How do I lock the hood?????

[68EFIvert]

I drive a 68 and like many of you I have a fair amount of money invested in goodies under the bonnet. I know there are locking hood pins, which I purchased recently and the body man is getting ready to install. I just don't know if I like the look though. What options are out there to secure the engine compartment?

 

[Rusty67]

You can use a later model hood latch witch will allow you to run a cable release in the car like most modern cars use for the hood release.

 

[CraigMBA]

You can use a later model hood latch witch will allow you to run a cable release in the car like most modern cars use for the hood release.

That sounds dandy, but I don't know anyone who's done it.

Any suggestions?

 

[2nd Mustang]

A big chain bolted to one side of the inner fender, through the hood and padlocked to the other inner fender sheet metal. I did this on a pick up truck. I left just enough room with the hood cracked open to fit my arms inside to unlock the padlock with a key.

My 67 coupe has barrel locks on the hood.

 

[bnickel]

late 70's to late 80's ford pickups had an option for a locking hood release that used the same key as the door locks, and it's safe inside the passenger compartment, also, the latch mechanism is almost identical to a 67/68 mustang, 69/70 mustangs and cougars require a little more work to the latch to make them work but they can use the truck latch as well.

 

[stanger53]

A simple hood locking system for 1967-1968 Mustangs:

Look at the release latch under the hood. You pull the lever up towards the hood and the catch releases, right?

Find a piece of metal tubing, like electrical conduit, that is available at places like Home Depot. Get a piece that is just a little too large in diameter to fit between the release lever and the hood. Cut off about a 2" section.

Put the conduit in a vise and clamp it down and collapse until it will just slide between the release lever and the hood. If the release lever can't be raised, then the hood can't open, right?

Install the conduit between the lever and hood. Drill a small hole through the lever and the conduit close to the edge. Buy a small padlock that will slip through the hole.

To unlock the hood, unlock and remove the padlock, slide out the conduit and raise the release lever to open the hood. It isn't the most perfect system you can install, but it is easy, quick, cheap and will keep the average person from popping your hood and messing with your engine compartment.

 

[CraigMBA]

But still no solution for the '65-66 cars.

I'm putting pins in and locking the hood closed with a bicycle cable if I have to drive it somewhere.

 

[stanger53]

What I did on a 1965 Mustang was adapt a universal cable lock.

These locks have a locking button that mounts inside the car. The other end is a cable with a pin on it that slides in and out of the cable

You are supposed to mount the end of the cable onto the radiator support with a bracket. Another bracket mounts to the underside of the hood. When you push the locking button in, the pin on the end of the cable slides into the hood bracket, which locks the hood down to the bracket on the support.

But I didn't want any of that crap mounted on the hood or support, so I eliminated the brackets. I drilled a hole in the side of the hood latch mechanism and mounted the end of the cable in the bracket. I drilled another hole in the part of the hood latch the moves forward when you pull on the lever. Now, when the locking button is pushed, and the pin on the end of the cable moves out, the pin goes through the hole on the release lever and keeps it from moving. If the release lever can't move forward, it won't release the hood.

With this adaptation, there are no obvious brackets to mount. In fact, other than the cable running from the headlamp cavity to the latch, you can't see the lock setup at all. With a black cable, it is hard to see it even when you look for it.

 

[CraigMBA]

You ran it in the fenderwell?

 

[stanger53]

I wanted to keep all the turns in the cable as large as I could so it would work smoothly. I mounted the part inside the car under the dash to the left of the steering wheel. I ran the cable through a hole in the firewall into the fenderwell and ran the cable through the back of the headlamp recess in the fender and into the grille area.

The cable was run high in the fenderwell next to the upper apron lip and secured in several places to the car. Because of the tire, you couldn't see it unless you really looked for it and knew it was there. It was a sealed cable, so I didn't expect any problems.

 

[CraigMBA]

That sounds like as good an idea as I've ever heard.

You don't remember where you got it do you?

 

[stanger53]

Something I picked up from a friend who had several he had picked up where he worked. This was many years ago and I don't remember the name on the box.

I have seen these before, mounted the traditional way, on cars at shows, so I figure somebody still makes something similar.

 

[black_demon]

there's this thing

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2001344/p-2001344/N-111+10201+600000496/c-10101/reviewflag-1#review

but i havent figured out how it works or where it mounts

 

[stanger53]

That is pretty much what I used, only it came with a cutout wire for the ignition coil instead of a starter cutout.

I didn't use the brackets. I mounted the end onto the hood latch and fixed it so when the pin came out of the cable it slid in a hole that prevented the latch from moving.

 

[Sbrownxx]

You can use a later model hood latch witch will allow you to run a cable release in the car like most modern cars use for the hood release.

I have the 69 key lock pins and one has jammed. Key is old and ineffective, although it works fine on the good side. Any tips on how to open the jam?

 

[rusty428cj]

We did it on the 1967 Dynacorn build and the how to story will be featured in an upcoming issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords magazine.

 

[iskwezm]

heres a link from a while back

http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/body-paint-articles/490357-junkyard-upgrade-locking-hood-latch.html

 

[Rusty67]

Did it jam open or shut ?