[citydesk175]

What works better? The Club? or Custom installed Combination locks?
Who has the best locks?
Any other SOLUTIONS?

Thanks
CD175

[mike nixon]

A large Dog.


Any pro with a rollback will get your car if they want it bad enough.

Mike

[guccieng]

i think the only real protection from theft is good insurance.

[301Store]

My shop truck has no door locks and a shrunken head hanging from the mirror.

Nobody has touched it in the 4 years I've owned it.

Shawn

[gtoric]

A club only stops a determined, professional thief for as long as it takes to cut up the steering wheel.

One solution I've heard of is using a headlamp delay switch hidden somwhere in the ignition system circuit. If a thief does get the car started, the delay switch will allow him to get a few hundred yards away when the whole electrical system shuts down. Almost all times, the thief will abandon the car as opposed to trying to diagnose the problem on the, most times, very public spot.

[69goatboy]

Powerlock.
http://www.powerlock.com/

Solenoid module that permanently mounts to your starter. A key fob talks to the interface to allow vehicle start. Supposedly 100% hotwire proof.

I'm not sure if this type of system would prevent a pop-clutch start on a MT car though.

But as stated, nothing stops a determined thief with a rollback and time.

[YVEYANT]

Okay, being from the Bronx originally I can honestly tell you that if they want it bad enough, they will get it, period.
I have seen them stolen first hand by way of Flatbed, tow truck, garages broken into, cars broken into and moved to get to a desired vehicle, wing men to snub the cops if they get in the way, cars being driven away with a vice grips. Your best bet is to keep a few visual deterrants in the hopes that they might go for an easier target, have great insurance and a hook in a body shop (to avoid paying anything out of pocket/deductible) if they clip it and you get it back.
Another thing, when you go for an oil change, buy parts especially from junkyards, bring the car to get audio components, wheels etc.. Do not give them your address ever. Most hits I remembered in my area were not from some "Chop Shop" that's TV. In reality most of it is directly linked to shops, especially body shops & junk yards putting an order in for used parts.

[bluebeast]

Was reading this morning etching your vin number into every peice of glass in the car.It would be very expensive to replace all the glass in a car,but trackable.But on the other hand it would'nt stop a good old joy ride.

[SRR]

1, Large garage
2, Large dog(s) who lives in garage.
You can't beat a security system that works for dog food.

[Guilty]

A nice 12 gauge pump works well too! The sound of the gun racking is feared by many across the land!

[poman1968]

there are removable steering wheels with locks that lock the column when the wheel is removed. I have also put the "siren" that people usually mount outside to sound when the alarm is triggered, INSIDE. 120db is a wonderful deterrent, especially when it is attached to an auxillary battery located in the trunk ( to avoid being disconnected )

[fiedlerh]

Powerlock: Haul car away on flatbed, remove Powerlock at Chop Shop. Probably need to pull starter to remove.

I'm not sure if this type of system would prevent a pop-clutch start on a MT car though.

I doubt it, because with carbureted cars you can simply jumper from battery+ to ignition+, and push start. Column and shifter locks (if equipped) are easy to defeat.

I think a cell phone based tracking/disabling system would work well, unless of course they load your car into a steel shipping container right away.

Another way to prevent theft is to have a car very few people want. Like 73-77 A-bodies

With all the posts about thefts at car shows this summer, it looks like participants need to help keep an eye out for (and video) unusual activities.

[Lightfoot]

I read this thread back when it was started, and took it half heartedly.
Do I ever wish I would have gave it serious thought now.
Just didn't believe someone would be brazen enough to steal my car from a semi-gated well lit apartment parking area. That, and I didn't really believe my car was the hot ticket for theives.

Please, Please, people, don't discourage others from putting some form of theft protection on their beloved vehicle by saying how easily determined theives will still get your car. In a lot of cases, the so-called 'beatable' theft guards are still effective as a deterant.
If I had invested in a CLUB or a brake pedal lock, I'm quite sure my car would still be in my posession right now. A slim chance maybe they would have been prepared to cut that stuff off, but probably not. And a hidden battery quick-disconnect would have stopped them in their tracks. These walking peices of feces skipped over a very nice '99 Monte Carlo right next to my car, because it had the chip-in-the-key ignition.

A flatbed would have been useless where my car was parked: sandwiched between my winter beater and the neighbor lady's Monte. And a fence less than 20 feet behind.
Not to mention all the commotion it would cause.

I sit here heartbroken because I had a car that was going to last me 10-15 years of dependible service. And it's gone, mostly because I thought it would "Never happen to me, at least not at my own residence".
So all the "you can't stop a determined theif" talk is not very productive is it?

Save that for the mint GTOs and Trans Ams.

I'll get off my box now.

[71 T/A]

I have a Club and a McGard steering column lock for my GTO. Club can be easily removed if you cut the wheel, but even cutting the wheel doesn't remove the steering column lock.

[fiedlerh]

I defeated a steering column lock with pliers and a screw driver in 5 minutes. the car was in the McCormick Place underground parking garage with plenty of people and security around. Everybody ignored me as I hammered on the column, started the car and drove away.

[guccieng]

Originally Posted by fiedlerh

I defeated a steering column lock with pliers and a screw driver in 5 minutes. the car was in the McCormick Place underground parking garage with plenty of people and security around. Everybody ignored me as I hammered on the column, started the car and drove away.

is this an admission of a crime?

[fiedlerh]

I stole my own car when the ignition key broke off in the lock. It was a $300 winter beater Dodge Omni, so no crime.

[WDCreech]

I have an old '89 Ranger for a daily driver. When I go to the store, or barber shop, or NAPA, I don't take the keys out of the car. I was told that I could be charged with inviting car theft, but I say that, if someone stole it, they were inviting a severe beating, or probably worse! I don't get mad, I get even!

[ERIC AULL]

Say hello to my little friends!!!!

[Formulabruce]

I remember back in the late 80's early 90's a company that made a starter solenoid that had a remote and could only work when activated. I still cannot find out who made it, I think I saw an ad for it in carlisle.

My brother in law always uses geese for securtity, they never sleep, ( enough to miss anything) and oh so loud when theres intruders.

I know my ex brother in law saved his 240Z with a proximity alarm tied to his celll. it calls the home phone instantly. I guess one guy got his club across the back before he crawled away. He later tried to sue but there was great lit up video.
Another friend in Calif. uses a motion sensor in his wheel wells to triger a alarm and a remote which turns on lights ( not in the car)
just some stuff I happen to hear.