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I’ve owned my car 21 years. I have always parked way out in parking lots. Last year I was in a rush and parked in a congested part of the lot and thought to myself “what are the chances I get it today. 1 in a million?”
yep. 1 in a million happened that exact day. It doesn’t matter how often a corvette gets stolen. It only matters that it CAN be stolen. And if your corvette means more than just a stack of money to you (as my car does since it was my late fathers), a hidden kill switch is not only a good idea but will give you some piece of mind. If something is important to you. Never play the “odds”.
let me know what you come up with. I’d be interested as well.
Get a ravelco. google them, it's around $700-ish for them to install, the authorized distributor on the east cost actually comes to your house. You get a cap that has to be inserted in a receiver to start the car -- cap has 24-ish pins in it, each car is wired differently, using all black wires. Cuts out fuel pump, ecu, ignition, etc. If you believe their propaganda, they've never had a car stolen with a properly installed and used ravelco.
I put ravelcos in all my cars. typically, all things being equal, thieves are looking for targets of opportunity. A small ravelco sticker in on the driver side window is enough to make them looking for easier prey (obviously this does nothing if they're towing, but it still is a deterrant, without the cap it's a dammed nightmare to remove the ravelco)
For a poor-man's tracking system, grab one of your old phones, activate it (usually an additional $10 or so), and hide it somewhere. Then use an app like life360, gives you instant tracking on the phone. A decent sized phone will last a few days. If you need more juice, get an external battery. A cheap 27 kw/hr battery will allow the phone to operate like that for a good week, may be more.
Get a ravelco. google them, it's around $700-ish for them to install, the authorized distributor on the east cost actually comes to your house. You get a cap that has to be inserted in a receiver to start the car -- cap has 24-ish pins in it, each car is wired differently, using all black wires. Cuts out fuel pump, ecu, ignition, etc. If you believe their propaganda, they've never had a car stolen with a properly installed and used ravelco.
I put ravelcos in all my cars. typically, all things being equal, thieves are looking for targets of opportunity. A small ravelco sticker in on the driver side window is enough to make them looking for easier prey (obviously this does nothing if they're towing, but it still is a deterrant, without the cap it's a dammed nightmare to remove the ravelco)
For a poor-man's tracking system, grab one of your old phones, activate it (usually an additional $10 or so), and hide it somewhere. Then use an app like life360, gives you instant tracking on the phone. A decent sized phone will last a few days. If you need more juice, get an external battery. A cheap 27 kw/hr battery will allow the phone to operate like that for a good week, may be more.
hahaha
I have that on my husky 😂
i use an old phone with Life360 app, I put the phone in the pocket of his safety jacket.
we All know what happens when a cop tries to stop a stolen car they run and crash.
it usually ends up total loss.
Tracking is great but why even let them take the car to begin with.
Fuse 13 goes to the fuel pump. It's 20 amps so you would need a beefy switch and wiring.
The ground side for the fuel pump relay solenoid might be a better choice for a switch
Fuse 13 goes to the fuel pump. It's 20 amps so you would need a beefy switch and wiring.
The ground side for the fuel pump relay solenoid might be a better choice for a switch
#13
does the job 😁😍
working on it with a dummy fuse in place.
On my way to buy NOS aircraft ON / OFF switch.
there is a local store near me that sells brand new made in USA military aircraft switches.
I have to think of a location 🤫 to hide the switch.
That article is 10 years old. I leave my 04 Vert unlocked since it is just an 18 year old car.. But I do not have the expensive upgrades that many members have.
Insure it for more than it's worth. I rarely lock mine.
for me personally my C5 is more than just it’s dollar value.
I would be really sad if it gets stolen.
I going to insure it with 15 dollar heavy duty insurance switch 😁
Three systems you can interrupt. Starter, ignition or fuel. A trip to the hardware store for a switch, some 14 or 16 GA wire and an afternoon of tinkering and you're on your way to successful theft deterrent. I made one for one of my vehicles and it worked as advertised. I wound up with a cut steering wheel (The Club removal method) broken ignition lock and a dented drivers door but the vehicle remained on my driveway! Still own it today.
I realized after putting on the LMC5 on my 1999 Convertible with manual transmission, someone or a couple of people could just pull the shifter out of gear push car and steer it away or up to trailer with wench, with only having the door open or even window down.
That seems easier than them trying to Hotwire car or pop hood and use jumper wire to bypass relays.
Was watching some show about gang members and how they steal cars in San Diego and So California to slip into Mexico to use for cartel reasons.
It was a recent show and they had the “gang member” blurred and voice changed to show how easy it is to steal a car, a early 1980s GM car he broke ignition switch and started car with screwdriver.
Had to double check and show was 5 years old tops, started laughing because those cars are not around much nowadays.
Worry about my 1965 C10 short bed fleetside custom cab, it’s rough and aged but these are not around like they once were, it would be easy to steal, any key fits the well worn out ignition key hole.
Could replace it, but they could just go under dash and hot wire it, however just put Edelbrock pro flo 4 multiport fuel injection on the 396 big block, maybe a switch to cut off electric fuel pump?
My fear adding cutoff switch is a malfunction or switch gets bumped off accidentally going down freeway that is crowded and engine dies, trying to pull over quick with dead engine could be way of getting in wreck or rear ended, and possibly hurt bad or even killed.
This could be old truck or a C5, bad situation engine just dying going down crowded freeway.
Maybe just pull a relay under the hood when you park it, then pop it back in, this would be free and probably less likely to make engine die in a bad location like freeway?
Yup, '80s GM cars were easy to steal. I had a 383 stroker in an '85 red IROC-Z stolen that way. They rammed something thru the door skin so they could loosen the the entire lock assembly. Then they just turned the assembly to unlock the door. Got inside, smashed the steering column, started the car, and drove it off the PATROLLED lot!! In Michigan, an entire industry popped up to repair, and rebuild steering columns. In Flint, Michigan, before the leaded water government fiasco, there was a company aptly named 'Steering Column Rebuilders of Flint.' Which tells you they were in more than one city........
On my first new C5 I had an alpine security system installed. Satellite radius lockdown, inertia bubble movement, comms in car like onstar, live tracking and remote shutdown. A great system no longer on the market.
But the local installer hid the emergency button and wired a separate kill switch both to go inside the shift boot on the tunnel. (All corvettes are stick, right?) I felt the location was smart because it wasn't a primary search location and was not visible at all unless they began gutting the interior. As to what he wired the kill to, i am not certain but i believe it would be the ignition since the security system used the same.
Ravelco ain't stopping your car from being stripped here in CT though. Only stops it from getting on a container ship in NJ.
might have to do something myself
