Anti-theft devices

[SteveR]

Howdy all, I am in need of some advice. Last night someone tried tampering with our 37 Plymouth. We live in a cul-de-sac and have no garage so it is parked on the street in front of our house. This morning I noticed the cover was pulled up on the passenger side and the strap underneath was unhooked. I also noticed the trunk lever was up. Very suspicious. Any Ideas as to anti theft measures. Do wheel locks work along with steering wheel locks. What about removing the rotor arm or installing a fuse/key to the starter. Your help would be greatly appreciated. BTW I live in England. 

[1949 Wraith]

Do you keep the doors and trunk locked on your car?

I always install a hidden master cut off switch  to the battery. Mainly for my grand kids as most of the switch are live on these old cars.

You might want to check into alarms that attach to your cover I think they offer them for motorcycle covers so would probably adapt to a car cover.

 

Hopefully it was just curious kids messing with your car, as I imagine a determined professional thief will be difficult to deter.

Edited December 7, 2018 by 1949 Wraith

[DrDoctor]

 .

Edited December 20, 2018 by DrDoctor

[knuckleharley]

2 hours ago, SteveR said:

Howdy all, I am in need of some advice. Last night someone tried tampering with our 37 Plymouth. We live in a cul-de-sac and have no garage so it is parked on the street in front of our house. This morning I noticed the cover was pulled up on the passenger side and the strap underneath was unhooked. I also noticed the trunk lever was up. Very suspicious. Any Ideas as to anti theft measures. Do wheel locks work along with steering wheel locks. What about removing the rotor arm or installing a fuse/key to the starter. Your help would be greatly appreciated. BTW I live in England. 

The good news is you live in England,which means any thief would have a hard time selling or parting it out without getting caught.

 

The bad news is the only secure parking is inside a locked building with armed guards. Most of us can't afford that.

 

I live up a dirt road on a island and my closest neighbor is over a mile away. Yet one night last week somebody came into my yard and stole a factory hubcap off my 2016 Chevrolet pu. I have had people steal radiators,batteries,and various lenses and lights off of antique cars.  Had someone come and steal a very expensive battery out of my  big Ford frontend loader one night,and it was parked in the yard right in front of the window I am looking out of now. The fact that I have guns and am known to have killed people doesn't even seem to slow them down. Mostly because everybody that is a thief thinks THEY are too smart to get caught.

 

Truth to tell I have avoided buying game cameras to set up around the yard to try to avoid catching anyone,but sooner or later I will,and it's going to get ugly when I do.

[allbizz49]

Ignition kill is always good. I've worked in body shops for 25 years. Every theft recovery I've worked on had an alarm. Steering wheel locks like the club are useless, easy to get around. My 12 gauge or .45 barrel poking out the window is a great deterrent as well but you have to be awake to catch them for that to work.

[DrDoctor]

 .

Edited December 20, 2018 by DrDoctor

[SteveR]

Thanks for the reply guys,

Unfortunately my car isn't locked as when I bought it there were no keys for the door or trunk. I was thinking on the lines of a hidden switch and will look into this. I did tonight look at a steering wheel lock but with the small thickness of the wheel they are useless. next I tried to remove the rotor but its electronic ignition and the rotor doesn't just pop off.

I have looked at a remote motion detector alarm this may have possibilities.I thought of putting a sign in the car window saying, 'CCTV Now Installed.' 

 

Unfortunately my Colt 12 gauge pump (Prison Riot Gun) and 45 colt (Peacemaker) I left in America along with 8 other guns, but I like the idea :o). 

 

 

[DrDoctor]

.

Edited December 20, 2018 by DrDoctor

[SteveR]

Thanks Doc. your right about guns here. That's why I lift them in America. I just didn't want the hassle.  I will look into a lock smith and the Pedal Jack. Thanks!

[DrDoctor]

 .

Edited December 20, 2018 by DrDoctor

[ptwothree]

Tie a Dobie to the front bumper......

[SteveR]

ptwothree

Whats a 'Dobie'? Only thing I can think of is Dobie Gilis. Maybe a picture of Maynard G Krebs in the window might be a deterrent. lol But then I might be showing my age.

[John Reddie]

He's actually referring to a Doberman Pinscher dog which would certainly scare off even the dumbest of thieves. One thing a thief doesn't want is to spend time trying to steal a car. Any type of ignition kill switch would be a good choice. Another thing that would be a good deterrent would be a couple of flood lights outside your house triggered by a motion sensor set up so they would turn on if someone got up to the car. Just the sudden bright lights appearing would scare almost anyone attempting to steal off. Whatever happens, good luck to you.

