Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Spare key for 88 Vette

bandit1977

Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
16
Location
Moriac, Victoria, Australia
How do I get another key for my 1988 Vette?
I don't have a spare as it only came with 1 ignition key, naturally I'm worried that I might lose or misplace it.
Being that this is the first year with the VATS resistor pellet in the key, does this make it more of a problem to get a replacement key?

Thanks,
Ken D
 
I think you are probably going to have to go to a dealer. They will probably need to verify the VIN and ownership before they make you a new key. The VIN should tell them what key to make with the proper resistance pellet in it. I ran into a similar problem on another car and that's what I had to do to get a new key made.

Ron
"Baldie88"
 
Maybe don't go to a dealer just yet...

I got a spare for my '87 at Mom 'n' Pop's Key Shoppe, and it tripped VATS system NO MORE than the original.
 
I think you are probably going to have to go to a dealer. They will probably need to verify the VIN and ownership before they make you a new key. The VIN should tell them what key to make with the proper resistance pellet in it. I ran into a similar problem on another car and that's what I had to do to get a new key made.

Ron
"Baldie88"

Going to the dealer might be a bit hard, I should have mentioned I'm located in Australia.
I wonder if I can get a dealer over there (in the USA) to make me a new key and mail it to me?...., I can prove ownership of the car and provide documentation to prove it's in Australia.
If I went to a GM dealer here I'd just get a blank stare if I asked them for another key, they wouldn't have a clue about the VATS system and the resistor key.

Maybe don't go to a dealer just yet...

I got a spare for my '87 at Mom 'n' Pop's Key Shoppe, and it tripped VATS system NO MORE than the original.

Same deal as above, a Mom and Pop key shop located here wouldn't even have one of these types of keys in stock.

The local key shop cut me 2 keys....
OR
You could do the VATS bypass ( resistor under the dash, no longer part of the key )
C4 Corvette VATS Bypass Switch 1986-1991 - Mid America Motorworks
Or just measure the resistor pellet and stop by radio shack... make your own in other words...
Then it just a normal GM key..

Mike

Don't really want to go down the VATS bypass track, I'd prefer to keep the car original and unmodified if possible.
 
Unless someone beats me to it here, I'll ask around town here, and see if I can get a key cut by the VIN for a reasonable rate...


ed.
just got off the phone; they told me I needed the 'Key Number' (NOT the resistance spec of the chip).
 
Another idea might be to get an uncut key with the correct pellet in it
sent to you in Oz, and have a local shop cut it to match the existing one.
But to do that you would need to know the exact resistance of the pellet.
Otherwise you will wind up buying 15 keys and having them cut so
you can do the "try it till it works" trick, then throw the ones that don't
work away. I really think the first thing you need to do is to find out the
exact resistance of the pellet.......
Andy :w
Googled "pellet resistance values for 1988 corvette" and came up with this.....

Pellet Resistance Code Ohms
1 - 402
2 - 523
3 - 681
4 - 887
5 - 1130
6 - 1470
7 - 1870
8 - 2370
9 - 3010
10 - 3740
11 - 4570
12 - 6040
13 - 7500
14 - 9530
15 - 11800
Check yours against this list......

also found this site.....
http://www.carlocksandkeys.com/servlet/the-ALL/keyword/Chevrolet-vats/Categories
if you know what the value of your pellet is, you SHOULD be able to get the keys from here...
Andy
 
Last edited:
Unless someone beats me to it here, I'll ask around town here, and see if I can get a key cut by the VIN for a reasonable rate...


ed.
just got off the phone; they told me I needed the 'Key Number' (NOT the resistance spec of the chip).

Thanks Schrade,
I don't know what the key number is, weird that they don't want the resistance spec?....I would have thought that was equally important as the key number/code itself.
Ken
 
Another idea might be to get an uncut key with the correct pellet in it
sent to you in Oz, and have a local shop cut it to match the existing one.
But to do that you would need to know the exact resistance of the pellet.
Otherwise you will wind up buying 15 keys and having them cut so
you can do the "try it till it works" trick, then throw the ones that don't
work away. I really think the first thing you need to do is to find out the
exact resistance of the pellet.......
Andy :w
Googled "pellet resistance values for 1988 corvette" and came up with this.....

Pellet Resistance Code Ohms
1 - 402
2 - 523
3 - 681
4 - 887
5 - 1130
6 - 1470
7 - 1870
8 - 2370
9 - 3010
10 - 3740
11 - 4570
12 - 6040
13 - 7500
14 - 9530
15 - 11800
Check yours against this list......

also found this site.....
Results for Chevrolet vats
if you know what the value of your pellet is, you SHOULD be able to get the keys from here...
Andy

Thanks Andy, you must have been reading my mind, this was the path I was thinking about going down.
I figured it was just a matter of finding:
A. Somebody who could supply the key.
B. That supplier having the key with the correct value pellet.
I'll check out the site you've listed, hopefully they'll have what I need.

Ken
 
Thanks Schrade,
I don't know what the key number is, weird that they don't want the resistance spec?....I would have thought that was equally important as the key number/code itself.
Ken

Hi there, for my '88 I just measured the resistance, took the number, from the chart, ordered that number, for Corvette from Ebay. Cost $7.00 (your shipping would be a tad higher), took the blank to a local hardware store and, they cut it using the original.......Roger.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom