Land Rover Monthly – October 2019

132 LANDROVERMONTHLY http://www.britpart.com

Projects, repairs, modifi cations and adviceguide

D

EFENDERS are oneof the

most st olen vehicles in the UK

due to their popularity and a

ready market for secondhand

parts. They are also not the most se cure

vehicle, witheven factory-fitted security

equipment being defeated by crooks.

Some older models didn’teven have an

alarm or immobiliserfi tted asstandard.

With owners rightfully concerned about

Defender thefts, aftermarket anti-theft

devices including alarms, immobilisers

and trackingsystems are popular.Steer-

ing wheel locks, pedal,gearstick and

handbrake lockswon’t alw ays pr event

theft of a vehicle but they will slow down

the process.

Howeve r, on more modern Defenders

the thieves don’t always want to steal the

complete vehicle.The doors, bonnet and

interior are likelyto be taken. Fitt ing

door hinge guards is oneway to help

prevent your doors from beingremoved.

These plates are simplyfi tted insideto

the existing door hinge bolts, so that if a

thief unbolts the door hinges from

outside, the doorcannot be pulledaway

from the bulkhead suffi cientlyto unlock

and remove it.

This kit is a simple,easy-to-fi t,

effective and low-cost se curity device.

The only problemsyou mightcome

across whenfi tting this Bombproof Hinge

Prevent yourDefenderbeing brokeninto ordoors stolen.

DaveBarkerfi ts a simple but effectivesecuritydevice

Secu re your Defender

CONTRIBUTOR

DAVE

BARKER

NEEDTOKNOW

COST:£89.95fi tted

TIME:1 to 2 hours

DIFFICULTY:

TOOLS:General workshop tools, 13

mmspannerorsocket, pozi-driver or

T40Torx drive

PARTS&COSTS:Bombproof

HingeGuard kit (for two doors), part

numberDA1398,£29.95; Partssupplied

andfi ttedbyMPB4x4, £89.95; Stainless

steel hingebolt kit,DA1132, £12

WORKSAFELY:

•Al ways readthe fi ttinginstructions

•Wearprotective glovesorbarrier

creamto protect your skin fromoils

and sharp edges

•Weareyeprotectionwhenreleasing

andfi ttingcomponents withspring

clips,such as thedoorwindow handle

•Whengrindingorcutting,wear

thickgloves andeye/faceprotection

asappropriate

CONTACT:MPB 4x4,Unit 2, Holme

Mill Industrial Estate, Holme MillLane,

Keighley, BD22 6BN.Tel: 01535 661203,

mpb4x4.co.uk

Kit ofparts

The Bombproof Hinge Guard kit is

suffi cientfor two doors andcomes with

safety and warningsticker s, instructions

and four hingesecurity plates.

Guard kit areseized door bolts, which

are acommon problem.You might have

to cut the old door hinge boltsoff and

replace them with new ones, perhaps

with astainless st eel set. You might also

needto replace the doorseals, since a

damaged or splitseal could interfere

with thesecurity plate and prevent the

door closingcorrectly.

MONTHLYTECHNICAL