1936 coupe stuck spare tire lock.

[Kyzyl]

I have a 1936 Ford coupe (that I recently purchased) with a "hurd" spare tire lock that is currently on the car with the spare tire in place, but I can't unlock it even though the key seems to turn the lock without issue.

The key inserts fine, and the key turns from about the 12-o'clock position to about the 2-o'clock position without issue, however, nothing seems to release.
Also, the entire barrel of the lock will spring in-and-out about 1/4" with or without the key being turned.

Everything seems to operate without much effort, but nothing seems to release. The spare tire seems to be quite firmly attached to the car.

There is a black doughnut cover around the barrel of the lock, and under the hinged cover or 'dome', which gives everything a smooth and finished look.
It will spin, but doesn't come loose, perhaps because the lock is still holding everything together?

I've seen photos online of old spare tire locks like mine, and they appear to have two ears that should retract when the key is rotated. I have no means to tell if the two ears of my lock are retracting when the key is released or not, because the back side and bottom of the spare tire mount is enclosed.

I'm not 100% sure how everything should come apart. I'm assuming the lock has to release before the decorative 'doughnut' will release?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

ps: I hope you can see the photos via this link:



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i6V...usp=share_link

[DavidG]

Have you tried it with the key held firmly in the open position and simultaneously pulled on the cover? The lock has spring-loaded catches that must be held in the open position to remove the cover.

[Kyzyl]

Yes I have. With the key is turned to the right as far as possible, around the 2-o'clock position, everything is very solid. The wheel feels solidly fixed to the car.

For what it's worth, the overall condition of the car and spare tire is very good, so I don't feel that anything is rusted in place.

I don't understand why the lock can be pushed inward about 1/4". It springs in-and-out. If you look at a photo of one of these locks, it appears that the lock should have a spring around the outside of it, but I'm not quite sure what it is for, other than perhaps to take up any slack to prevent the doughnut cover piece to not rattle?

Furthermore, because the wheel feels so solidly attached to the car, I'm guessing that lug nuts are used to hold it to the spare tire mount?

So what is the lock for? To keep the doughnut trim piece in place to cover the lug nuts? If this assumption is correct, then with the lock moving in-and-out 1/4", I would think the doughnut trim piece would be a little loose, but it isn't. It will spin, but does not want to move in-or-out.

This setup looks like what I have:
https://www.popscreen.com/prod/MTgwN...own-Cover-Nice

Again, I'm somewhat guessing since I don't quite understand how it all works together, which is why I posted my original message.

[Kyzyl]

This looks very much like what I have:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/11546350835...EAAOSwSfdizu7-

My thought was that this lock holds the doughnut trim piece in place, but the problem with that reasoning is that the lock moves in-and-out by 1/4" inside the doughnut trim piece, and the doughnut shaped trim piece isn't particularly loose. Maybe I need to pry it off? (That seems a little odd, because I think it wouldn't take much to scratch or bend it, which I'm trying to avoid since I don't know what I'm doing at this stage.)

[nelsb01]

While you are doing all this -- do you have someone else helping. Before you go prying things, you turn the lock and have someone else try and lift it off.

The lock you show is correct -- the spring goes between the funnel piece and the rim of the lock. With the key turned the two tabs will allow the lock to go past the opening in spare.
Once you get it off, you will see that the lock needs to be pushed down so that a hard steel snap ring can be attached in the circular notch of the lock. The two tabs are outside of the funnel and are what causes the cover to release from the spare.

So, yes, the lock will move in and out (the spring) and allow the two tabs to release. That is why I suggest that you and another person work together to try and get it off.

Hope this makes sense.

PS -- you dont want to damage the lock -- as you can see from the ones for sale, they can be expensive.

[DavidG]

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The movement that you are experiencing is normal as the cylinder is surrounding by a spring that provides a small amount of in-and-out free play. The lock cylinder shown in your ebay reference shows that spring. The spring is supposed to assist in clearing the catches when the key is turned. The one on ebay in #4 above lacks such a spring.

Yes, the wheel is secured to the spare wheel bracket with three lug nuts and the purpose of the cover is to prevent unwanted access to those lug nuts.

Scroll down on your ebay listing to the 17th (or so) item, which is a complete deluxe '36 spare tire cover and lock. If you go to the photos of the back side you will see the back end of the lock assembly. Note the little catches on either side of the bottom of the lock cylinder. They are what engage the spare tire bracket on car's back panel and by turning the key of the lock they are supposed to retract so that the cover face plate assembly can be removed.

Perhaps the catches are hanging up as it may be that your 12-to-2 rotation of the key is not enough. Sorry, I am away from my '36 so I cannot verify how much the key has to rotate to retract the lock catches completely.

[Lawson Cox]

Might I suggest that when you have the key turned as far as it will go, without forcing anything, have your helper "bump" on the area close to the lock with the heel of his hand. This may jarr the little fingers a little and cause them to release if they are lightly "stuck" and will not release fully on their own. Been there done that on other similar situations.

[1934]

This may sound like a dumb question but have you removed the tread cover piece?
Doug.

[Terry,OH]

Have you sprayed the lock with a lubricant such as LPS #1?? Turning the key to 2:00 doesn't seem correct I believe it go further. If you did not have the correct key, the key would not rotate at all so I believe the key is not the problem.

[Kyzyl]

Yay! I got the spare tire cover off, thanks to the suggestion from Doug (aka "1934") (".. remove the tread cover piece.")

The lock, doughnut funnel, and large flat decorative spare cover all came off together. I saw the photo of the doughnut funnel online, so in my mind I thought that piece had to come off first, but that's not the case after all.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to educate me, and thankfully I didn't drill out the lock.

Problem solved. Thank you!

[Kyzyl]

FYI, in my case it appears that the inner doughnut funnel is riveted to the large flat decorative spare cover. Again, in my mind they are separate pieces and would come off the car as separate pieces, since that's what I thought I saw based on the following photo:

https://www.popscreen.com/prod/MTgwN...own-Cover-Nice

In my case, the inner doughnut funnel, the large flat decorative cover, the lock, and the hinged dome with the Ford logo, all came off the car as one piece. Now I know.

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate it.

[fsurface]

Can a locksmith do this or make a key? I have NO key unless the ignition key counts. It goes in but does not turn after a week of soaking.

[deuce lover]

Normally the ign key matched the door lock -on a closed car. Not any old locksmith can pick those locks.You might have to remove the entire assy w/ tire bracket and go in from the back to release the 2 spring loaded tabs.