I was reading through the theft alerts on this forum and it got me thinking, what kind of anti theft devices do you guys use?

.44 AutoMag? :D


LK

http://www.1969supersport.com/2007dogs03.jpg
Buster

.44 AutoMag? :D


LK

That's my preferred deterrant! :thumbsup:
And a 9mm as backup.

i forget who, but someone mentioned puting and eye-bolt into the driveway, embedded in the cement, and chaining your car to it. THe car will NOT move, and most will never even know its there while they try to push it. just down hook it to something weak!

I would keep mine in the garage and go with a James Bond solotion like say 4 hydralic pistons say 4" round on each corner coming out of the garage floor and up into the frame area (not to lift the vehicle but to prevent it from moving forward) so that the only way to move the car is to lift it off all four pistons at once or to cut the pistons. Of course the hydralics are locked and in a secret location, most under ground.

Hey if your gonna dream you might as well dream big.

i forget who, but someone mentioned puting and eye-bolt into the driveway, embedded in the cement, and chaining your car to it. THe car will NOT move, and most will never even know its there while they try to push it. just down hook it to something weak!

that works only if the car is at home..


you want a cheap gps tracking alarm
well it's not really an alarm you'd have to add one of those...

go to your wireless carrier(cell phone) add a line to your account(most are under 10 bucks a month) and make sure the phones set up that it can be tracked with the gps cops use to find people(like when a lost in the woods/car in a ditch/etc)
get a charger that plugs into the cig. lighter..
hard wire the charger and hide the cell phone in the car ,pluged into the charger...
need to check to make sure the phone is still working/charged.. thats easy.. call it.. it rings it's charged..
if car is stollen.. you have the cops track the cell phone...
theives .don't look for a cellphone to be the alarm gps..
and they are easy to hide..

I don't know if you saw this one, but it looks pretty good.

www.ravelco.com (http://www.ravelco.com)

Rob

It may not be the best way, but if you unscrew the green knob and put it in you pocket it will make it much harder to steal (the best way is don't let it out of you sight). ;)

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc309/MalibuSeaS/Malibu%20SS/MVC-098S.jpg

I have a quick disconnect for NHRA rules on the back of the car. But I also have one in the truck for when I drive it on the street.

My favorite...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=geynA-JYDHE

I like the cell phone idea! Except that you can't disconnect the battery during long winter storage up here.
John

All great ideas. Do Like Ricky Bobby's dad did..... put a cougar in the back seat.

I too agree with the Ricky Bobby solution. Unfortunately, it is out of my reach. However, I have a 120# Doberman and a Kimber (.45) solution that works rather well.

What about this (http://www.trunkmonkey.com/content/view/47/1/)?

Those are great. My wife cannot see why men find so much humor with monkeys. It reminds me of the Dane Cook bit about the heist monkey that knows how to drive, talk and sword fight. "Monkey is that you?"

http://www.livevideo.com/video/embedLink/76E8D7353ED242D0B67DDF93E2F90EC8/172073/dane-cook-monkey-heist-animati.aspx

Using a hidden electriclal kill (easy enough to get around but may xlow them down a bit) and a manual fuel line shutoff. Hopefully that would "p" them off enough to leave it be. Only so much you can do....

Wire a switch into Igniton. Like an on/off push button type. put it under carpet kinda like a hidden dimmer switch. when you get out of car push it & car wont start. doesn't stop them from towing it but it stops them from driving it away.

To stop joyriders, opportunist thieves, and amateurs-- fuel cutoffs, ignition cutoffs, starter disable switches, etc are all good ideas.

As for the real "pros"-- not much will stop them. GPS tracking devices and lojack are useless if *real* car theives are involved as they can be easily defeated by a $40 jammer that anyone can purchase over the internet. Remember, if they really want it they'll come with a slideback or box van and there isn't much you can do. Chaining or locking to the floor will only slow them down... and that's a good thing.

Anything you do may slow a thief down, but if they really want it there is nothing that will stop them. Your only hope is to slow them down enough that you can run them off or use the 44 auto mag to permanently rehabilitate them.

