Triumph Spitfire Adventure: Keys what keys

One may ponder that when you buy a car, you expect to get a set of keys, but it's just not that way in this case. It was over a month before I even realized there wasn't keys in the car or in my possession.

Strangely in this modern world, I have trust. On buying the car, I put trust in my brothers ability to find a good car at a good price, heck if it was good enough for him to buy it for himself, it's good enough for me. I have seen nothing on the car to change my mind. Excepting the non-running engine, and the rocker panel rust this is straightforward easy work. The two problem areas are a stretch for me but should be no problem with a little help from friends...

I didn't even realize the lack of key issue until I contemplated what's it going to take to get the engine running again... Gaskets, fuel system clean-out, battery, changing all the fluids, examining all the fluids, verify the removed electrical wires are taped up for no sparking, and then the turning of the key... Hmm... What key?

The shop where I'm working on it usually keeps all the keys of the cars locked tightly away for security's sake and he might have put it there, but I just didn't remember, quite embarrassing. I'm trying to be as least of a burden on him as he is enabling me to house the car there.

I e-mailed my brother about it.

"Keys, uh, you don't need keys for a Spitfire. Actually that was the one thing I never got from the PO. She was able to twist the ignition with any key she had in her pocket and she never locked the car, so she has no clue where the original is." --brother

Whew, that solves that mystery! I'm quite at ease with this outcome. Worst case I'll grind my own set but my brother has connections. It's a Cajun thing, it's good to know people.

"If you get me the tumblers, I can get my lock smith friend to cut a new set of keys and/or re-key the locks." --brother

What connections, I don't know anyone here with that talent, and I'm would only be a hack at cutting a key. I still haven't figured out the ward pattern for the locks as this is a restoration of a restoration, it could literally be any of the ward types.

I have removed the trunk hardware seen below: Mismatched hardware is one of my pet peeves, I'm likely to replace the hardware with Stainless Steel replacements. Paint over parts not meant to be painted, ugh no wonder it was flaking off in sheets.

After removing the pin, removing the cylinder, and a lot of polishing, WD-40, and goo gone, it cleaned up pretty well. The cylinder has a three digit number code on it. I'm unsure if that is the part number for the cylinder, or the key code. I'll have my brother ask his locksmith friend.