I am always leery of parking my Track Pack car anywhere due to the ease of opening the hood (and unauthorized part removal... ). Do any of you have a discrete way of locking the hood down? I've thought of locking hood pins, but I prefer to keep the stock appearance if at all possible.

 

I recall my Dad, after having the battery stolen out of the plant parking lot one day, cutting off the pull handle and drilling a hole to install a padlock on the hood release mechanism. Cutting the pull handle off ensured that, even if someone had bolt cutters, they wouldn't be able to just pull the handle. You needed to know where to put a big screwdriver and then whack it with a hammer to open the hood.

Might have even been on an old Chevelle or Cutlass, can't remember which car it was -- definitely a GM A-body.

 

Only thing I can think of is a solenoid operated deadbolt type arrangement. Directly to 12v with a hidden momentary switch.

 

On a 1971 I drilled a hole through the secondary hood latch, the hook. Then I put a cable bicycle lock through it. I had to reach through the bumper to unlock the cable, but this was on an OAI hood and I had the same concerns as you. Two guys with ratchets and a pickup, a minute or two and valuable parts are gone! I don't remember if the 1966 has a hook, and not sure how easy it would be to reach up behind the grill. John

 

Back in the late 80's when I still lived in a apartment... I took out the middle rod in my 442s hood latch a ran a coat hanger wire to a hidden spot leaving the pull handle in its normal spot. So someone trying to open it would pull the normal handle and get NOTHING. Back then no repos of the oai air cleaner.... Tom

 

I use two eyebolts, one horizontal from the stock hole in the vertical center strut of the core support, and one coming down from the stock hole in the hood a bit to the passenger side of center, next to the square hole for the latch. I reach up from the bumper slot and affix a padlock.

 

20 years ago drove my 66 convertible from nj to key west florida. since you can open hood direct from ouside i installed a small piece of angle steel to bottom of hood with a hole that ligned up with a hole i drilled into front radiator support and put a small padlock. just enough room to get hand up there to use key, impossible to cut lock or use bolt cutter.

 

That and a battery disconnect switch makes me feel better leaving car in parking lots over night.

 

 

second pic just shows lock on bracket, its hard to take a pic when locks installed, difficult to see up under the hood

 

That is a great lock set up, may do that to my '65. Back in the day I used a short piece of chain bolted to the open hole the left of latch catch and put a lock around sway bar. Like the way your lock is hidden and harder to access. One more thing I did was put the coil wire in my pocket.

 

My granddad put porch swing chain between two spots on the hood and latch and you could open the hood a bit to unlock it.

I have been known to have taken the coil wire, then put it on backwards and not go anywhere until I reverse it.