...use the 44 auto mag to permanently rehabilitate them.

I have a Glock and a concealed carry permit,
and although the gun laws are okay here in North Carolina, I really like the gun laws in your home state of Texas. The use of deadly force is permitted in Texas to even protect property from being stolen...whether the thief is armed or not. http://www.bakers-legal-pages.com/fastlaws/pc2004/00000049.htm

An armed society is a polite society, but that doesn't help if you're in a place of business, etc., and your Chevelle is parked outside.

I had a "kill switch" wired up to my '69 Firebird, but I wonder what percentage of stolen vintage muscle cars are towed off with tow trucks or hauled away on the back of flat bed trucks as opposed to being started and driven away?

-Greg

prevention is the best anti theft device i can think of. make sure you do everything you can to prevent someone from screwing with your ride.

If you have an electric fuel pump, the best anti theft device is a simple kill switch on the pump. The car will still start and even drive away but will die a few blocks down the street. No car thief in his right mind will stick around when that happens.

I actually have a friend who used this approach and it worked for him. He came out of his house one morning to an empty driveway and found his car sitting along side the road a few blocks down the street.

Tom

...use the 44 auto mag to permanently rehabilitate them.

Luckily my car isn't worth shooting someone over. Of course, my car isn't worth stealing, either! :D

It has nothing to do with if your car is worth stealing or not. It is the fact that it is yours and you worked for it. No piece of worthless dirt has the right to take it from you.

combine a kill switch and a break lock and just a blinking led light not hooked to any thing for visiual deterant ! that should cover you.
do a search on hydrolic break locks . they were described here before. here's a couple ive found


http://www.gmcmotorhomeinfo.com/BRKLOCK.html
http://www.mooreparts.com/store/product/2769/HYDRAULIC-BRAKE-PARK-LOCK/
http://www.tsmmfg.com/mico_hydraulic_brake_lock.htm

Luckily my car isn't worth shooting someone over. Of course, my car isn't worth stealing, either! :D

It has nothing to do with if your car is worth stealing or not. It is the fact that it is yours and you worked for it. No piece of worthless dirt has the right to take it from you.

Exactly, you cant imagine what its like until it happens to you. I had my 72 Camino stolen back in 03, never heard a word of it ever again. As far as im concerned. Car thieves are the lowest scums on the earth.

Best story I ever read was posted here on TC. 2 guys were up late at night when one of them heard a noise outside and found a thief trying to steal one of the guys 67 or 68 Camaro. Came out and beat the guy in the street very very badly. Once the aurthorities arrived they took the thief to the emergency hostpital were the thief later died of his injuries. News storys like that do not break my heart one bit.

Are these things any good ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_clamp

Lojac

Are these things any good ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_clamp
Do you really want to attach one of those things to your wheels? It may slow someone down, but it won't stop a rollback wrecker.

http://www.dnaco.net/~vogelke/pictures/when-cloning-goes-wrong/msg-32230-09.jpg

I've got a guard duck...

The 59 has
Hidden fuel cut off------few blocks my eye---be lucky to get 200 feet
laminated glass all around----won't shatter
completely inoperable outside door handles----need the key to open the door.

but it is a correct statement---if they want it, they're going to get it.

