Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

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Daniel Roman
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Location: South Florida

Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#1 Post by Daniel Roman »

Hello Everyone!
Our services include, originating new keys when keys are lost, stolen, or non functional or are not available/usable. We offer repairs with good used parts or new parts when available. Full maintenance, deep cleaning, new lube, and a full inspection of your parts for condition, wear, etc. We do key duplication, rekey/repin services to match locks, and sell key blanks if the customer would like to purchase extras. We also make keys by code when the code is available. If the code is not known or the locks are out of spec due to wear, we will decode the lock and make a key. Sometimes we will also make a key by hand. We rebuild locks as well, with used parts when available and new small parts. We have also offered restoration services as well to other customers in the past. If you have your own chrome shop you would like to use, we can disassemble and prep your parts for plating. We then send back to you or your designated shop and reassemble your parts once we get them back. Most platers will not do this, and if they do they charge anywhere from $75-$150/labor hour to do this. They can also lose or damage your parts and they offer no guarantees or remediation when/if this occurs.

Aside from this, another one of our specialties is customer service. This is how we handle customer orders:
1) First and foremost, we do our best to accommodate our customer's wishes.
2) We listen to our customers, these are your parts, not ours. So with us, YOU CAN HAVE IT YOUR WAY, WE LISTEN TO WHAT YOU WANT AND WHAT YOUR LOCKS NEED.
3) The only exception to rule number 2, is that we insist on top quality work, so we will not cut corners while servicing your locks.
4) We always communicate through email, to avoid misunderstandings or miscommunication.
5) We make every effort to reply to emails within 1-2 days; same day IF time permits.
6) We give you a preliminary written estimate without having to send in your locks. The estimate is based on your description, the visible condition from pictures, and our experience as to what work your locks need as per your request.
7) We ask for your tracking number when shipping, so we can keep an eye out for your parts during transit.
8) Once we receive your parts, we will follow up with an email confirmation same day or next day to notify you of their arrival.
9) We photograph, identify, catalog and store your parts in a container of their own. We do not co-mingle your parts at any time with ours or another customer's parts.
10) We only work on one customer's order at a time. This allows us to focus on your project in receiving our full attention.
11) Within 3-7 days we will fully inspect your parts and submit our evaluation of the findings to you. We do our best to give our experienced best guess before you ship your parts, but once we have them in hand we will give you a definitive assessment. If the locks require other work due to damage, wear etc based on a physical, hands on inspection of their condition, we let you know. After physical inspection we will notify you for your prior knowledge, approval, and consent. We will not do any work without your approval.
12) If the work order needs to change we notify you of any additional work and costs involved at this time before work on your order proceeds.
13) After receipt and inspection, we can give you a timeline for completion and return shipping of your order. Sometimes parts, keys, etc have to be sourced, so we are at the mercy of suppliers/vendors in this respect.
14) We will also provide progress updates of the work and will provide pictures or videos as necessary.
15) We work on a 50% deposit basis and only require full payment when your order is completed, prior to return shipping of your parts.
16) We ship back your parts via USPS Priority Mail with your choice of insured value.
17) We set you up with tracking notifications so you can make arrangements for delivery. Most shipments will need to be signed for due to insured values.
18) We always welcome your input and will address any concerns you may have.
19) Our prices are competitive. Our labor rates do not even begin to approach the labor rate at Porsche or well known restoration houses.
20) We use quality parts and keys.
21) Most importunately, if we take on your job, we will treat you and your parts with respect and consideration and we hope that you will do the same for us. We are honest and reliable and work mainly through word of mouth referrals from prior customers recommending our services to friends, family, colleagues, car club buddies and such.

You can see some of our work and customer feedback by following these links below. We have a lot more parts/key blanks available that are not listed, but are in stock.

on Ebay - Tweets Restorations:
http://stores.ebay.com/type4andmore

on Ebay - New Parts:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/type4_plus/m.ht ... pg=&_from=

on 914World:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php? ... 8&t=214952

on Early911sRegistry:
http://www.early911sregistry.org/forums ... ey-service

Regards,
Dan & Alicia
at Tweets Restorations
Last edited by Daniel Roman on Fri Jul 21, 2017 1:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your key and lock needs

#2 Post by Daniel Roman »

