Cadillac Repair/1980 seville

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/14/2009


Question
please don't laugh i restored a 1980 seville yesterday i took it out of the garage opened the trunk and locked the keys inside you now i don't have a spare set .i call a locksmith who wont come out he says these are difficult.i try and run power to the yellow truck release button no good. i drill out the truck lock still cant open it.now i am really frustrated. so i go in the back seat pull out the speaker covering pop the speakers into the trunk use a rod to retrieve my keys thru the speaker opening.so now i have my keys but since i drilled out the trunk lock how can i get this trunk open ?

Answer
Push on the rear seat cushion towards the rear and pull up. That takes the cushion out. You will see the seat belts have a bolt in them. Remove the two bolts. Grab the rear seat backrest at the bottom and pull upward. Now the rear seats are out. There are three 10mm head bolts that hold the latch on. If you don't go inside the trunk, you will need long extensions on your ratchet. Remove the tree bolts and the trunk will release.
Once trunk is up- remove the clip that holds the lock in place. There will be a rivet or a screw holding this retainer on. Once removed, pry downward and lock will come right out. Reinstall latch and lock and you are done.

Rob

Cadillac Repair

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.