Many a court jester here, no 'real' solutions offered.
You have a serious concern, like some who worry about the same thing, but after it happens to them, no more kidding.
Now, just what kind of things are available to the citizen who's insurance is nothing but a 'stanbby loan' but wants results for their hard earned money? LOJACK is an old technology, limited to certain major metropolitan areas, and subscription based, now just a money pit of old. The phone GPS idea is better (that was mentioned), but again, subscription based & limited in application. A 'Jammer' might come into play, but I thought there were more 'dumb' crooks than smart. They also may not keep it on all the time, allowing for a gap for the phone to get it's signal out.
Now, for a currently better solution (for now), why not install a GPS Tracking device that is accessable over the internet AND can lock your doors & shut off the engine on COMMAND! Not only that, it can send you a text message to your cellphone when the vehicle moves out of a pre-determined area. Best of all (and this is my favorite), NO SUBSCRIPTION! Yes, that's right folks, a theft prevention system that works against the theif, if he/she actually takes your vehicle by any means, you know when it happens, call the cops with the current postion, & shut'em DOWN just when the police cruiser 'lights-them-up.'
My research showed several companies offering systems for $300 (not including installation) & you just pay a one time fee (amount varies depending on the number of 'GPS Hits') for tracking purposes (5 free hits for testing purposes). Then when you 'use up' the 'GPS Hits,' you just buy more, like a pre-paid phone card, but if you don't use them, it does not cost you anything else. The $300 unit actually has 'control' outputs that you connect to different things you want to happen, like locking the doors. This is done via the internet & the company's web site. You can get a cheaper unit that only does the GPS tracking, but I'd rather 'secure' the bastard that takes off with my baby. This service is normally available anywhere cell phones are used, since this is basically a cell phone unit with GPS functionallity, where LOJACK would be limited to certain cities. The unit should be connected to it's own battery source, independent of the car battery, but also be able to 'charge' off the car battery also. The 'receiver' can be hidden under the dashpad or rear deck of the car, so that it is not visable. And as long as you don't brag about it to everybody, no one will know it's there, especially the 'dumb' theif.

Here's a unit similar to what JW is talking about above: http://www.shop.gpsuperstore.com/categoryNavigationDocument.hg?categoryId=5

Personally, I've set up some kill switches that I alone know where they are. I've had friends get their cars stolen out of their garage by someone that knew it was there - meaning a friend of a friend, etc.

DO you have a link to a source for this product? The limk Mark provided is only a tracking device, as suggested before. Many of the 'court jesters' here have come up with clever, low tech ways of trying to protect something that is itself 'old technology'. My car does not have electric locks, electric fuel pump, or a computer, which I suspect is central in this devices function. I have seen examples of this on 'COPS' type shows, and would be happily suprised to find out that it was adaptable to the type of vehicles we are concerned with.
John

It doesnt have to have a computer, just a few electrically controlled devices. Such as the fuel pump, the ignition system, and door locks. I was actually looking into getting one of these myself from a dealer here in town.

In the gated yard Rocky takes real care of every cubic foot. And he is backed up by a 38

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8565/prepforrepaintofchevellww1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The bird was another security as she would start chirping when she hears something or saw something outside, but not at the dog. Couldn't figure out how she knew.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/477/birdma2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Out of the yard the car is never out of my site. But has its security tricks

First choice a 1911 .45 auto I carry daily, second line of defense is a push button kill switch fron painless wireing. I have the button hidden under the back seat were I can reach it from the drivers seat, it kills all power except for the clock. Hopefully it will slow them down long enough for me to use the .45.


Were can I get my own guard duck.

Well John, I did this research some months ago, can't pinpoint exactly which company that was selling this product in the price range I mentioned, but simply doing an 'exact' search via Yahoo with the words 'GPS tracking' yeilds a lot of different companies that supply the equipment & internet access page to do exactly what I had written. There is no 'computer' to connect to, what you have to do is supply some sort of 'switches' or 'relays' that the outputs of the GPS device 'toggles on' in order to carry out whatever you want to do with them. If you don't have electric door locks already on the car (or don't want them), you can always install some sort of 'latch' or 'solenoid plunger' that only engages when you want the door 'locked' into position via the installed GPS device. Same goes for the engine, some 'dis-abling' relay, & my all time favorite, using the GPS device to activate a 'tear gas' canister with the crook locked inside. I think the GPS device can activate up to three (maybe four) external functions, all of them not having to be activated at the same time, just individually & whichever order you want. You simply tell the GPS device when you want each one 'fired off.' Again, this is just a GPS enable cell phone that has external outputs you can wire to, but these are very low amperage outputs, probably will not handle heavy loads. That's why you need 'relays' installed to do that. The relays will take care of the heavy currents that have to be handled, something such as starter coils & solenoid latches.
But don't stop & buy from the first company you come across. They all offer different 'pricing' levels for their service & equipment. The $300 receiver was capable of 3 controlled outputs & if I remember correctly, $69 was a fee for 1500 GPS hits for the tracking feature. That will last you a long time, but they have lower fees available for less tracking hits. I think a command to activate something would count as a hit also. Also remember that when you do a 'pre-determined area' command, like if you were staying at a hotel during a show, may be counted as a 'hit.' That's another best feature of the system, because you can't always drag around your Chiwawa or 'Guard Parrot' with you to those shows!:D

