'74 2.0L

When I got the car it had no papers, no keys, was sitting since '84 and was a mess. After 3 years it is a fully functioning member of Massachusetts Highways and Byways. And it is VERY crazy driving here.

I took the door handle off, bought some blanks from Dr.914 and had a locksmith make some keys.

I just tried the trunk and Frunk without any luck.

Does anyone know if there is a simple difference between the Valet Key and the Driver Key?

I think my guy made a bunch of Valet keys, seems right?

Thank you,

CTC911CTC

Valet key ONLY works ignition and doors. Frunk, rear trunk, glove box and frunk pull works with Black Master key. They keys are slotted different. You can use the red key to make a master black key.

Let me be clear.

1. I had no key
2. I made a key from the door lock
3. Without knowing, I made a valet key
4. Without removing the two NON-Valet locks as an example, is there an easy way to cut a valet key into a All Access Key?

In short, which tumbler tickler is longer or shorter?

What is the answer to this puzzle?

I already know the easy answer, take the trunk lock to the locksmith, if the two keys are compared, is there a simple difference?

A few years back I bought 3 blank keys and some lock parts from Tweet to re-key my various non-matching locks. I haven't gone through the process yet, but below are the 2 regular and 1 valet blanks I have purchased.

I wish the valet was red (and I will get a red one before I get into this), but you can see the difference

Click to view attachment


Here you can see the profile. The standard key (left) seems to be of a Z profile whereas the valet (right) is center plane type.

Click to view attachment


I hope these are the correct blanks for our 914s...

But I believe 914Sixer's last sentence states that you can make your standard key using the valet key and you will be good to go.

And the simple answer to your question is to get a black master key blank and have your locksmith cut it to the profile of your valet key. The "valet" feature is in the grooves on the blank as @Montreal914 shows, not the profile that is cut. Your locksmith will probably have blanks that will work but they will be all metal (no plastic "handle") but will work fine. You could go through your trunk and glove box locks and pull the valet wafers, but that is a lot more work than just having a master key cut.

BTW, I've compared different key blanks and the cheap after market blanks that look sort of like genuine Porsche blanks are all steel. The more expensive Porsche blanks are plated brass which I'm told won't wear out locks like all steel can.

@bbrock That is an excellent piece of information!
Will not use my cheap aftermarket then...

Funny... I took a Porsche valet key and keyed it to all the locks in the car. It works everything, so I doubt it is the profile of the blank.

Clay

You sure somebody hadn't removed or filed the valet wafers in those locks?

I have a cutting master key that my locksmith cut from my numbers code. He gut that key on only one side so it could not be used and provides a fresh, unworn profile for cutting additional keys. All of my other keys have been cut from that master - both valet and master keys. The valet key works exactly as it should, not opening trunks or glove box. But when I rekeyed all my locks, I made sure those had a valet wafer inserted.

Leave it to the Germans for an elegant solution.......perhaps everyone does it this way? Never knew it was the SHAPE of the blank........

I must have bought all Valet blanks - Hummmmmmm

THANK YOU

The other possibility (and not so simple) is that you don't have a matched set of locks. Over the years locks (especially doors and ignition switches) get swapped out and often not re-keyed to match the original. When I did my resto, I had 3 different lock profiles so would have needed 3 different keys to open everything. You can re-key them to match but it isn't as easy as a simple valet/master key swap if you know you have a completely matching lock set.

Here is a good article on re-keying that also explains the valet wafers: http://www.914world.com/specs/rekey.php There is a pic there that shows the difference between the master and valet keys so you can check what you have. It yours is not a valet key, then locks have most likely been swapped and you will need to re-key to match.

It's been a loooonngg time since I did the re-key article and have done any re-keying, but if I remember correctly, the difference was in the key blank itself.

@TheCabinetmaker

Dr 914 posted recently a U-Tube video on this. covered what you are talking about on the two keys. short but I think this might help you too.

The keys are physically different. Remove the valet wafer, and it makes no difference.

Can you make a black copy from a red key? Absolutely. I do it all the time. It's all in the cut.

Just curious, does anyone actually use a valet key? Like give to someone for valet purposes?

No, but having one makes me feel swanky

I have bought recently two original keys, one valet and the regular one.

In the picture below you can see the extra longitudinal channel the red has. Along with part numbers.

The set that came with the car does not have it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Andrés

35 each?

I don't know. When I got my car 30 plus years ago, the only thing the key fit was the ignition, and that was an aftermarket steel key. When I did the locks I have now, I just collected up all the locks and took them to a locksmith. I gave him a red key that was already cut, and had him make all the locks work with that key.

That way the red key was for my 914, and the black key was for Betty's 914. Now we have 3, so that solution kinda went away. So now I keep the keys on separate key rings. Betty has a metal key for Elwood that she painted blue with nail polish.

Clay

$35 black and $26 red