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So while I’m waiting on my tranny to be repaired I started planning my first road trip (in my head) and got to wondering/worrying about someone possibly stealing my car while I’m traveling.
So I have to ask, does anyone use any particular anti theft device/approach that you would recommend? Or am I just being paranoid?
It would seem to me that if these autos were highly pilferable, the insurance rates would be much higher. What would one do with a stolen TD? Where would he put it? He couldn’t drive it. My car gets so much attention that I expect that it would only take a few minutes to find who took it. Every time that I go downtown, people come up to me and say “I always wondered who owned that car.”
This is one of the reasons that I proposed a “birth certificate” for our TDs. So you could track any TD through the years as to who owned it. (My idea did not get much interest.)Rocky,
You make a good point. mechanically it is a simple enough mod to make by adding an ignition cutoff switch somewhere. But if they put it on a trailer it would require some sort of lowjack GPS tracking device and that could become expensive. Something to ponder though.Roy…I have a Birth Certificate for the Ghia I had. The purchaser didn’t want it. I could work up something similar and put it out for you and the rest of the members to look at and ponder. And if desired I would supply it to the members for………….free (or a beer at Carlisle.)Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackWhen I first built my TD, I used to pull the rotor out every time I parked it “in public.”
That paranoia lasted the first summer.Since 1984 the car has been all over the northeast, and as far west as Indianpolis. And trust me, it wasn’t in the private valet parking area at the Hilton, if you get my drift.
And for many years, the car lived outside at home, under a car cover. It would have been a piece of cake for anyone to hot wire it and drag it out of the driveway while I was at work.Ironically, now that it’s a 30 year old kit car, she lives in an attached, locked garage every night.Like Allen wrote, the simplest theft deterrant is to wire a toggle switch into the starting circuit and hide the switch somewhere. I have a couple really neat suggestions for hiding the switch. But since this is a public forum, it would sort of defeat the purpose to post them here. PM me if you want to chat.PMOSSBERG2013-02-12 10:43:58
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Allen, Rocky’s “birth certificate” comment is not referring to a piece of paper….he is referring to this thread, in which a proposal was made for a more perment registry, with unique ID numbers and the history of each registered car.
PMOSSBERG2013-02-12 10:43:08
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Ah! Well I had a spreadsheet with my Ghia Treffen Group that had the VIN and all pertinent data for each vehicle. Once the group disbanded I emailed each owner his/her data and deleted the file I had EXCEPT I kept the blank data fields. Could try something like that I guess. newkitman2013-02-12 11:00:02
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackMy .02
I have always been a believer that if someone wants what you have they will find some way of taking it… All you can do is apply some method to make that “want” less desirable, or to slow down the process. Most that would steal a car, would have already thought thru any deterrent you could EVER think about…I have thought about using one of those “Club” devices, or even a wheel “Boot”, but both can be overcome with just a few minutes extra.I installed a kill switch in my 72 Super Beetle, but I’m sure the only effect it ever had was to keep my unlicensed 15 year old from taking it for a spin around the block while I was @ work. lolCar alarms and the such in a car like these (with most everything accessible w/out a key) is pretty much for looks.I tend to agree with Roy in that most folks where I live have not seen many of these cars around and would remember one cruising around whether on its own, or on a trailer… My biggest concern would be about vandalism, it’s easy to cut a top or slash tires, or pull some wires!If traveling, it never hurts to ask if there is “secure” parking at a hotel. Whenever I travel, I rent houses thru http://www.VRBO.com (no endorsement) some of those houses have garages available for use if asked (especially if they know you are traveling in a classic (or specialty) vehicle).I guess as a last resort… you could always cable it to a tree or lamp post in a parking lot thru the suspension… Or… make it a “Trailer Queen” and transport your car in a trailer that costs 2 times the value of the car… 😉 and your car will sleep better than you will.The one fear I had at first was that it would be very easy to hot wire the car since the ignition switch is easily accessible. I bought an electronic kit that allows you to put a code into it and you have to know the code before you can start the car. All it actually does is put a relay in between the hot wire to the coil. The same thing can be done using a hidden switch. It does work and I do use it.