Here is an ignition we just rebuilt for a Registry member. When we received the ignition, neither of the owner's keys would insert and the cylinder was jammed between the Acc and Off positions. After disassembly and inspection we found that there were numerous condition issues with the ignition assembly:
1) wear to the pin tumblers
2) wear to the oem Porsche key
3) improperly cut spare aftermarket key
4) electrical switch in need of rebuilding

So, the entire ignition was serviced, rebuilt and new keys cut and hand fitted to compensate for wear. Here are some after (first 4 pictures) and before (pics 5-8, bottom) of the work performed.
Attachments
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TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your key and lock needs

#3 Post by Daniel Roman »

Here is a late glove box lock that a customer sent in. He has a project and when he purchased the car there were boxes of parts. One of them was the glove box lock which had been disassembled by a previous owner. Unfortunately, when doing so, the lock suffered internal and external damage. This style of lock, which is also used on early 911/912 is very difficult to work with and requires experience, skills and special tools to disassemble, and reassemble. It is probably the most challenging of all the Porsche locks, along with the gear shift locks. We were able to remediate the internal damage, make a new key and make the lock fully operational again; no small feat. Here are some before and after pictures.
Attachments
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TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#4 Post by Daniel Roman »

Here are some pictures of one of our own in-house restorations. We purchased this switch from a seller in "as good working condition". Who hasn't bought a "working" part only to find out the description was a little generous? As you can see the Bakelite suffered from brittleness, which is typical. The seller also neglected to mention there were three deeply embedded male bullet terminals inside the base of the switch. So, we repaired the Bakelite, decoded the lock, cut two new keys to code and rebuilt the electrical switch. The lock was deep cleaned and the lock cylinder was treated for oxidation, the switch is now back to fully functioning condition with two quality Taylor K300 solid brass keys.
Attachments
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P7250142.JPG
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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DonCichocki
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#5 Post by DonCichocki »

Daniel, where are you located?

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#6 Post by Daniel Roman »

Hello Don,
We are in South Florida. Distance is not an issue for us. We have customers all around the globe and conduct business through email and receive and send parts anywhere our customers need their parts sent; home, work, business and even mechanic's shops or restorations houses. We've even sent parts to customers' hotels while they are visiting the U.S.
Regards,
Alicia & Dan
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Daniel Roman
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Location: South Florida

Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#7 Post by Daniel Roman »

An order we just finished up for a member. It was pleasure collaborating on this project. Here we had three locks without keys. The locks also had damage caused by a chrome shop that mishandled the work. We were able to remediate the damage and got the locks operational.
Attachments
P8040148.JPG
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Martin Benade
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#8 Post by Martin Benade »

Daniel, you are able to "pick" a shift lock to open it up and key it, as opposed to hacking it open like certain others do?
Cleveland Ohio
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56 VW
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04 Sienna

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#9 Post by Daniel Roman »

Martin Benade wrote:Daniel, you are able to "pick" a shift lock to open it up and key it, as opposed to hacking it open like certain others do?
Hello Martin,
There are essentially 4 methods for disassembling this style of lock:
1) lock picking - This is easier said than done on this gear shift lock. The warding on this lock makes it a challenge and also the number of pins; the more pins the more difficult. This lock has tricky warding. It is constructed like a high security lock for its time. So standard lock picks will not access the pins. Due to their age and also the placement of this particular lock; near the floor of the vehicle, where there is a lot of moisture accumulation, the locks get heavily oxidized. A clean dry lock is essential to successful picking.
2) bumping - Also difficult due to the design of this lock and how badly most of them are oxidized internally.
3) impressioning - Labor intensive, time consuming and costly. One of our competitors charges $250 for making a key this way. Our method is much more affordable.
4) modifying the lock - Creating a pin cap were none exists. This method is also labor intensive because it is all free hand work. The modification is not visible when the lock is installed. The pin cap method is already in use in other oem Porsche locks, although most 356 owners are not aware. We use either copper or brass stock to fashion a pin cap by hand. The key is also hand fitted to the lock to ensure a perfect fit. So, pins that are out of spec due to wear or other condition issues are compensated for when making the new key.

We use the fourth option to work on this lock. So yes, we can make you keys, but the lock will be modified in its appearance. However, once the lock is installed the mod is not visible. We do not hack at the lock. We retrofit it in a way consistent with proven locksmithing methods and a more elegant solution than what you have seen in the past. We can also disguise the pin cap if the customer would prefer a more subtle look. We have a paint which is close in appearance to the dark bronze anodizing on the lock. We can also use this paint if the customer would like to have the face/body of the lock refinished. So many of these locks are scratched or have been over polished.

