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I plan on taking my car on some long road trips, possibly coast to coast.
And really do not want any problems.
While OCB was bending fuel lines, someone mentioned a manual fuel shut off valve and that got me thinking about security measures. Something short of a baretta seems prudent! I'll always keep it in sight, but then there are overnights on a trip, so some protection is required. Hmmm...
These things are just so easy to hot-wire. I have two thoughts in mind.
An electric solenoid fuel cut-off switch.
And an electric hood lock to prevent hot wiring.
Both well hidden and controlled by a hidden magnetic switch on the console or a fob or a cell phone app?
I like the fuel cut-off cause it will start with a carb, just not go very far, and then they'll be very visible and exposed. The muffler noise would certainly attract attention late at night. The hood lock would prevent them from going under the hood and hot-wiring it or troubleshooting the stall.
I found this hood cable lock which had me intrigued because it can be completely hidden, and even invisible under the hood. I do not want it to look different than stock. Some of the big pickup trucks have dual tanks and an electric valve. I heard it only takes 60 sec to hot wire one so I gave up on all the ignition cut-out ideas. Once the hood is open, a 2 ft piece of wire gets it started anyway. Thoughts? https://lockdownsecuritycanada.ca/products/starline-l21
Thoughts? Improvements? Baretta Model suggestion?
Last edited by leigh1322; Mar 19, 2024 at 11:20 AM.
I plan on taking my car on some long road trips, possibly coast to coast.
And really do not want any problems.
While OCB was bending fuel lines, someone mentioned a manual fuel shut off valve and that got me thinking about security measures. Something short of a baretta seems prudent! I'll always keep it in sight, but then there are overnights on a trip, so some protection is required. Hmmm...
These things are just so easy to hot-wire. I have two thoughts in mind.
An electric solenoid fuel cut-off switch.
And an electric hood lock to prevent hot wiring.
Both well hidden and controlled by a hidden magnetic switch on the console or a fob or a cell phone app?
I like the fuel cut-off cause it will start with a carb, just not go very far, and then they'll be very visible and exposed. The muffler noise would certainly attract attention late at night. The hood lock would prevent them from going under the hood and hot-wiring it or troubleshooting the stall.
I found this hood cable lock which had me intrigued because it can be completely hidden, and even invisible under the hood. I do not want it to look different than stock. Some of the big pickup trucks have dual tanks and an electric valve. I heard it only takes 60 sec to hot wire one so I gave up on all the ignition cut-out ideas. Once the hood is open, a 2 ft piece of wire gets it started anyway. Thoughts? https://lockdownsecuritycanada.ca/products/starline-l21
Thoughts? Improvements? Baretta Model suggestion?
A pro will bring an assistant and an enclosed trailer...
Locking the steering full CW or CCW may give some second thoughts...
Sleep lite...lol
How about the Vice Grip Garage trick of moving your coil wire from the center post on the distributor to one of the plug wire posts and connecting the sparkplug wire to the center post on the cap?
Pat
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Barretta 92FS...9mm 123gn hollowpoint...i used to leave empty brass on the dash , seat and floor.
The tow truck or flat bed is how they will take it...i would back it into a spot and buy yourself 1 or 2 wheel boots, 1 for the front and 1 for the rear tires. They sell for 85 bucks each up to $350
Every amateur car thief puts a spare green **** in their pocket also.
Leigh1322,
Who says a "fuel shut-off has to be electronic?
I foresee trouble with shorts, fuses, poor connections, parasitic draw or a stuck solenoid. Then you're stuck
I have a 1968 Convertible Corvette with the ignition switch mounted on the dashboard, heck I don't even have a steering lock. I leave the car open with the top down and I have only had one Handicapped Permit taken from my rear view mirror at a grocery 3 minute stop. At Carlisle someone really liked the original radio ***** I HAD on my radio and liberated them.
If I leave the top Up then some fool will slice it open before realizing that the car is open and unlocked. IT is too easy to steal a car like mine for even the old school thieves.
So I installed a theft alarm that had a radar type sensor looking for movement. It had a transmitter good for about three blocks that would go off any time someone reached into the interior. After 99,999 false alarms I yanked it back out.
Driving around the Washington DC Area car-jacking has jumped big time. I have a CC Permit and a nice surprise for anyone who wants to take my car. You are going to have to be more careful than ever to protect what is yours, people don't care. Maybe installing a Four speed might be the best deterrent.
Installing a Count-Down timer and setting it up to kill the ignition after 2-3 minutes or so would be a good way to keep the car from getting far away.
When I had the Big Block installed I was running a Vertex Magneto and had to have a toggle to kill the Mag to shut the car off...it of course was hidden.
I use a battery isolation switch, but it's not in the battery box. How about a couple of air tags? One obvious and easy to find so they give up looking. And one very well hidden.
Mines a manual trans so that eliminates about 95% of today’s criminals 🤣. For the rest, burner phones hidden with gps enabled. They can take it but I’ll find it with some of my less than scrupulous friends 😉
Mount a Ring Doorbell under the dash facing the driver's seat or in the grill. Install the audio/video/photo Ring app on your phone.
If they sit in the car...you got em...or...if they try to tow/trailer it, you got em.
I love the GPS air tag idea. 12 v of course. And some of them have audio. I would not want it to be visible so no camera.
And mine is a manual, with a carb, so how many would know how to start it or to drive it anyway? LOL
I like the idea of a 30sec to 1 minute countdown timer, shutting off the fuel. Since it is a carb it will run 15-30 sec on the car bowls, so maybe a shut off solenoid back by the fuel pump. I don't think it would hurt the mechanical pump, just starve it. And the mechanical pump would sure confuse them as to why it ran out of gas?
If it stalls out in the open I can't imagine they would take long to look for it.
I'll never stop the tow truck guys, that is what the air tag is for. Some of them have rechargeable batteries so it will already be charged, but get tripped and still work for a day or so if the power is cut.
I am not inclined to confront a car jacker. I'd let them take it and get a few hundred feet, then it runs out of gas. "Gotcha!"
I wish the scorpion idea was legal. Talk about "punitive damages" !
A couple of empty brass casings on the console, Rescue you are devious!
It's a rumbling big block, so it will attract attention, both the good and the bad kind.
All great ideas. Got any more?
Last edited by leigh1322; Mar 26, 2024 at 11:40 AM.
Security Measures on C3s
