Best theft deterrent?

[PurpleBeeper]

I've given this a lot of thought myself. Modern alarm systems aren't compatible with our old Mopars. Here's the best I've been able to come up with & PLEASE anyone with other ideas please chime in.
a. The club
b. Ignition kills switch- stock ignition or grounding white wire (?) on MSD ignition
c. I've seen some "coin" looking gps trackers...not a "lo-jack" but at least you can track your car. I think they were designed to help find your cell phone or something like that.
d. old-school alarm system they used to sell at auto parts stores (remember the pop machine keys that went in your fender?). I believe they're just activated by the dome light circuit when you open the door & I would find a different type of switch vs. cutting a hole in my fender.
e. all the advice above

 

[BeeKool]

View attachment 703662

Id never do that to my Dodge!
Although 90% of all would be thefts would abort upon seeing the gay pride car cover

 

[djais1801]

Put a manual transmission in it.

hahahaha

 

[Ron H]

Reminds me of a story some years ago where a guy had tacked razor blades on his stereo as a theft deterrent. Some **** bag tried to lift it severely slicing up his hands requiring a fast trip to an ER. Then I heard some attempt by this scum suck to sue the owner!

 

[1968rt]

100lb Pitbull works real good!!

 

[Slap Stick]

Kern Dog beat me to it but instead of saying "manual transmission" I was going to say "three pedals".

With motorcycles ya buy something that no one has Heard of. Park it next to the Hardleys and when they see "Moto Guzzi" on the tank they just take the Hardley.

 

[Ranger16]

All my cars used to have a hidden kill switch, but I haven't done that since I left Chicago in'76.
I have pulled the coil wire on occasion if I am at a hotel for a car show, but if they want it, most likely they'll just flat bed it anyway.

 

[6PKRTSE]

View attachment 703485

I have one of these. He hears things 8-10 houses down before I ever even see anything coming near my house. Here he is playing with his Semi tire outback.

 

[Photon440]

Wish people would stop posting pictures of my daily driver. Jeez.

But has anyone tried to take it yet?

 

[Dako]

Hagerty policy with a stated value above replacement cost. The only thing not replaceable is the sentimental attachment.

 

[tmaleck]

I've given this a lot of thought myself. Modern alarm systems aren't compatible with our old Mopars. Here's the best I've been able to come up with & PLEASE anyone with other ideas please chime in.
a. The club
b. Ignition kills switch- stock ignition or grounding white wire (?) on MSD ignition
c. I've seen some "coin" looking gps trackers...not a "lo-jack" but at least you can track your car. I think they were designed to help find your cell phone or something like that.
d. old-school alarm system they used to sell at auto parts stores (remember the pop machine keys that went in your fender?). I believe they're just activated by the dome light circuit when you open the door & I would find a different type of switch vs. cutting a hole in my fender.
e. all the advice above

There is a company called Revelco. They have a system with a 'key' that plugs into a receptacle. They claim zero drive away thefts with this system. I plan to use this along with a basic car alarm (mostly using it for remote keyless entry). I tend to lean towards what I saw on some of the other sites, which is a cheap cell phone with GPS turned on, hardwired charger and hidden in the car somewhere. Finally, we also have a dog with great ears that likes to meet new people.
You need layers of protection, one single thing will not protect your car. All that being said, a guy reported his killer high dollar 67 Olds 442 was hauled out of the garage after they cut the garage door with a saws all and flatbedded away. Sadly, the thieves were only after the motor and tires. The right side of the car was drug against the door frame, ruining all the metal on that side. He figures it was someone with his information from a local car show. Once mine is ready, I won't be using my home address for entry forms, and I'll likely cover the VIN and plates when on display. Sad it's come to this.
Tim

 

[beanhead]

A sticker on the window that says "Trunk Monkey on board"

That was my favorite!

As far as kill switch type stuff, you just gotta get creative with it...on the Dart I had back when it was the headlight dimmer footswitch, it had to be held down until the engine fired up. (you'd think being a '72 Dart would be deterrent enough, right?)
Of course the smart theives are searching google and probably reading this thread too by now lol..

 

[aeon280]

Quick release steering wheel. Take the wheel with you when you go. You can also buy parking boots for under 100 bucks now days. This would be a good idea when parking at a hotel during a show or powertour. More than likely you wont be the only classic on the lot so anything that makes your ride more of a pain to load on a flatbed in a few minutes will usually cause theifs to move to the next vehicle in line. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=automotive&field-keywords=parking+boot

 

[PurpleBeeper]

This is similar to the gps tracker I was talking about
https://logistimatics.com/qbit/

Looking at the Revelco, it just looks like a fancy kill switch honestly.

 

[cr8crshr]

How come no one has even mentioned this...A closed, locked, and secured garage with plenty of monitoring in place. If they cannot see it, they cannot steal it. And even if they do get in, then I unload a lot of lead into them. Seems to me unless I am missing something here is that some of ya'll park and keep your rides outside. If that is the case then, how come you do that? As these cars become older and create more desire, then by keeping it outside, you are only telegraphing and essentially saying, Come and Take. Just my 2 cents is all...cr8crshr/Bill

 

[matthon]

Chain/steel cable/lock the rim to the suspension, then to the wall, to the car next to it, to something embedded in the concrete floor, to your bed, you get the idea.

 

[themechanic]

I installed electric locks and a modern car alarm with an ignition disabler on the Coronet. However, I wonder if we're being overly concerned about our cars/trucks being stolen in the first place.

Does anyone have any statistics not introduced by an entity that is likely to profit from them?

 

[Ron H]

I installed electric locks and a modern car alarm with an ignition disabler on the Coronet. However, I wonder if we're being overly concerned about our cars/trucks being stolen in the first place.

Does anyone have any statistics not introduced by an entity that is likely to profit from them?

That's an interesting question as other than to strip our old cars of non-traceable parts (yeah a whole lot of them) the market could be a reach with higher risk of getting snagged. Least I hope older rides are not a popular hit.

 

[themechanic]

"Car theft isn’t just about thieves locating specific vehicles and stealing them; it is often a crime of opportunity."

https://www.woodsidecredit.com/secure-car-series-car-theft-prevention/

 

[themechanic]

Another good article.
6 Security Mistakes People Make With Their Classic Cars

https://unitedlocksmith.net/blog/6-security-mistakes-people-make-with-their-classic-cars