Stolen Tailgate And Hood

Is there a way to keep your hood windshield and tailgate from being stolen

 

Locking Hardtop and padlock for the hood.

 

Is that a real problem?

 

Lots of the aftermarket hinges don't have the quick removal feature: https://www.quadratec.com/p/kentrol/stainless-steel-hood-hinge-set-cj-wrangler-yj

You could use a padlock in the chain hook closure for the tailgate.

 

Drill and tap for some set screws in the hinge slots.

 

‘72-‘75 hood hinges are not slotted so are not quick release. As far as the windshield, a cable and lock, make some lockable latches, use your imagination.

 

Sorry to hear of you having to deal with the low life out there. Obviously nothing is 100% foolproof, but here are a couple things you might consider. My tailgate chains are off until I get a better set and while I am searching, a lock does double duty as security guard and tailgate retainer. Regarding the hood, perhaps a length of cable bike lock lassoed around the frame and snaked up and fed through the holes in the front crossmember of the hood then locked back on to cable might do the trick. It could be removed quickly for travel. Nothing immediately comes to mind on the windshield. I have a difficult time adding holes where none existed... but that is me.

 

Huh. I sympathize, really. Maybe if you must be concerned about this, you could rethink where you park and how you use the Jeep. Kinda think these Jeeps aren't appropriate everyday transportation anymore, and you need a safe place to park them. And you need a generic car to drive places where you can't park safely.

 

When we got our '63 Tux Park it had locks like this in the hood.
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-En...cphy=9029499&hvtargid=pla-1645230171358&psc=1

 

I hate a thief.. I'll just leave it at that so I don't get banned for life ..

 

Damn. Just when I thought I had heard everything.

 

The trouble with those is the zinc diecast threaded stem/lower catch. Any sort of bar will just break them. I severely remodeled the ones I used on the 3B with aluminum and stainless steel. You could likely find a pair of the race versions that use pins and substitute locks.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-490800

 

Place a "wanted to buy" ad in the local craiglist, see who answers..... When my shop got robbed, the idiots were at the flea-market the following Sunday.

("What would Clint do?")

 

Is this an existing issue - like you already had something stolen - or just a “what if” scenario you thought up due to the ease of removing these parts?

I would argue that the average thief has no clue how easy it is to remove a hood, windshield or tailgate from a cj. Also, they're relatively large parts with relatively low scrap value. So they’d be stuck with trying to sell on Craigslist or swap meets. And their customer base is fairly limited…How many people own a compatible vehicle? Most thieves would find it much more lucrative to steal catalytic converters or smash and grab a backpack out of the passenger seat. Good news is that our old Jeeps don’t have cats or windows.

biggest risk would probably be theft of the entire Jeep, as it has easy access under dash wiring.

All that said, if you are still concerned, I’d do the following:

- Padlock (or even a bolt and locknut) thru the tailgate tab.
- fold windshield down and lock it to the hood. Would be relatively easy to make a loop for the top of the windshield that, when folded down, aligns with the loop on the hood. Then stick a padlock between those two loops. The hood and windshield will be locked together as one unit and not be able to be removed.

 

Thanks guys

 

I dunno. Whatever works. I was imagining a very small diameter screw through the hinge itself, in a way that would obstruct the gap. I think the proportions are quite a bit heavier than your sketches. But I like your interpretation.

In my experience hoods, at least, are worth less than nothing. I have several that I pulled out of the dump.

 

I have thought about that too, but like said above only CJ 5 people know how easy it is to remove them. I have stainless hood hinges bolted on, and bolted shut tailgate. the wind shield has electric wipers and stick on power radio antenna, would have to cut wires to take it off.
I just trust people where my Cabin is, not so much around Detroit.