Topic: NOS 1965-66 Mustang Keys

[gt350t]

I picked up a set of 1965-66 Mustang pony keys. The box has the part number C5ZZ-6522053-B. Does anyone know if the H stamping makes it a original part. I'll upload some pictures.

[Bob Gaines]

I picked up a set of 1965-66 Mustang pony keys. The box has the part number C5ZZ-6522053-B. Does anyone know if the H stamping makes it a original part. I'll upload some pictures.

The "h" has  always been a good indicator.

[NEFaurora]

"The "H" has  always been a good indicator."

+1

Bob is right on.

Some keys have "USA" stamped on them on the back of the blank, and some don't I have found.  The "H" refers to the Original Supplier of the Key Manufacturer.... I cannot remember the name though.. "Hilbrand?"....not 100% sure, but they were the Assembly line Supplier of the keys in the cars off the factory floor for '65-'66.   Some NOS keys have an "I" on them instead of the "H".  These were later "ILCO" made NOS key blanks used as Service Replacements.  NPD used to sell some of them and may still have some in stock for '65-'66, but some types may be sold out.

[MattDoscher]

Attached are pic's of the keys of my '65 coupe and my wife's '65 Comet.  You can see an I on the front of the Mustang ignition key and a B on the front of the Mustang trunk key.  On my wife's Comet keys you can see an H on the front of the ignition key and a B on the front of the trunk key.  The backs all say USA.

[jstefanick]

I purchased the door and ignition blank from NPD a month ago, Part number 22053-1- Listed as NOS originals. They have the "USA" on one side and the letter "I" on the other side. I guess these are the ILCO service replacement blanks written about above.

My original trunk key does have the letter H on it and USA on the back side.

[mjd 65]

Rick from NPD discussed the ILCO keys in a 2013 thread:

Gentlemen,

The pony key blanks we sell as NOS are indeed new-old-stock... Ford's manufacturer for those keys was originally ILCO. It's been so long that I can hardly remember the circumstances, but suffice it to say that my father somehow got tipped-off back in the mid-80's that ILCO still had a bunch of original Pony door/ignition and trunk key blanks in their warehouse. So he managed to buy-out everything they had. It was an absurd amount, like 20-30 thousand door, and 15 thousand trunk. He always said "it's probably a lifetime supply".

Well, the lifetime supply is about gone. We've got about 40 trunk blanks left in California, and that's it. I've got about 2,500 door blanks left, which will make it another couple years.

Regarding the letters, I'm not a "key decoder", but it's gotta be a code of some sort, but I don't know if it's date, or purpose, or what. I always thought the "I" stood for "ignition". Somebody else will have to chime on that.

But they came straight out of ILCO, back around the mid-80's, as surplus that Ford never absorbed. They came to us 50-per-box, in boxes labeled "Rotunda 011-00205" for the doors and "Rotunda 011-00206" for the trunks.

Rick
NPD

http://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=5845.0

[jwc66k]

Rick also said -
As a follow-up I went and looked at some original keys from our low-mile collection, and found "B" and "H" and "I" on different sets, from Galaxies to Thunderbirds to my one low-mile '65 Mustang. It's original pony keys had the "H", but again, I don't think that having "I" is necessarily incorrect, I just don't know what these codes meant...
http://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=5845.msg39667#msg39667
I have, two verified by the original owners, original 66 keys, both have the "H" logo. I also have two sets of keys with the "I" logo that came with their respective cars. I cannot verify their originality. In discussing NOS parts on this forum, the most significant attribute of a NOS part is that it may not what was installed at the factory, but is what Ford Service Departments stocked to support cars after they were built. A NOS part is a double edged sword, it is Ford, it may not be as original.
Jim

[WT8095]

As a follow-up I went and looked at some original keys from our low-mile collection, and found "B" and "H" and "I" on different sets...

If (a big if) the letter represents the key manufacturer, then "B" is likely Briggs & Stratton, "I" is ILCO, and "H" may be Hurd. All three of these companies made keys for Ford from the 20s into the 40s, beyond that it's hard to find much info. I found a really nice writeup on Camaro keys (http://www.camaros.org/keysandlocks.shtml); it would be nice to put together a similar reference for Ford keys.

From keys that I have and several other references, "H50" and "H51" keys were made by Curtis. I can't determine if Curtis supplied any assembly line keys to Ford, or if they were Service & aftermarket only.

[NEFaurora]

Yes.  That's correct as stated above.  The letter stamped on the key corresponds to the maker/supplier of the key such as the three suppliers listed above.  We figured this out a few years ago when some different original boxes of NOS keys turned up from various suppliers and all the stamped letters on the leys matched up 100% with the First letter of the makers of the key blanks...The mystery was solved.

PS: "H50" and "H51" just refers to the type of key blank. One is Late 60's-80's Ford Trunks, and One is Late 60's-80's Ford ignitions.  These numbers were not just specific to Curtis key blanks, but other aftermarket key blank makers as well. The origin of the numbers probably comes from the Original Designers of the Blanks...Maybe Hurd...

)

Tony K.