Securing Ventilating Windshield

Has anyone with a ventilating w/s figured out a way to secure it, so that it doesn't get stolen when your jeep is left unattended? maybe something extra that you welded/bolted? Looking for some ideas. I recently aquired(paid an arm and a leg) one of these windshields and I would hate to spend more money on restoring it, just to have it stolen when parked at the local supermarket. Jeep will always be garaged when I'm home, so it's not an issue there.
I'm also not interested in getting an alarm for it, as it can easily be dissabled on these old jeeps. I know that when I have the hardtop on, it will make it harder for someone to take it. I'm more concerned about it when I don't have the hardtop on. Any ideas?

Joel

 

Security screws?

Try McMaster-Carr or Fastenall.

Maybe replace the catches with hard-top plates, and attach them with security screws.

 

Make it too hard to get off, they'll just take the whole Jeep.

Don

 

Now this surprises me. Of course this is from someone who doesn't like the ventilating windshield. When mine was on my Jeep, did I worry about it? No! I worried more about the top, about the tires, about the gas, even about the back seat. I never even considered the windshield. The windshield fits a 40+ year old Jeep. Are there many of these Jeeps in town?

The thieves need to raise their bar a little.

 

John,

Maybe I'm overthinking it, maybe I'm not.
Considering how much these things go for, how easy they are to remove, and the coolness factor...I'm sure it would catch someone's eye. I've lived in Central and Northern California, and I have met quite a few people with old jeeps. Many of them only use them for offroad only, and keep them garaged most of the time. That's the reason why you don't see many driving around. Trust me, there are many more out there and it only takes one dishonest person who likes what they see.

John just to give you an idea, go to the San Francisco, CA or Sacramento, CA section on Craigslist and search for cj5 on the parts section. You will see how many more posts there are, compared to New Mexico. Are there more cj's in CA than New Mexico? I don't know...Ive never been to New Mexico.

Joel

 

the old saying is - a lock only keeps a honest person honest . have glass etched . if they really want it . some people will steal anything

 

Great, something else to worry about.........someone stealing my windshield.........

I think Tim has the best solution, secrity screws. Or you could figure out some way to weld up the upper hinge so it could not be lifted off.......

 

You could purchase or build something similar to the AA windshield latches then modify them to accept a small lock. If someone really wants it, like said, they'll take the whole jeep and part it. I can see being concerned but if you want something theft proof, there is no vehicle that can't be stolen and stripped.

 

Thanks for the ideas. Welding the upper half of the hinge(the one on the windshield) so that is closes the gap, and makes the hinges unseparable(essentially making them one piece hinges) is a great idea. Thanks AAllison. I'll weld it in such a way so that it still allows you to fold the windshield up and down. As for the bolts, I'll use the security bolts like Tim suggested. Thanks everyone for the great ideas.

 

Before you start welding, how about a security cable and padlock looped through the defroster vents and down into the dash vents. Invisible when the windshield is up, and won't interfere with dropping it flat.

 

Wow, Joel, you are right! I went to the SF Criagslist and there were 94 hits. Most were newer than my 67, but it was impressive. I guess there are a lot of us out there,

 

PeteL,

That is an excellent idea. Don't know why I never thought about doing that. Thanks for the idea...might do that instead.

John-I think one of the reasons why there are many cj's around here, is because California is very agricultural & many were sold to farmers.

Joel