and work, it's possible that neither lock matches the existing key - if it is even original.

While getting the help of a good locksmith is certainly a good way to go, if you can remove the lock cylinders it's very simple to rework to fit any existing key which will enter - just file the protruding tumblers flush with the cylinder with the key inserted. Another way to go is, if on removing the lock cylinders you can read the number often stamped on the edge, then any competent locksmith can cut a key based on that number. Maybe first, if you have nearby friends with Packards, try all their keys first - there were in most Packard years only 250 different key configurations and the same ones were used for decades.

BH and Owen:

Those are good suggestions, thank you. I did ask a local lockssmith about the door locks and he suggested spraying WD-40 into the locks and seeing if that made them turn. Needless to say, it made no difference. I am a DIYer only so far -- a wise man knows his limitations and when to take things to professionals!

I don't know how much u've tried to get the keys to work by "jiggling" the key(s). Put key in lock. Pull key out just slightly maybe 1/64" and try to turn it again. Raise or lower and tilt key with gradual increments. 4 or 5 minutes worth of time experimenting mite very well determine what the problem is. If the keys appear to be rather new then deburr them on a power wire brush or lightly scraping edge with a pocket knife.

Owen gives good advice on trying different keys. First i would attempt to debur the key and try 'jiggling' it in the lock. Just don't try to force anything by strong arming.

Packard's standard for locks and keys was the ignition and door locks shared one and the glove box and trunk the other. Have you tried your ignition key in the door locks?

(o{}o)

As long as we're on the subject, should owners of older Packards stumble across this thread, Packard's standard for locks and keys in the mid-30s (before built-in trunks and locking glove boxes, and how much before and after I don't know) was a dedicated key for the ignition and a second key for the door lock and the Oakes lock on the sidemounts (if so equipped). They used the same ignition lock cylinder from 1935 thru 1956 and key numbers for most of that time were P-1251 to P-1500; prior to 1935 and back to the earlier 30s the range was P-601 to P-700. If you have a well preserved Packard between 1924 and 1937 (and perhaps earlier and later) you can often still find the key numbers stamped in ink on the reverse of the patent plate. There, for those who didn't know it, the secret is out about where they hid the key numbers!! All a knowledgeable car thief had to do was open the hood, remove and flip over the patent plate, select from only 250 (or less) keys, and drive your Packard away.

If anyone has a patent plate earlier than 1924 (1st Series Single Eight and Six) or later than 1937 that has the key numbers stamped on the reverse of the patent plate, that would be useful information.

I have tried the ignition key in the doors and tried to jiggle them around. I'll try pulling them out slightly. The ignition key appears to be original and the trunk key has been around a long time too. I've had the burr problem before when I got copies of my house keys. I did try the trunk key in the glove box and it did not work. Oh well ...