QuestionPlease help! I accidentally threw away the key to my husband's 1949 Buick!!!
Any suggestions for fixing this dilemna would be most appreciated.
AnswerUnfortunately, there is nothing that you can do about this other than to get a locksmith to make a new key for it.
If you have the original owner's manual for the car, you may find that the first buyer wrote the key code inside the front flap of the manual - many folks did that. If you are lucky enough to have the original sales invoice, the key code will be on that also. If you find that code, any automotive locksmith can make a duplicate key from it.
If you don't have the code, the locksmith has to physically work with the lock. The door locks use the same key, so you can take a front door lock out of the door and have him make a key from that, or you can take the whole car to him (the ignition will have to be "hot wired" to drive the car - perhaps you know someone who can do that for you), or you can ask the locksmith to come to the car and make a key for it. That is probably the most practical way to solve the problem - just tell him when you call him what year and make of car it is, he will bring the right key blank for it. As he will know, this is the most common Briggs and Stratton ignition key there is - there were probably 100 million cars built that use that same key blank.
Speaking as a very experienced (52 years) husband myself, I would say your best bet for dealing with your husband is to bake him a really nice batch of cookies!
Dick
