So, last night the security guys from where my car is parked noticed me there were some homeless people sleeping in my car because all doors were just open.. I ALWAYS lock all my doors and double check this so what the hell?! I found out that when all doors are locked, the (manual) lock for my clamshell tailgate CAN be turned and, surprise, it opens (goes down) and people can go in and unlock all the rest of the doors. For the past 4 years of owning this car i always thought the tailgate was able to unlock ONLY when the rear window is up (open) , for which the key is needed. Maybe they broke it, or maybe this is just the way it is. Can someone tell me how those tailgates were originally locked? I'm finding it hard to believe the tailgate can't in fact be locked fully... Pics are attached!
This is correct. You have a problem with your tailgate key lock. There is no way it should be possible to open the tailgate without a key when the rear window is all the way down. This is from the 1973 Fisher Body Service Manual, in the section about the retractable tailgate. It applies to all of the '73 GM clamshell wagons with manual retractable tailgates. The key point here is that, as a safety feature, it is not supposed to be possible to operate the manual tailgate (raise or lower) unless the rear window is raised at least 8 inches. This was to prevent injury to your hands if you pulled the tailgate up while the window was fully lowered and jammed your fingers between the bottom of the window and the top of the tailgate. Since ALL clamshell wagon rear windows were powered, it was not possible to open the rear window without a key either to engage the rear switch or to use the switch on the dashboard. Presuming the homeless people who have been sleeping in your car do not have a key for your car, they should not have been able to enter the car through the rear tailgate if everything is working right and that safety feature is intact. Given that they have been able to get in through the rear suggests that the safety mechanism isn't working, or there is some other problem. Of course, another question is, what kind of security operation do you have your car parked at if the "security" staff aren't stopping people, homeless or otherwise, from getting near your car, let alone inside of it.
There's a rod inside the body behind the key rotation area that interlocks with the window. It is not the sturdiest as the lone manual tailgate I've had could be lowered with the window closed. And the electric tailgate assembly interlock still functions quite well on the non-manual tailgates, so they are different.
Clear.. That's what i was thinking. I hope it's something i can, quite, easily fix. Like a missing rod like elB said.
