I need to take the locks out and have keys made for my '68.  Can anyone tell me the best way to remove the lock cylinders from the door?

i don't know if it goes the same as with a 78vette . for a 78 vette take the doorpanels off  and you can see a hole on the inside at the height of the doorlock . easiest way is to take off the 2 connections (one to door handle inside , the other for the outdoor handle) to reach the keylock, the lock is on the inside locked with a snapring , takew that one away and you can push the keylock out.

It would be easier to take the lock from the storage compartment...it uses the same key. That is, unless the door locks OR the storage lock has been changed.
You need to take the door panel off, and disconnect the linkage to the lock cyl. Then it is just a semi-flat steel retainer that holds the lock cyl. in place. You can use a wide blade screwdriver to pry the retainer off, of, if you're lucky, a pair of pliers can be used to remove it. Once you have the door panel off, you can look in there and see the lock, and how it is retained...pretty simple, actually.

oh-oh...my bad...a '68 is a wee bit different...never mind the above...dang!

Anyone here ever done this on a '68?

The only difficult part is access. There's not a lot of room for your hand(s) in there. Take off the rod going to the inside door lock knob, same kind of connection for a carburator linkage. Joel is right, all that holds the lock cylinder in is a flat spring steel clip. It has an upturned edge that you can grab with a pliers and just slide it off.

Thanks for the info.  My lock compartment is all new parts from Ecklers.  The only key I have is the ignition and it only fits the ignition.

I feel your pain. A sweet young lady I used to be engaged to kind of ummm was cleaning up one day and out went the original keys to mine. Try to take an ignition switch out without the correct key.

here are some pics to give you an idea what to expect on the inside of the door ( atleast inside the door of a 78vette )  :










at point A you see the clip (snapring) that locks the keylock in the door , you have to take that clip off to remove the keylock.

at point B  you need to take that small clip of to remove the rod to the handle outdoors (maybe not necessary but you need every space to manouvre )

at point C : the connection of rod to the indoor doorhandle .

and to make it even more easy you can take the 3 screws out on the (outside)end of the door that keeps the lockmechanisme itself in the door and lower that mechanisme to have some extra space.


al in all.. a piece of cake

good luck art-corvette




art-corvette2006-11-04 10:09:10

Similar, but different. remember with the 68 being a one year only car, the lock switch and door open button are the same. The grab on top is simply a spring loaded thingy you stick your hand into to pull on the door.

I don't think a lot of people realize the '68 was different than the rest of the Sharks. They were the only ones to have the push-button door latches/locks.

So, Dave, is the push-button mechanism on the '68 a separate piece from the latch itself? As in, it is simply a button that pushes on a lever/tab on the latch to relase the latch? What you said above about the lock button being attatched the same, with the flat retainer holding it onto the door confused me a bit(yeah...like THAT's hard to do! ). I was thinking it was all one piece.

I'm gonna see if I can find something with a pic of the set-up now...very interesting!