Life is full of keys: the key to happiness, the key to success, the humble house key, office key, car key. We all have scores of them. When you need a copy you just take the original down to the local hardware store and get one made . . . . unless the key is for the glove box of a 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SSZ!
The Alfatross came with one key for each of the four locks. Remembering how many times I have locked myself out of various cars in the past I thought it might be a good idea to have spares. Locking yourself out of a daily driver is an inconvenience. Misplacing the keys to a 60-year old Classic could turn into a disaster!
At the local locksmith shop the attendant eyed my four keys warily, then turned to an entire wall of key blanks--hundreds or maybe even thousands of them--and started looking for matches. It took a while, but he managed to find blanks for three out of the four, and cut them. The fourth one was the ignition key--sorry, no match for that one! Any idea where I should look for a match? A shrug.
When I got back to The Shed and tried the three new keys, none of them worked. Everything was right except that the key tongues were too thick. This is how I found out that the only sure way to know if a duplicate key will work is to take the lock with you to the locksmith shop as well as the key you want to duplicate.
But the other three key were so strange-looking that I think they probably are original. The keys could be cut locally, but where would I find the right blanks? The Taylor Lock Co. name was my only clue, but it turned out to be a good one. Taylor was bought out by the International Key Corporation. A quick query over the Internet and I was in contact with Errol in Customer Service. Yes, they have Taylor blanks with numbers matching those on my key and would send them right away. One problem solved.
The other three weird keys are turning out to be more of a challenge. Two of them were short and stubby but kind of classy-looking. Both bore the letters FIST surrounded by some fancy curlicues. There were no other markers or numbers that I could use to narrow down the search. The third key's only distinguishing characteristic was what looked like a capital "T" inside a box.
This is where I discovered how hard it is to describe a key that doesn't have any name or number on it. Good luck asking for the trunk lock of a 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SSZagato"!
First I sent out photos to various vendors. They said "we need to see both sides." So I sent out pairs of photos. Then they said "show the keys on a metric scale with the hilt at 0." I did. Then they said "What does the end-on profile look like?" So I sent photos of clay impressions. Then they said "Oh, just send us the damn keys and locks and let us sort them out!"
Personal Connections
So that's where we are now. I still don't have all the duplicates The Alfatross needs, but I do have a much greater respect for the humble key! The ignition key may not be original, but the other three are a physical connection with the previous 6 owners of The Alfatross, going all the way back to its first owner, Alessandro Costantini Brancadoro in 1955.
And there is another connection as well, one with the Italian movie star Massimo Girotti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Girotti), a very popular screen actor in the mid-1950s. The chain that now holds The Alfatross' ignition key belonged to him. It was given to me by his son, Alessio, with whom I had often discussed my plans to restore the car and--who knows--maybe take it back to Italy some day and run it in the Mille Miglia. When he laid the chain in my hand he said solemnly, "My father would approve!"
Maybe I'll even take The Alfatross back to Bronzetti & Ternati and ask for a tune-up!
Old Keys Are Different
Where a modern car has A key that opens everything, it takes 4 keys to open the locks on The Alfatross: Key 1 unlocks the driver's side door. Key 2 is for the ignition switch. Key 3 lets you into the glove box and you need Key 4 to open the trunk. Why so many keys? I guess it's a Zagato thing. Every lock came from a different vendor. Zagato didn't make its own ignition switches or door locks.The Alfatross came with one key for each of the four locks. Remembering how many times I have locked myself out of various cars in the past I thought it might be a good idea to have spares. Locking yourself out of a daily driver is an inconvenience. Misplacing the keys to a 60-year old Classic could turn into a disaster!
At the local locksmith shop the attendant eyed my four keys warily, then turned to an entire wall of key blanks--hundreds or maybe even thousands of them--and started looking for matches. It took a while, but he managed to find blanks for three out of the four, and cut them. The fourth one was the ignition key--sorry, no match for that one! Any idea where I should look for a match? A shrug.
When I got back to The Shed and tried the three new keys, none of them worked. Everything was right except that the key tongues were too thick. This is how I found out that the only sure way to know if a duplicate key will work is to take the lock with you to the locksmith shop as well as the key you want to duplicate.
To the Web!
I deduced that the ignition key was not original from the fact that it was made by the Taylor Lock Co. of Philadelphia, USA. Too bad, but after the passage of 60 years and 7 owners it was too much to expect the original key to still be with the car. |
| The Alfatross' ignition key (not original). Millimeter scale at top. |
 |
| Trunk key, probably original. What does FIST stand for? No other markings present. |
But the other three key were so strange-looking that I think they probably are original. The keys could be cut locally, but where would I find the right blanks? The Taylor Lock Co. name was my only clue, but it turned out to be a good one. Taylor was bought out by the International Key Corporation. A quick query over the Internet and I was in contact with Errol in Customer Service. Yes, they have Taylor blanks with numbers matching those on my key and would send them right away. One problem solved.
 |
| Glove Box key, probably original. What does the "T" signify? No other markings present. |
The other three weird keys are turning out to be more of a challenge. Two of them were short and stubby but kind of classy-looking. Both bore the letters FIST surrounded by some fancy curlicues. There were no other markers or numbers that I could use to narrow down the search. The third key's only distinguishing characteristic was what looked like a capital "T" inside a box.
 |
| Door lock key, probably original. No other markings present. |
This is where I discovered how hard it is to describe a key that doesn't have any name or number on it. Good luck asking for the trunk lock of a 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SSZagato"!
First I sent out photos to various vendors. They said "we need to see both sides." So I sent out pairs of photos. Then they said "show the keys on a metric scale with the hilt at 0." I did. Then they said "What does the end-on profile look like?" So I sent photos of clay impressions. Then they said "Oh, just send us the damn keys and locks and let us sort them out!"
 |
| Key profile impressions made in clay. |
Personal Connections
So that's where we are now. I still don't have all the duplicates The Alfatross needs, but I do have a much greater respect for the humble key! The ignition key may not be original, but the other three are a physical connection with the previous 6 owners of The Alfatross, going all the way back to its first owner, Alessandro Costantini Brancadoro in 1955. And there is another connection as well, one with the Italian movie star Massimo Girotti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Girotti), a very popular screen actor in the mid-1950s. The chain that now holds The Alfatross' ignition key belonged to him. It was given to me by his son, Alessio, with whom I had often discussed my plans to restore the car and--who knows--maybe take it back to Italy some day and run it in the Mille Miglia. When he laid the chain in my hand he said solemnly, "My father would approve!"
Maybe I'll even take The Alfatross back to Bronzetti & Ternati and ask for a tune-up!
