How to lock up / secure a M35 A3 ?

[338ken]

I drove 2,900 mile round trip and bought really nice M35 A3, no ignition key of course how can you secure it ? Saw locking disconnects but that would have to be in a secured compartment. I was told you can buy locking door handles too. I I am 64 and wanted one as long as I can remember, finally got one. Thought I would ask the pros here. I searched and did not find a thread for this. Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[Mullaney]

I drove 2,900 mile round trip and bought really nice M35 A3, no ignition key of course how can you secure it ? Saw locking disconnects but that would have to be in a secured compartment. I was told you can buy locking door handles too. I I am 64 and wanted one as long as I can remember, finally got one. Thought I would ask the pros here. I searched and did not find a thread for this. Any thoughts would be appreciated

.
Most trucks used a lock and chain. Chain goes through the steering wheel and loops around the brake peddle. Some outfits have a chain welded to the seat base and chain goes around the wheel as well...

 

[glcaines]

I drove 2,900 mile round trip and bought really nice M35 A3, no ignition key of course how can you secure it ? Saw locking disconnects but that would have to be in a secured compartment. I was told you can buy locking door handles too. I I am 64 and wanted one as long as I can remember, finally got one. Thought I would ask the pros here. I searched and did not find a thread for this. Any thoughts would be appreciated

I have a length of 3/8" Grade 100 steel chain with one end welded to the seat frame between the drivers and passenger seats. I loop the other end through the steering wheel with an extremely hardened padlock.

 

[M813rc]

Welcome aboard!

You'll probably find a section of chain bolted or welded somewhere around the drivers seat, this is for the simple method of chaining your steering wheel with a padlock.
I've heard good things about locking door handles, but haven't tried them myself. On M35s and M813s, I can swing around the mirror, lean on the fender and reach inside through the unsecured front windshield to flip the drivers door handle down. That is, of course, a short term way of keeping idle coonfingerers out of your vehicle, not real security. But most folk don't know the front windshields open.

What part of Texas?

Cheers

PS - the quicker folks posted while I was hunt-n-peck typing!

 

[Guyfang]

Do not waste time and money on a locking door handle. Like M813rc wrote, its useless. If you want to keep the truck like the soldiers had it, weld the chain to the seat. 20 years in the Army, never saw it any other way.

 

[glcaines]

I previously had an A2 that had the chain welded to the steering column by the Army. I didn't like that because it was ugly and the chain hung down. When welded to the seat frame, the chain is out of the way.

 

[RedNBlue]

Welcome to the group, and congrats on your acquisition!

There is so much information amongst the pages and members here. I've found that changing your search phrases often yield different results and help find what I'm looking for.

My M35A2 has the chain welded to the steering column, as was mentioned previously. It's not in my way, and it's easy to lock with a hardened lock. I haven't installed it yet, but have a battery disconnect switch that I'm going to install in a locked compartment. There are several threads on similar approaches. My grandfather had a saying that I constantly have to remember... "Locks keep the honest people honest. If someone wants something badly enough, they're going to get it." My opinion is that you can make something difficult enough that they will either not bother, or they lose heart and give up. Hopefully they give up before doing damage.

 

[Karl kostman]

I generally pull a battery cable on my trucks when I have to park them outside in the public!

 

[MG2936]

I do the battery thing, who would want to steal one of these things anyway, they are a lot of work and they suck up a lot of money.

 

[HDN]

I do the battery thing, who would want to steal one of these things anyway, they are a lot of work and they suck up a lot of money.

If someone's dumb enough to try and steal something they're also not smart enough to think things through

My truck has the security chain welded to the seat base and I use a good padlock with it that has a weather cover for the key hole.

 

[338ken]

.
Most trucks used a lock and chain. Chain goes through the steering wheel and loops around the brake peddle. Some outfits have a chain welded to the seat base and chain goes around the wheel as well...

