Car theft

[jdwilker]

I'd like to do a road trip this summer in my '57, but the more I read about how many classic cars are stolen and never recovered, I'm wondering how I can travel and get back home with my ride. There seems to be a list of things you can do to deter theft from steering wheel and pedal locks, wheel clamps, GPS trackers, removing the steering wheel nightly (!), pulling the rotor and of course, the old cigarette lighter/coil ground. Do you travel in your classic and what precautions do you take?

[suede57ford]

The modern day thieves are not even needing to start your car.   They will push it out of the parking lot or off the trailer and down the street into an enclosed trailer and then it will never be spotted ever again.   I found some nylon cables that have a key lock and they cannot easily be cut. On my Boss 429, I use these cables through the hood(boss air cleaner alone is worth $4K) latch to prevent the hood from being opened. Also I run a chain with padlock through the wheels of the car to the chassis or another wheel to prevent moving it.   If it sits on the trailer overnight, I chain the car to the trailer with one or two ways, padlock my trailer ramps, Lock the tongue to the truck. I run a heavy chain through the trailer rims to the trailer chassis.  After I'm sure that the car/trailer cannot easily be moved, I take the fuel pump fuse out of the truck and take it in the hotel with me.   Nowadays   they just drive off in your entire rig.    I also throw one of my cell phones in a hidden location inside the car just in case it does disappear and there might be a chance of tracking it.  Any items in my truck bed under the bed cover are all chained together as well so my extra wheels and tires and parts are hard to take.   I don't believe in cameras, as you just get to see a video of your stuff being stolen, I try to prevent the theft by making my stuff hard to take.

[abe_lugo]

I'm going to try the hidden AirTag route.  Most thefts are done in a "take advantage situation" make it difficult.  Have a battery cutoff.  Club for the steering.   

Get a car cover that says  PT Cruiser on very large. 

Park your car in a well lit area and maybe near an area that has a camera on it.

1. If you car gets stolen best bet is to have many Instagram friends to find it.

2. Stolen cars for police is now a very low priority. 

[CobraJoe]

This world really sucks...
Just sayin'     

[81TTA]

Obviously, there's always "one more thing" someone can do to steal a car.  My approach has been to make it just a little more difficult than most casual thieves would bother with.  In the extreme, there's always a way.  But, if the risk of getting caught in the act or the cost of the trucks, helicopters or whatever they want to use to get the car is more than the car's worth, I'd think they'd move on to something else.

We've gone with 3 approaches to security.  An ignition kill, a fuel shut-off and an electronic door deadbolt. 

Ignition kill is pretty straightforward.  Thought we were being sneaky-smart in wiring this to a second headlight dimmer switch on the floor.  Seems just about everyone had that thought before.  More than one person has "guessed" what we did for the switch.

For the fuel shutoff, plumbed in a fuel valve from a dual-tank pickup truck.  One side routed to the tank.  The other not routed to anything.  After the fuel in the carb is gone, the car is going nowhere under its own power.

For the door deadbolt, I machined a deadbolt that connects to an aftermarket door lock solenoid actuated by a key fob.  Basically, think of a beefy power door lock mechanism turned on its side.  You can unlock the door.  But, it won't open while the deadbolt is actuated.

Again, these weren't meant to cover every possible thing someone could do.  As mentioned, if someone shows up with a helicopter to carry the car off, none of these would be much help!

[djfordmanjack]

My friend participated at the Italian Mille Miglia show/race last year and got his early Porsche 911 stolen from the hotel parking lot, never to be seen again ! Upon investigation it was agreed that all precautions should be taken to cost the thieves 10 minutes or more. That is the time frame that is said to be needed for a camera/safety system to work an alarm and get security personnel in place. I am just forwarding what my friend told me. he said he so wished that he would simply have pulled the rotor or incorporated another hidden kill switch or so. (the old trick).
The camera showed that they simply rammed a large screwdriver in the ign lock and started the car and drove off in seconds.

[geraldchainsaw]

tell me why any one would steal a old classic?,   1st what are they going to do,  take it to a chop shop?,  2nd,  if they drive it,  it sticks out like a sore thumb,  3rd,  mosy cars are on some forum and the picturre is plastered all over the place and everyone knows who owns what,  4th,  if they  try to sell it,  I'm sure the ;buyer would have a hard time saying O ya,  I've been working on it for quite a while.     so tell me,  is it worth wild to steal a old classic?.   I'm more worried about some jerk running a red lite an ramming me, or some kid keying my car at a  car show.      just my thought

[abe_lugo]

One good deterrent.m is to have a stick shift model.   Most people now cannot drive stick shift.  Both my wife's vintage cars are stickshift. 

I like Guenters' idea to slow them down 10 mins.

[John Palmer]

I think most vehicles are stolen for the parts.  That's why Honda's and Toyota's are on the top of the most stolen vehicles lists. 

