I have one of those "special" ignition switches on my '70 1600. You can
crank forever but it won't "catch" until you let go. A lot cheaper than a
Doberman. I'm willing to swap it for a regular switch and a Doberman!
Several anti-theft principles to think about:
1) Park safe. Visit your car often or park where you can keep an eye on it. Then
you don't need to worry about other measures. Also comes under the heading
"don't own and use more than you can afford to lose". Otherwise...
2) The value of return to the thief dictates the effort of stealing it. Ugly is
safer. My '70 daily driver never gets bothered, (especially when it was all
primer color). Not that it's ugly, it's just not a show winner. No mags, no
stereo, nothing of value to steal. However, beauty is in the eye of the
beholder and all a thief might want is a joy ride in a unique car. So...
3) Advertise that you've got anti-theft measures so a thief won't bother with
it. A Doberman is intimidating. A Club is noticeable, although it won't stop a
thief. A blinky alarm light helps to intimidate. Another thing that might help
is to make the car truly stand out to the law enforcement people, like purple
paint and white stripes (yeah, like Ken's DATSTER).
4) Make it a pain in the butt for a thief so he gets frustrated and gives up.
This stops the amateur thief but they may cause some damage first, so use this
with #3 advertising! My '66 has an ignition kill switch (visible) and a power
kill switch (hidden), but I back it up with a (useless) Club. A fuel line cutoff
valve is something no one looks for.
Fred
_______________________ Reply Separator ___________________________
> Subject: Re: theft prevention
> Author: andycost@att.net
> Date: 5/23/2000 1:15 PM
>
> I just drive a car that is so beat up and rusty
> that nobody would steal it for fear of tetnus.
> Mine has a "factory" ignition kill already
> installed also. Sometimes it just won't crank.
>
> Nomad Trash
>> The latest sad story about roadster theft got me thinking about some
> simple > precautions. What's better: a starter interrupt system or an
> ignition
>> cut-out system? JC Whitney sells both. Or would The Club be better? Or
> maybe > an angry Doberman? Any advice?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Jim
>> 70 1600
>> Berkeley
>>
|