This lock you see in the pictures has both the copper pin cap and the body of the lock was touched up with a small artist's brush to give it a mottled look. If we were restoring the finish, it would be sprayed for a more uniform look.
Attachments
P8040132.JPG
P8040131.JPG
P8040129.JPG
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Charles H Jacobus
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#10 Post by Charles H Jacobus »

Does the person wanting the lock serviced have to send you the top part of the gear shift mechanism or can you instruct that person how to get the lock out of it?

Chuck
Current:
2012 Silver 991
1995 Midnight blue 993
1965 Red 356C

Past:
Fond memories of 14 others (including a '63 Normal and a 61 S90) :)

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#11 Post by Daniel Roman »

Charles H Jacobus wrote:Does the person wanting the lock serviced have to send you the top part of the gear shift mechanism or can you instruct that person how to get the lock out of it?

Chuck
Hello Chuck,
It is not necessary to send in the gear shift assembly. It will save you money on shipping costs. If the gear shift lock was left in the unlocked position, it is very simple to remove if the shifter is off the floor. The only thing that holds the lock in place is a small threaded dowel pin. Most people call it a grub screw (screw without head, silver finish). If the lock is in the unlocked position, just remove the small screw and push out the gear shift lock from the bottom of the base. You will also see a compression spring. Make sure to reinstall the small screw immediately for safe keeping, they are oem and not replaceable when lost. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Alicia & Dan
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

Robert Bates
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your key and lock needs

#12 Post by Robert Bates »

Daniel Roman wrote:Here is a late glove box lock that a customer sent in. He has a project and when he purchased the car there were boxes of parts. One of them was the glove box lock which had been disassembled by a previous owner. Unfortunately, when doing so, the lock suffered internal and external damage. This style of lock, which is also used on early 911/912 is very difficult to work with and requires experience, skills and special tools to disassemble, and reassemble. It is probably the most challenging of all the Porsche locks, along with the gear shift locks. We were able to remediate the internal damage, make a new key and make the lock fully operational again; no small feat. Here are some before and after pictures.
Very pleased with the quality of the repair. Thanks to Daniel and Alice
Bob Bates
1962 356B Notchback
73 911S Targa
2003 996 Turbo

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your key and lock needs

#13 Post by Daniel Roman »

Robert Bates wrote:
Daniel Roman wrote:Here is a late glove box lock that a customer sent in. He has a project and when he purchased the car there were boxes of parts. One of them was the glove box lock which had been disassembled by a previous owner. Unfortunately, when doing so, the lock suffered internal and external damage. This style of lock, which is also used on early 911/912 is very difficult to work with and requires experience, skills and special tools to disassemble, and reassemble. It is probably the most challenging of all the Porsche locks, along with the gear shift locks. We were able to remediate the internal damage, make a new key and make the lock fully operational again; no small feat. Here are some before and after pictures.
Very pleased with the quality of the repair. Thanks to Daniel and Alice
Hello Robert,
Thank you so much for your feedback. We love our customers, their cars, and being of service to the Porsche community.
Regards,
Alicia & Dan
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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Mike Wilson
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#14 Post by Mike Wilson »

The locks we sent in are featured in Daniel's August 6th post. Excellent work, fast turn around and very reasonsble prices. His communication was exemplary.

A pleasure doing business with you, Daniel, with more coming your way from us and friends we have recommended you to them.

Mike
Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

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Daniel Roman
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Re: Tweets Restorations - For all your lock and key needs

#15 Post by Daniel Roman »

Mike Wilson wrote:The locks we sent in are featured in Daniel's August 6th post. Excellent work, fast turn around and very reasonsble prices. His communication was exemplary.

A pleasure doing business with you, Daniel, with more coming your way from us and friends we have recommended you to them.

Mike
Hello Mike,
Thank you so much for the feedback and referrals. It was a pleasure collaborating with you and Ed as well. We are always happy to be of service.
Regards,
Alicia & Dan
TWEETS Restorations -- For all of your lock and key needs
DRROCKETDAN@gmail.com
Member: 914World 914Club PelicanParts TheSamba Early911sRegistry 912bbs Rennlist

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