[TR] Removing TR3 Glovebox

Randall TR3driver at ca.rr.com
Wed Jun 21 05:38:04 MDT 2017


> Restoration work is beginning on a 1960 TR3A.  Keys are lost.  I think we
> need to open the glovebox door in the dash panel to remove the box, but it
> is locked and the key is missing.  How can we remove the box without
> destroying it?  Is there a reasonably easy way to pick the lock?

YouTube has many videos showing how to pick locks.  TR locks are a very
plain design, easy to pick.

The idea is to use two small tools (which you'll have to build yourself),
one of which can apply a small amount of turning force to the cylinder,
while the other reaches in and lifts each tumbler in turn.  Both can be made
from small paper clips.

With a bit of turning, some of the tumblers will be a bit stiff.  Lift them
until they kind of snap into a free zone and stay up, then repeat with the
others.  When they are all lifted to the right place, the cylinder should
turn.

There are other alternatives, like having a locksmith come out and do it for
you; but that is likely to cost more than the glovebox.  And unless the car
has somehow never been rained on, chances are that the glovebox needs to be
replaced anyway.  They were just thick cardboard, not very water resistant.
And it's easy for water to find it's way down through the defroster vent
opening and onto the top of the glovebox.

-- Randall



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