Just look at what it costs to buy parts today, $$$$. 

I agree that it might seem easy to find stolen classic car with all of the forums, but every year several are stolen out of trucks and enclosed trailers at hotel parking lots around the annual Los Angeles Roadster Show.

[rmk57]

  The 1999-2002 model F-350 were at the top of the list a few years back. Pull the plastic door handle trim cover off, reach inside the door, push the lock up, open the door and use a vise-grip or small crescent wrench to break the column key lock and off you go. All in about 30 seconds. Ask me how I know.

[mustang6984]

Street Rodder had a car stolen about 3 years before they stopped production of the mag. Never has been recovered. Conventional wisdom is that went to South America as there wasn't more than 4 consecutive inches on that car that had not been modified in some fashion.
Which brings me to the question...WHY since everything on those cars was donated...did they not have a Lo-Jack system in it.
With Lo-Jack...your car gets stolen...cops call Lo-Jack...give them a code...Lo-Jack turns on the tracking system...tells the cops where it is. When a patrol unit spots the car, they radio dispatch wh tells Lo-Jack to "turn it off"...and the engine stops functioning.
Buddy at Phoenix P.D. said it works like a charm. They made a big push years ago for people to place that in cars that were most stolen...killed thefts by a bunch, AND got cars recovered with  o damage. The P.D. also broke up a couple of cop shops because the cars had been taken to those.
I...will be installing Lo-Jack in the Courier...

[Ford Blue blood]

Bottom line, if they want it they're going to get it.  Nothing in the world except a vault will stop it from happening.  My 90 Thunderbird Super Coupe was stolen from the Meadow Lands parking garage, a secured parking garage with attendants and cameras.  Broke the passenger side window, the ignition lock and took every Super Coupe trim item off the car.  It was recovered, no wheels and tires, up on blocks in an ally.

[59meteor]

  The 1999-2002 model F-350 were at the top of the list a few years back. Pull the plastic door handle trim cover off, reach inside the door, push the lock up, open the door and use a vise-grip or small crescent wrench to break the column key lock and off you go. All in about 30 seconds. Ask me how I know.

Randy, A few years ago, some thieves attempted be steal my 99 F350 Dually as well. I guess they were not as competent as your crooks, however. I was going out to my daily driver, to go to work, when I noticed that the safety chains for my enclosed car trailer were unhooked, laying on the ground. Looking a bit closer, I found that the hitch pin had been removed, and when I looked inside the cab of the truck, I could see that the steering wheel (with the club still attached) was badly bent, and the ignition key housing smashed to crap. I guess that the thieves hoped to steal the truck, but not the trailer, and figured if they accelerated hard enough, that the trailer receiver would slide out and the trailer would stay behind. I guess they gave up, and left, because , since the truck is only normally used for towing the trailer to and from the dragstrip,so I "boobytrap" it so even if the keys were left in the ignition, it wouldn`t start. What I do is simple, and takes me less than 15 seconds to do, would likely take a Ford Tech some time to figure out. I must admit, that I was surprised that they smashed the ignition, before getting the club off the steering wheel, even if they got the truck running, they couldn`t drive it with the club on the wheel.
As for stealing a classic car, thats a tough one. On my 59, between the 4 speed, manual steering and brakes, most younger people likely wouldn`t be able to drive it very far anyhow! One plus for the 57-59 Ford cars is, that unless the crooks are familiar with these cars , they would likely not be aware of the inside hood release , and the rearward opening hood, so after a few minutes looking around the front grill, give up in confusion. But if they planned to get inside, and hotwire the car from under the dash, yeah, with no locking steering column, or other security features, they are sitting ducks. My 59 has never spent a night outside unattended since I got it on the road, but if I had to, I would do a few things to hinder theft, like removing the starter solenoid wire, remove the coil wire and ignition rotor, not likely the crooks would be carrying a coil wire and rotor with them. If they were to use a tow truck, just not much you can do about that, I suppose, if you are in a Motel, and if possible, I would try to park my car right outside my window, so if any noise was happening, I would have a better chance to hear it. That said, I am more concerned about some inattentive driver crashing into my car, or somebody vandalizing it, than actually stealing it.

[FiveSevenLiter]

Went on a road trip a few years ago to California with a good friend.  He would park his car under the hotel room window, had a kill switch installed, put a baby monitor in the car, car cover locked on the car.  Then through the night we got to hear, 'I wonder what is under the cover', 'my Dad had one like that', 'your husband better not find out about this', 'what time is our wake up?', and then him going to the window to check it out.  Brutal.
My Mustang convertible was never found, if they want it they will get it.  Good insurance, lots of recent photos, Lo Jack type tracking system.
Terry

[hiball3985]

Lost a 66 Mustang, If they want it they will get it. Most leave the country. They find them in containers at the port occasionally.