A frend of mine took his Dodge Cornet to the nationals in Texas this car is the best i’ve ever seen.Every part acid dipped, Hemi engine,built only for racing.The 2rd day of the show.some men started talking to him about the car and where he was staying how long did it take to get here.Rick started thinking about his conversation that night and decided he had given enought information to these men that they could find him and his car.He packed his car up and left at 11pm that night.Only profesinal car thieves could steal a replica.Todays younger generation cant drive a stick shift
You could easily wire a loud siren alarm into it, sensing electrical draw, and most come with some sort of motion detector too, if you just wanted some kind of deterrent for people messing with it, or to notify you of that. I have a motorcycle alarm I never hooked up and I was debating going through the little effort to put that on my car.
Come on guys. Like STG says, if they want it, they can take it. While there is no defense against winching it onto a trailer, I will promise you that I can start any of our TDs (that run) in less than 3 minutes and drive it away. There is nothing easier to hot wire than one of our TDs. It is so easy, it is laughable. I believe that one of the best defenses is to put the front tires hard over and take the steering wheel out. On most of our cars, this is easier than a “club” or a “boot”. Or, if you are traveling with someone else, have them park so close to your TD that they would have to steal both.
I believe that the best defense is to make the cars unfencable (if that is a word). Make it so that the prospective thief thinks that is smarter to steal the Ford Taurus or the beige Honda. If the thief can not drive it because it is too recognizable and he can’t sell it because it is too easy to track and identify as a stolen vehicle, he will move on steal something else. Posting pictures and documenting major changes on the TD forum go a long way toward security. Suppose I posted that my car had just been stolen and a while later, someone posted that he had just bought a white Daytona MiGi TD with chrome 72 spoke Triumph Stag wire wheels. I figure that would set off an alarm and some of you might make the connection. If not, when the new “owner” says that his new car has a single port engine with a center mounted Holley Bugspray?? Posting the idiosyncrasies of my TD, while not preventing theft will surely make sure that the thief will not enjoy the fruits of his “labor”. And, drive your car. A lot. To places where the people know you. Vandalism by someone whacked out on drugs, really can’t be avoided unless you lock your car up in a hermetically sealed garage, – unthinkable. Why own one, if you can’t drive and enjoy it?“Todays younger generation cant drive a stick shift “
Yep. Plus joy-riding a TD Replica would be tough, since they’re mostly slow and so easy to spot. So kids mostly just gonna look and envy it, ask you sweet and innocent questions if you meet them. They could take it, but even they, with their little 16-year-old-lizard brains, can think far enough ahead to realize the Honda down the way is a better boost.
The pros won’t even look twice. They’re in business for a profit, and there just isn’t any here. A Hemi Cuda or legit Yenko Camaro? Sure. That’s a million dollar baby these days. The discrete overseas buyer will pay cash and has the means to ship without going through customs, if you get my drift.
But even a nicely turned-out “real” TD is only a $15,000 proposition. Not worth the trouble. And our cars–at a third the price–are not going to turn their heads.
Bottom line: drive and enjoy. Insure it for replacement value. If she’s stolen, probably she’s recovered and fixable. If she’s not recovered you buy another.
Interesting conversations. I couldn’t agree more (having been burglarized and stolen from before) that if they want it they will take it.
I will indeed drive the snot out of this car and not allow the fear of theft to keep me off the road or from crossing the country.
I was really just looking to see what you guys have done so I could duplicate it. But it sounds like most of you don’t fret it.
I think the most I will do, just for my own peace of mind, is put a kill switch on the line to the coil. Other than that my best insurance against theft is just that…insurance.
Rocky,
I have a easy fix ( although I agree w/ all the point above ) – I had a problem one time w/ the valve on my carb going bad and all the gas ending up in the oil case ( another story ), but anyway I resolved this after fixing the carb by buying a 4.00 gas shutoff from the lawnmower section at Auto Zone or advanced auto and putting it under the front edge of my gas tank under the hood. It takes me about 30 seconds to open the hood and reach under and turn the valve off. It will run about 200 yards before it shuts off ( ask me how I know ). It is a small black plastic valve w/ a red handle and works fine and has never leaked. Give it a try. Yours my be a bit different because you have a special tank, but I am sure you can find a location.DaleEd you made me laugh at your remark
“Todays younger generation cant drive a stick shift “so true….:-)I endeded up with both a toggle for the fuel pump (so I could activate the electricals without running the pump) and one for the coil (so I could keep everything on without activating the ignition circuit). These came about just for working on the damn thing, but have been left in place because they are a damn fine detterent. Can’t steal it if nothing works.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"
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