tailgate question ?

I'm putting my restoration back together and forgot which direction the bolts go that hold the tailgate hinge in place. Is the nut on the outside or the bolt head.

 

Bolt head on the outside, nut and lock washer underneath the tub

 

Mine are just the opposite, bolt head inside, nut and washer outside. No guarantee that they are original though. I think they would look better with the bolt head out.

 

Stock from the factory was nut and lockwasher on the outside facing the rear.

 

It all depends on the guy who put them on at the factory. A left-handed guy would hold the ratchet in his left hand, inserting the bolt from under the floor towards the rear with the nut on the outside. That would allow him to use the ratchet with his left hand, with the nut and washer on the outside. A right-handed guy would insert the bolt from the outside(with his left hand) and tighten the hardware underneath, ratchet in his right hand. So, if your nuts are on the outside, you have a left-handed CJ; if they're on the inside it's done right!!

 

For 1 the factory wouldn't have used a ratchet. And assembly of parts on production lines are very specific. This way is right this way is wrong. Right or left handed would have made no difference to inspection, they would have used the 1st article guide to determine the final look not whether the production worker was right or left handed. I see to much of this crap at work from the production people yelling its easier with this hand, "fine adapt your left or right hand to do it the way its suppose to be".

My 71 has the nuts facing out.

 

OK, I didn't believe that they would be nut side out, so I checked my reference pictures from an unaltered mid 60's CJ-5 and it clearly shows nuts out.



Jim

 

I too checked the '67 I just got and the nuts are out and the hinges definitely have not been off. Surprised the heck out of me, all the other Early's I've had the bolt heads were out. Must have been off at one time or another.

 

This is my understanding as well. Only on the later models did they put in a nutsert and have the bolt head to the outside.