What to do when you lock the keys of your car in the trunk

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Today’s Blog Post


What to do when you lock the keys of your car in the trunk

“Sorry I can’t help you. It is too late to call a Locksmith. There is nothing we can do. If the keys are locked into the trunk and there is no trunk latch in the car – you won’t get your trunk open. There is nothing I can do.”

That was the less than encouraging wording used by the CAA man at the side of the soccer field last evening.

I looked at him and replied, “Could you just unlock the car and we will deal with getting into the trunk?”

He reassured me again, “But you cannot get the trunk open from inside.”

“Please, just unlock the car. I will deal with the trunk.” was my answer.

I could have said to the young whipper snapper… ‘there are ways that old guys can get into anything.’ – but I didn’t.

He opened the car door and left the scene.

I retrieved some tools from home and 30 minutes later the trunk was open.

The CAA man was somewhat correct in what he said, “I can’t help you.”

So how did I do it? Well the same way that I used to do it and have done it before.

This is an older car. It belongs to my grandson Clifford. Being old it has old tricks that you can use to make it do what you want it to do. (I think the car is older than the CAA guy is… and he had never seen a vehicle quite like it.)

With older cars you need to remove the back seat. First you take out the lower part of the seat, then you take off the back of the back seat. Behind the seat is a metal frame that extends from one side of the vehicle to the other. In that frame there are huge holes of all kinds. Behind the holes, or covering the holes, you will find a sound proofing material. Punching the sound proofing material into the trunk is quite easy.

In the trunk was my daughter’s purse that contained the keys for the car.

My daughter used the coat hanger to reach through the holes in the frame, grab hold of the burse with the hook on the hanger and pull the purse toward the hole. Then she simply reached in to the hole and her purse… and had the keys in a heart beat.

The CAA guy had left and 30 minutes later she had the keys to drive home.

Sounds easy doesn’t it?

Not quite as easy as it sounds I am afraid. In order to get a good idea of what was happening you need to understand that the temperature outside was about 27 C – (in the high 80s F) with high humidity. Inside the car was worse. It is dark and the stupid seat back wouldn’t come loose. The TORX bolts were tighter than tight. Nothing would budge them.

BUT WHEN IT IS HOT and HUMID – and you are desperate… you simply give the seat back a tug loose from the support bracket at the top centre, pull the seat top down a little in the middle… and then reach in to punch out the sound barrier… stick the coat hanger into the hole and pull the purse back.

I know, I know… I will admit that the CAA couldn’t stay around that long… and he likely never had installed speakers in old cars – the way that I have in the past. And he would never have pulled the top of the seat cushion down the way that I did…

Sorry CCA Guy… you did your job… you just needed an old Grandpa to help out a little.

Tonight later I have to deal with getting the seat back into the car, bolting it down again… but it will be done in about 15 minutes.

It all began 51 years ago with my love for older cars. Now about 25 cars later I have gleaned a whole lot of experience… and can help my kids out of jams the get into.

But if the truth be told entirely… my daughter Dana can take the back seat out as well. She is the one that took off the nuts last night – when my head felt like it would explode from the heat inside the car. She is real handy with tools and took ‘Shop’ in High School. And the final truth… she is a chip of the old block… ME!

Grandpas are amazing. They can do kinds of things… with their daughter’s help!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/