OK, so I came across one site that I thought was kind of decent in their pricing structure (at one time). It really does not include the quatity of hits for the money that I thought it did, but overall, even if you had to pay out $100 to get your treasure back the same day, it's all worth it.
One site, www.rmtracking.com (http://www.rmtracking.com), shows a SmartTrackPLUS receiver for $279, a Starter Interupter interface cable assembly for another $24.95. It does list the door lock & unlock, remote start, alarm & such. You can activate if for as little as $20 for a day for the hits, only 5 hits though. Also the 'hits' can go unused & left on your account on the other pricing plans, where there would be no annual subscription.

like others say if they want it bad enough they will get it. Ive got one of those brake lock things. it goes between the pedal and floor. Might slow someone down all of 30 seconds. but maybe it might make a thief look somewhere else. The chevelle and camaro barely has mufflers. so anyone tries to start it if im around I'll definetly here it, and can come out shooting. They set off all the alarms when I go through parking lots. On the brake locks. they must be fine for new cars, but our old cars, just dont forget its on there at night. First time you go to back up and hit the brakes. Its a rush. Jim

It might be old technology but I'll stick with my Lojac.

The major drawback to Lojac is you have to file a police report before they will activate it and by then your car may be in pieces or in some type of metal building where it can't be tracked. Its still quite a bit better than nothing however.

I have one of those locks that clamp to the brake pedal and keep the brake pedal from being pressed. I suppose someone could try to drive it with no brake but I don't think they'd get far. This type of lock is harder to beat than a club type steering lock because the brake pedal is much harder to cut than the steering wheel. Of course, this would not prevent someone from just grabbing it with a tow truck like the repo men and impounders use. I had my 04 Nissan towed because it was parked in a private lot and the high-tech key with transponder anti-theft system didn't even slow the guy down.

i dont know how much u want to spend or how involved u are willing to get, but here is what i am planning. Originally i wanted a push button start that wouldnt be operational without a RFID(transmitter), like the C6 vette, bmw's and such. That really didnt seem to feasable, without going through some sick modding of a corvette factory style one, which i wasnt even going to think about attempting. I gave up and decided to just use the viper alarm w/ 1 mile range. I was going to setup a relay so that if the alarm was armed it would disengage the starter, and once the alarm disarmed it would allow for me to use my push button starter, aleviating the use of my keys. However last night i found this:
http://www.digitalguarddog.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=DGD&Product_Code=DGD-PBS&Category_Code=a20000
and this on youtube:
YouTube - Keyless ignition push-button start: aftermarket
flaming river also makes one but its double the cost which i have found no info on,
oh **** and i just found this right now:
http://www.kptechnologies.com/products.php#/18
YouTube - KPtechnologies RFID based Keyless Push Button Start System
sorry for the long ass post u guys, just actually curious on some input as well. Don't know if this is like too overkill or whatnot, but this is an area i was really interested in as well.

Years ago on one of my cars I put a toggle switch under the bumper and ran a wire from the dome light switch on the door to the toggle switch, and then to the horn relay. Open any door and the dome light circuit grounds the horn relay and blows the horn. It scared the hell out of teenagers more than once!

Paul

It maybe Old School but a well hidden Magnetic kill switch in conjunction with a missing rotor or ignition wire work well. Last car I owned that was stolen was flat towed at night during a driving thunderstorm. Next morning all that I saw was an empty drive with four fresh drag marks and a dual rear wheel track sunk in to my yard, at least the brake lock worked.