John R

[Los_Control]

I am kicking around anti theft devices myself.

Considering a electric fuel pump, A switch to turn it on, but also a second switch for the ground.

Then a 3rd switch for the coil wire to distributor.

I would like a 4th switch also but unsure where to connect it.

 

The idea with the switches, not have them all in same up or down position, 1 up 2 down etc, kinda like a combination on a lock. you need to know the key.

 

In todays world, just having a 3 on the tree with a manual choke will stop most thieves. Toss in a floor starter.

I suppose anyone that knows these old cars, actually targets one parked on the street, not much you could do to stop them.

[SteveR]

Thanks John, I use to have a German Shepard, Rosie was 14 when she died last month. I did a little checking and I can get a motion detector with a remote alarm good up to 400 feet. I'm thinking of putting the detector in the car and the alarm in the house.

My thinking is to make it as difficult as possible. So an ignition switch and the 'Clutch Claw' seems a good bet. I will try to get some keys made for the door and trunk from a lock smith as well.

[SteveR]

Los, I like the idea 3 switches but my dash isn't that big. My 37 has the foot pedal for starting and I don't think many people in England know anything about this. People come up to our car and ask why the windshield wipers are on top? I have to tell them because the window cranks open. They stand amazed.

[Robert Horne]

I had problems with someone trying to take my 70 Mustang, that I only drove on the weekends.       The ignition switch was found on the floor often.

The car could not be started, since I kept the car's  battery behind the seat of my work truck.     I kept the radio knobs off,  so no one would take the radio also.

This worked several years, until I sold the car...... 

[SteveR]

Last night my wife said a white van drove by and stopped then drove off. To night we have moved the car onto the green in front of our house and parked our other 2 cars behind it until I can take extra steps to secure the car.

[knuckleharley]

On 12/7/2018 at 2:33 PM, ptwothree said:

Tie a Dobie to the front bumper......

When I was living in a slum neighborhood out in Denver in the mid-70's (70 bucks a month rent for  a furnished apt including utilities!) I started out chaining my dobie to my shovelhead,but had problems. The first being she kept crying and wanting to come inside where I was,but the biggest was it occurred to me that is I caught someone trying to steal my scoot I would be very mad,but nothing compared to my frame of mind if someone killed my dobie while she was chained and couldn't defend herself. I could replace the bike,but I couldn't replace her,and the guilt of her dying because I had her chained so she couldn't maneuver was more than I could deal with. So I just chained the bike up leaning up against the bedroom window where I slept,and brought her in the house to sleep at the foot of the bed like she always did. I figured I would either wake up myself if anybody tried to cut the chains and move it,or she would hear it and wake me up. Either way all I had to do was shoot right out the window,so it was all good.

[Don Coatney]

On 12/7/2018 at 3:04 PM, John Reddie said:

He's actually referring to a Doberman Pinscher dog which would certainly scare off even the dumbest of thieves. One thing a thief doesn't want is to spend time trying to steal a car. Any type of ignition kill switch would be a good choice. Another thing that would be a good deterrent would be a couple of flood lights outside your house triggered by a motion sensor set up so they would turn on if someone got up to the car. Just the sudden bright lights appearing would scare almost anyone attempting to steal off. Whatever happens, good luck to you.

John R

 

 

Geez, I thought a doobie was something you smoked?‍?

[Los_Control]

5 minutes ago, Don Coatney said:

Geez, I thought a doobie was something you smoked?‍?

depends on the O's

Sometimes we go O

While others we go OO

Then some other times we snicker inbetween

 

[TodFitch]

On 12/7/2018 at 11:33 AM, ptwothree said:

Tie a Dobie to the front bumper......

Came out of a restaurant once to see a couple of men approaching my '33 Plymouth. They backed off really quick when our Akita popped her head up from the back seat. . .

[SteveR]

I was talking to our neighbor and she said a girl down the street won the lottery. I don't know how much but it is said to be quite-a-bit. So much that they didn't want to put it in the bank and therefore declare it for tax purposes so, they bought a safe and put the money in there. Thieves used a Land-rover and drove through their front window and stole the safe. Makes you wonder haw anyone knew there was a safe there in the first place. I quess if you win the lottery best to keep your mouth shut and don't flaunt it or else there will be someone around to take it off you.

[pflaming]

Anti theft idea, remove all the lug nuts on one wheel. Just a thought, sorry! 

[Plymouthy Adams]

34 minutes ago, pflaming said:

Anti theft idea, remove all the lug nuts on one wheel. Just a thought, sorry! 

 

Perhaps the thread title should be change to:  NON DESTRUCTIVE Anti-theft Devices