How to rekey old VW locks

In this video I show how to rekey a VW lock from the 60s/70s to suit a new key

[@gerardscholten8601]

At the time of watching this video is 3 years old - after taking my lock to the locksmith I was told there was no way my decklid lock could be rekeyed to match the door/ignition - too old and not the right barrel. Didn't even take it apart. Today I tried this and it worked a treat. Now I have one key which opens all three locks.

[@BoostedVW]

Glad it helped, it’s hard to find locksmiths that can be bothered with older stuff.

[@olive625]

Thank you, this was really useful and helped me to get a decklid locking for the first time in my ownership!!

[@BoostedVW]

Thanks, glad it helped.

[@matthewleonard1975]

I put this technique into practice when one afternoon I started up my 74 super beetle and heard an awful noise....someone put a few frozen fish in my engine bay. Fish and fan belts don't mix. Thank you Boosted for taking the time to share and inspire VW fans everywhere... Hope you are doing ok in Vic ......Brisbane here Mate

[@BoostedVW]

Glad it helped, I had a friend being a smart arse back in the late 90s pulled my coil wire off so the car wouldn’t start. Was a harmless joke but it loosened the connector so it fell off on me in traffic and killed the engine, not fun in peak hour.

[@DMACHOLMAN]

I was looking for a video like yours. I have a 91 VW Corrado I've owned since 2001 it needs new door handles that work with one key your video could help so much. Thanks.

[@junkman7426]

I have a '67 and my door lock are quite difference. Same process though. Thank you for this video. Believe it or not, months ago I brought these to a locksmith, and a shop that specializes in air VWs and both said they couldn't do these. I just wanted all the locks to match the ignition key. Did it myself. Thank you!!

[@BoostedVW]

Nice one, glad the video helped, they’re really simple once you get them apart.

[@FunFun-tv7gq]

Thanks a lot for your time and effort sharing your informative video. Doing this project this weekend. Cheers from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺.

[@BoostedVW]

Thanks, glad it helped.

[@chriscampbell885]

Great video! Exactly the info I needed to get my deck lid to lock.

[@BoostedVW]

Thanks, glad it helped.

[@BenjamanWoolner]

Cheers for this, will be putting this info to good use. I have a 78 VW LT28 as well as my bug project now, and I went to lock the back doors, took the key out and the entire barrel came out firing it's contents everywhere, needless to say as I wasn't expecting that to happen things got lost, now I stand a chance of fixing it 👍🏻

[@BoostedVW]

You’ll probably find the cam and screw in the bottom of the door

[@BenjamanWoolner]

@@BoostedVW I hope so, but as the weather is beginning to improve again, I'm hoping to finish welding, I've already fabricated and added floor back into the cab 😆

[@chrstphrr]

Thanks for the video -- I haven't a Beetle, but I loved seeing how the locks were constructed. And, how many simularities there were to locks, cylinders, and wafers for the side-cut keys in my collection of mk4 cars.

[@johnfreeman1189]

Thanks for sharing! Always enjoy your videos... Very informative!

[@RecklessModelling]

Just what I was looking for! Great video!

[@BoostedVW]

Thanks, glad it helped

[@SladesVWBeetle]

This was a really good video! Ignore the complainers, it’s just ignorance on their part. I have the American front grill, but I covered the slots closed.

[@BoostedVW]

Thanks, we only got the solid aprons on supers here in Oz, I want to put a/c in this one.

[@stirlingholloway8112]

Thanks! I learned a lot from this.

[@vwcoco]

Thanks for sharing , I’ve lots of keys and handles/deck lid without keys thanks

[@blinddog140]

This video is awesome! Thank you!

[@kingnothing9572]

Awesome. Great video. Thanks for the info

[@nassimkoubeissi5814]

hello thank you for the videos and effort only stupid people doesn't appreciate hard work doung a video to help others and in addition to the valuable info that others hide to make money .

[@EduardoOliveira-ho3ll]

That is a great video, it is really what I was looking for. In my case a (maybe) subtle difference is that I lost the key for the engine lid lock and I would like to use the ignition key on it instead. The problem is that my ignition key does not fully enter in the lock of the engine lid while it is inside the handle. Would this process work in this case? Does it even worth removing the lock/wafers when the key we want rekey to does not enter the lock? Thanks for all this!

[@BoostedVW]

Unfortunately if the key doesn’t slide all the way in it must be a different profile lock barrel. Is it for a beetle? The key profile changed in 1971 so engine lid locks before and after look the same but use different keys.

[@scottmorgan2443]

Thanks for the great informative video, it helped me a lot. However I am having trouble figuring out how to remove the key cylinder from the sliding door handle of my 1973 VW Westfalia. The handle was easy to remove but I can see no obvious way of removing the cylinder. Just wondering if you have any ideas or suggestions. Cheers!

[@KoenigsTiger957]

Great video, thank you!

[@vza423]

I think I've watched most of your VW videos and enjoyed them all! I have no time for complaining nit wits about how shaky, dark, too loud, too much background noise, etc. etc. etc.... Piss off and make a better video. (Rant over) Thanks for all of your work, you've saved me more than once.

[@peterdonaldson6786]

Thanks, great video. I just got a splitscreen but I have no keys! What would you recommend?

[@BoostedVW]

Hi Peter, a good locksmith could make a new key if you gave them one of the barrels but you can also just buy a new ignition switch and key your doors to match assuming it uses the same key profile (sorry I’m not too up scratch with split bus locks)

[@peterdonaldson6786]

@@BoostedVW Thanks for your reply. I spoke to someone at Alan Schofield in the UK who said to remove the barrel from the doorhandle /igniton and there will be a code on it. They can then make keys from that code. Will try that this weekend.

[@nittygrittykitchen]

Thanks, awesome video!

[@evcoolgene]

Hi, I need to rekey the ignition barrel of a 1970 Beetle. How do I take that cap off the back of it to get to the plug and wafers? Thanks I’m advance

[@BoostedVW]

I’ve not taking one of that type apart before, I think the rim needs to be uncrimped to get it apart

[@redram646]

Do you have a video on doing the ignition lock ? 🔐

[@BoostedVW]

No I don’t sorry, it’s much more tricky to do.

[@tommyhamilton5792]

Can you help me out with some wireing and fuses

[@Adel_Volks]

Hi! What wafer kit did you use? I can’t finde them :(

[@BoostedVW]

I just have an assortment of old locks I raid but I’ve seen packets of them for sale, most European cars of that era use the same ones.