Anti-theft devices
Discussion
I am talking a dterrent here, not a tracking device, something like a Crook lock, except the first thing that came up on Google was a Youtube video on how to pick the lock on one! Not very handy that. So a manual security device which will deter thieves is what I am looking for, something I can tour with givent the limited space in an E-type or the XKSS. Advice please.
I would have thought the default choice:
http://www.disklokuk.co.uk/
But with an XKSS (
) surely a high-end tracker/immobiliser. Or finding secure parking at each destination.
http://www.disklokuk.co.uk/
But with an XKSS (
) surely a high-end tracker/immobiliser. Or finding secure parking at each destination.Lowdrag,
Deterrence is all you can hope for, so delay them while they try to mobilise the car.
Take out the rotor arm? Cost, nil. Ok a plastic bag to store it in your pocket, and a pair of gloves to keep your hands clean when you keep your appointment. Cost still, almost nil!
This would stop anyone not equipped with a tow truck - or a rotor arm!
John
Deterrence is all you can hope for, so delay them while they try to mobilise the car.
Take out the rotor arm? Cost, nil. Ok a plastic bag to store it in your pocket, and a pair of gloves to keep your hands clean when you keep your appointment. Cost still, almost nil!
This would stop anyone not equipped with a tow truck - or a rotor arm!
John
I brought this kit, for £20 I think its a great idea. You get a small , flashing LED for the dash & the on/off switch is very easy to hide away somewhere. Not foolproof but gives some peace of mind.
http://www.bettercarlighting.co.uk/index.php?act=v...
this plus a steering wheel lock is what I use if the car is parked up somewhere for a couple of hours.
http://www.bettercarlighting.co.uk/index.php?act=v...
this plus a steering wheel lock is what I use if the car is parked up somewhere for a couple of hours.
The hidden/disguised fuel pump switch is quite good because
(a) the engine starts normally so nothing appears to be wrong for a short while
(b) it can be used without it being too obvious to the onlookers, and it's quick unlike the rotor arm trick.
Even better is the automatic fuel pump switch which operates when you switch the ignition off. Use a single pole relay to switch the fuel pump lead on, energising it from its own downstream voltage - you need a suitably disguised blip-switch to short-circuit the relay's contacts briefly and it then holds itself in until you switch off. (other descriptions and diagrams can be made available!)
(a) the engine starts normally so nothing appears to be wrong for a short while
(b) it can be used without it being too obvious to the onlookers, and it's quick unlike the rotor arm trick.
Even better is the automatic fuel pump switch which operates when you switch the ignition off. Use a single pole relay to switch the fuel pump lead on, energising it from its own downstream voltage - you need a suitably disguised blip-switch to short-circuit the relay's contacts briefly and it then holds itself in until you switch off. (other descriptions and diagrams can be made available!)
Multilock. Very old now, but visible and effective unless the car's lifted away. For those who don't know, it's a bracket permanently fixed to the floor of the car with shear head bolts that carries a high quality lock and shackle which lock the car into gear. Can be a ballache to fit. It's also not what you'd call a thing of beauty! I've used this and a disklock on my Evo on the rare occasions it's had to spend the night outside. Not an easy combo to bypass.
It’s difficult on a car like yours because it’s so open and there are very few places to place something. Removing rotor arms or fitting battery cutoff switches are good but not visible and don’t stop determined people just picking the car up on to a low loader or similar. Is there a way of doing something as basic as changing it to a lamp post?
As an aside I have a battery cutoff fitted to my XJS ... but only because the TOAD alarm drains the battery after about a week or so ...
As an aside I have a battery cutoff fitted to my XJS ... but only because the TOAD alarm drains the battery after about a week or so ...
On any thing with a simple SU type fuel pump a hidden switch in the supply,
Years ago I parked my MG in a multi story in Hammersmith came back to find it pushed out of the way by the attendant. It had started, driven to exit ramp on the fuel in the float chamber and stalled at the pay gate, they had abandoned it and run away. Much better than a car that refuses to start in a remote corner where it can be worked on, or vandalized if they can't start it.
a simple switchable wire to earth from the -ve low tension coil terminal is also cheap and easy
Years ago I parked my MG in a multi story in Hammersmith came back to find it pushed out of the way by the attendant. It had started, driven to exit ramp on the fuel in the float chamber and stalled at the pay gate, they had abandoned it and run away. Much better than a car that refuses to start in a remote corner where it can be worked on, or vandalized if they can't start it.
a simple switchable wire to earth from the -ve low tension coil terminal is also cheap and easy
There was a 'Find out why this engine won't start' test that BR (British Railways for you youngsters) used to set for their apprentices in days past. A small piece of Sellotape was placed between the distributor contact points, very hard to see. I don't fancy the glue this might leave but you could substitute a small slip of transparent plastic of the sort found in the collar wrappings of a new shirt. Even if they do look inside the distributor the chances of them spotting that are small. Add a hidden switch to the coil as suggested and I reckon you will be pretty safe - unless they come with a low loader for which you will need a tilt alarm!