Anyone on here watch the Discovery Channel Show It Takes a Thief? They installed something similar to what JW was talking about. I'll try to find more information but I believe this was installed in an older Vette, no computer, no power locks or windows. I know for sure it ties in with your cell phone and laptop. I'm trying to find a manufacturer or some additional information but if I can track down the episode I'll throw a link up. I believe the way it works is that you can turn the GPS on and off using the key FOB when you decide to drive it, reactivate it when parked. If you do not disable the GPS and the car moves more than 20 feet alerts are sent to your laptop, cell phone via call or text, and any other phone number that you list. At this point you can contact the police or (and don't quote me on this) if you do not respond within a couple minutes, the police department is automatically contacted, just like a home security system. On the whole I believe that it was relatively affordable with no monthly cost but I haven't been able to find the episode to be certain.
I agree that if someone wants it bad enough, they will get it whether by driving or towing away. With the advances in GPS technology and lower costs, being able to invest in a system such as this one certainly evens out the odds a little bit.

Hi, Not to take away from his post, but years ago I did install a kill switch onto my 71 Nova. I know that I ran it off of my coil to a toggle switch that I had hidden away under the dash.

I want to go the same route with my 71 Chevelle, but my Nova days were way way back in my high school days and my memory isnt so great these days. Can someone remind me if I run the wire to my toggle switch that goes to a ground through the positive side or negative side of my coil? I think it ran off the negative so as not to mess with the points if I ran it off the positive side........Any recommendations? Ive got a hood lock kit and an alarm system that Im considering already and have wheel locks etc in place. I think there are alot of great suggestions here, but am only looking right now for which side to wire the toggle switch to.

Thanks alot,
Rudy

Try www.visblackbox.com

A FRIEND OF MINE HAS A SET UP MADE BY JACOB'S ELECTRONICS ON HIS TURBO PORSCHE. IF YOU CAN GET IT STARTED, IT WILL SLOWLY SHUT DOWN
THE IGNITION WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND WON'T START BACK UP.
HE ALSO HAS LOJACK. I MY SELF HAVE A AK-47 W/ 70 ROUND DRUM +
1,000 EXTRA ROUNDS. :thumbsup:

LAWS THAT FORBID THE CARRYING OF ARMS,DISARM ONLY THOSE WHO ARE
NEITHER INCLUDED NOR DETERMINED TO COMMIT CRIMES.
SUCH LAWS MAKE THINGS WORSE FOR THE ASSAULTED AND BETTER FOR THE
ASSAILANTS. THEY SERVE RATHER TO ENCOURAGE THAN TO PREVENT
HOMICIDES, FOR AN UNARMED MAN MAY BE ATTACKED WITH GREATER
CONFIDENCE THAN AN ARMED MAN.
THOMAS JEFFERSON

I used to just pull my coil wire and stick it in my pocket. I figure most thieves don't carry an extra coil wire with them.

Try a Lok-Itt. I've had one on my muscle cars for fifteen years. Simple, effective. Good visual deterrent. Not fool-proof, but then little is.


http://www.lok-itt.com/models/p301.html

A FRIEND OF MINE HAS A SET UP MADE BY JACOB'S ELECTRONICS ON HIS TURBO PORSCHE. IF YOU CAN GET IT STARTED, IT WILL SLOWLY SHUT DOWN
THE IGNITION WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND WON'T START BACK UP.


Yeah, the Jacob's ignition boxes used to have that feature.
More than once, I forgot to flip the switch, and found myself stalled out. It did let me get far enough to pull out of the parking lot and into traffic, where lots of pissed off onlookers were waiting for me to get it running and out of the way.

I know it doesn't really help anyone, but I had a friend once who kept a free-range alligator and a kids pool in the garage with his vehicles. One day he found the garage door pried open, and came in to find the thief had locked himself in the car to get away from the gator! Illegal, probably, but effective.