Hood Latches..

[1955CJ-5]

Some time ago I bought a set of hood latches for the 3A. They looked to be identical to the set that came with the jeep.  One of the originals had separated from it's mounting base and the base was broken slightly. This was in the pre-welder days...

But now as I clean them up I see they are different...



The replacements are just a little taller...



The biggest difference is the flattened portion of the barrel on the original latch...



I'm going to use the ones with the flattened barrel, as they came with the jeep, correct or not....I'll repair the base..

Do you suppose this is just another case of they used what they had on hand or are there lots of different Willys latches?

[athawk11]

Randy,� I am not 100% sure, but I often come across take off and NOS latches on eBay.� The sellers often point out the flat feature as being original early latch appropriate for MBs, 2As, 3As.�

These hood latches have been around for a ga-zillion years on Jeeps.� My guess is the rounded tube came later on any of a number of Jeep models.� You might even have this round style on your CJ5.

Again, not super sure about my statement.� Much of what is claimed on eBay is wrong.

Tim

[1955CJ-5]

Thanks Tim,

I should do a close-up comparison with the CJ-5 latches.  That might be what they are...These looked so close..the rivet and the vent hole were all in the right place...but they were pretty cheap. In the back of my mind I thought I might someday use one set for rear hood latches...

It's not as if this is the only thing I bought that wasn't "quite" right!!

[1955CJ-5]

The hood latches on the CJ-5 are the same as the flat-sided CJ-3a latches.....maybe these round barreled latches are off a truck...

[ZekeD]

It's not as if this is the only thing I bought that wasn't "quite" right!!

For me, that would include my first two wives...........

Zeke