Thanks, that will help and easy to do. I am still thinking of some way to turn off the power too

 

[chucky]

A hidden disconect switch

 

[canadacountry]

I too had thought that if I eventually end up with a M35/M36 I would too had simply hide a heavy-duty disconnect somewhere well out of view (in the boot area underneath dashboard is a little too 'obvious' to me but mm) and leave it at that. plus just to top that off on my engine belt there'll very likely be only one small round thing with wires coming out of it instead of two so anyone thinking they could try a direct hotwire are going to have to give up because an alternator itself in seriousness likely isn't ever going to be able to kick over - and what kind of walk-by thief would even have an airhose splicing kit on hand?

on a side note a certain book I quite like myself in name of https://dogtrainersbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/book3_cover_600x840.png had the author actually quoting basically that a trabant has a passive anti-thief measure in name of that very few people these days now would even know how to correctly get it into gear! its a column 4-speed manual on nearly all of them, and if that was not all a good number of them still have unsynchronized transmissions so you have another thing to remember in name of doubleclutching it

 

[kendelrio]

A hidden disconect switch View attachment 914043

A whole lot of this here....

I have locking door handles on my 5 ton (I keep the windshields locked and have a hard top, so that isn't an issue) but I also have a hidden master kill switch. Steering wheels, chains and locks can be cut, but if you can't get power, you aren't going anywhere.

Obviously you want to hide the switch in a place that isn't easily accessible and don't tell anyone about it.

Nothing screams LOOK IN HERE more than a locked compartment.

Maybe at the back of your map box? The 5 ton doesn't have one on the dash, so obviously I had to go elsewhere.

Another thought on the locking door handles... the ones I bought CANNOT be opened without the key. Simply pulling up on the door handle no longer works.

 

[Guyfang]

I too had thought that if I eventually end up with a M35/M36 I would too had simply hide a heavy-duty disconnect somewhere well out of view (in the boot area underneath dashboard is a little too 'obvious' to me but mm) and leave it at that. plus just to top that off on my engine belt there'll very likely be only one small round thing with wires coming out of it instead of two so anyone thinking they could try a direct hotwire are going to have to give up because an alternator itself in seriousness likely isn't ever going to be able to kick over - and what kind of walk-by thief would even have an airhose splicing kit on hand?

on a side note a certain book I quite like myself in name of https://dogtrainersbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/book3_cover_600x840.png had the author actually quoting basically that a trabant has a passive anti-thief measure in name of that very few people these days now would even know how to correctly get it into gear! its a column 4-speed manual on nearly all of them, and if that was not all a good number of them still have unsynchronized transmissions so you have another thing to remember in name of doubleclutching it

You have never lived, until you have driven a Trabbi!!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d9/DDR-Kultauto_Trabant.webm/DDR-Kultauto_Trabant.webm.720p.vp9.webm

 

[338ken]

A hidden disconect switch View attachment 914043

Thanks thinking of making the battery box lockable and putting on in on the battery ground

 

[338ken]

A whole lot of this here....

I have locking door handles on my 5 ton (I keep the windshields locked and have a hard top, so that isn't an issue) but I also have a hidden master kill switch. Steering wheels, chains and locks can be cut, but if you can't get power, you aren't going anywhere.

Obviously you want to hide the switch in a place that isn't easily accessible and don't tell anyone about it.

Nothing screams LOOK IN HERE more than a locked compartment.

Maybe at the back of your map box? The 5 ton doesn't have one on the dash, so obviously I had to go elsewhere.

Another thought on the locking door handles... the ones I bought CANNOT be opened without the key. Simply pulling up on the door handle no longer works.

So you have to use a key everytime, you cannot unlock them ?

 

[338ken]

If the M35A3 with Cat 3116 diesel has a starter relay the relay trigger wire is very low voltage there is a hole in the dash that is not easily accessible and thinking about mounting one of these

 

[kendelrio]

So you have to use a key everytime, you cannot unlock them ?

If they're locked with the key from outside, I can't pull the handle up from inside and unlock it. I can still push down/pull up from the inside and lock it/unlock it. That removes the "pull it up with a coat hanger from the outside".

 

[338ken]

If they're locked with the key from outside, I can't pull the handle up from inside and unlock it. I can still push down/pull up from the inside and lock it/unlock it. That removes the "pull it up with a coat hanger from the outside".

Thanks for the heads up