Thanks all for the advice given. I have always had a pump cut-out switch, but I was also thinking of a more visible deterrent so i guess I'll get a chain to pass aroun the pedals and the steering wheel; with a sturdy padlock of course! I find it sad that I need to think like this though. For 30 years the car has been toured, drinks have been consumed until we fell over, yet the car was always there the next morning no matter what. We never had guarded or closed parking, we just dumped them and enjoyed ourselves. I don't think that I'll tour in the XKSS again, especially after the slipped disc operation this year, since the seating is so uncomfortable. The E-type isn't the height of luxury but ten times better then the XKSS!
There is no deterrent to the determined barsteward today. Proven by this.
Car locked. Hood up. Engine immobiliser. Handbrake locked on. And parked in a multi-national motor company's car park in full view.
Car distinguishing features? Just LOOK at the photo!
Stolen in broad daylight around tea time (not today, some time ago!). How did the thieving barstewards get it?
Pull into car park with a sign-written low loader, hook up car and drag car tyres squealing (hand brake on!) and calmly drive away. We even know where it went. 17 miles from Cowley Oxford to Bicester. Spotted on A34.
Police were notified. The less said the better. Never recovered. Probably dismantled the same evening.
Wonder what they're stealing tonight?
Car locked. Hood up. Engine immobiliser. Handbrake locked on. And parked in a multi-national motor company's car park in full view.
Car distinguishing features? Just LOOK at the photo!
Stolen in broad daylight around tea time (not today, some time ago!). How did the thieving barstewards get it?
Pull into car park with a sign-written low loader, hook up car and drag car tyres squealing (hand brake on!) and calmly drive away. We even know where it went. 17 miles from Cowley Oxford to Bicester. Spotted on A34.
Police were notified. The less said the better. Never recovered. Probably dismantled the same evening.
Wonder what they're stealing tonight?
dandarez said:
There is no deterrent to the determined barsteward today. Proven by this.
Car locked. Hood up. Engine immobiliser. Handbrake locked on. And parked in a multi-national motor company's car park in full view.
Car distinguishing features? Just LOOK at the photo!
Stolen in broad daylight around tea time (not today, some time ago!). How did the thieving barstewards get it?
Pull into car park with a sign-written low loader, hook up car and drag car tyres squealing (hand brake on!) and calmly drive away. [We even know where it went. 17 miles from Cowley Oxford to Bicester. Spotted on A34.
Police were notified. The less said the better. Never recovered. Probably dismantled the same evening.
Wonder what they're stealing tonight?
[pedant]Technically, you don't know where it went, you only know the general direction it was heading in (unless the A34 comes to a dead end in Bicester and there are no other exits off that road). The car could have gone anywhere after it was spotted.Car locked. Hood up. Engine immobiliser. Handbrake locked on. And parked in a multi-national motor company's car park in full view.
Car distinguishing features? Just LOOK at the photo!
Stolen in broad daylight around tea time (not today, some time ago!). How did the thieving barstewards get it?
Pull into car park with a sign-written low loader, hook up car and drag car tyres squealing (hand brake on!) and calmly drive away. [We even know where it went. 17 miles from Cowley Oxford to Bicester. Spotted on A34.
Police were notified. The less said the better. Never recovered. Probably dismantled the same evening.
Wonder what they're stealing tonight?
Added to that, without a tracker on the car, the Police would still be searching for a needle in a haystack, so it's a bit unfair to imply that notifying them was a waste of time. They may well have been a bit negative about the chances of finding your car, and they may even have shown little interest in dedicating resources into even trying to find it, but that will be because they are being realistic about the situation, and they simply can't drop everything else that their doing, to go look for a car that could be anywhere.
As you've highlighted, if thieves really want your car, then they will get it one way or another, and a bogus car recovery is a great cover story for the thieves, especially with a classic car. Chances are, the first thought of anyone passing by seeing the car being hauled onto a recovery truck will be to assume the car has broken down due to age, rather than it's being stolen. And how many people see a car on the back of a recovery truck and think: "Ooh, I bet that's being stolen!"?
The best option for what Lowdrag needs would seem to be the good old disklok. It won't stop determined thieves who come along with a recovery truck and professional vehicle moving equipment to overcome the disklok, but it will stop the opportunist thieves and the those who are less prepared.
I would also suggest that anyone with a car that is of high monetary or personal value to them, really should invest in a tracker for the car if they want to stand a chance of catching the thieves and getting their car back should it be stolen. It's not guaranteed to work 100% (there are always going to be some circumstances where they don't work), but chances are they will give you a much better chance of recovering your car than going to the Police saying: "It was last seen heading in the general direction of.... [insert name place here]......, drop everything and find My car!"
ASM993 said:
If its for a semi-permanent basis (eg. when in your garage rather than nipping to teh shops) a motorcycle ground anchor sunk into the concrete floor and a ruddy great motorcycle padlock and chain around the axle/susp arms is not a bad idea.
The OP did say he wanted something he could tour with. The chain would need to be very long 
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff