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A while back, I can’t find the thread, there was a discussion on vehicle
security. I keep one of these on my windshield when I park Rosebud, seems to work.Bill
Bad Bill
Bill, I may have to steal this from you, if you don’t mind. I think it’s pretty clever!
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
I am having this put on my new car cover. “Caution Car Alarm is On” When I go to car shows, my car insurance company, Heacock, has given me several free (Please do not touch) signs. When I park at a motel during an over night event, I put a “Car Boot” on the right front wheel that I have turned hard to the right. This plus the car cover helps me to sleep better at night.
Dave
Dave
Lakeland, Florida, where we drive Topless every dayVic,
If you want I could send you a pdf file of the sign, then you can size it to any size you want. Gotta back up my Marine compatriots. USMC 1959-1969.BillBad Bill
Since the Marine Corps was really just a branch of the Navy, would you be so good as to send me a copy also? (USN Submarines 1961-1985)
Roy,
Sure thing, give me your e-mail address and I’ll send it as an attachment.Anchors Away,BillBad Bill
Roy,
I need your e-mail address to send a copy to you. The message you just sent only has the e-mail address of the webmaster of this forum.BillBad Bill
I don’t think we have to worry about the younger generation stealing our cars . None of them can drive sticks .
Agree, Greg, but that doesn’t stop thieves from rummaging through a parked car. I’ve thought about installing a blinking LED to my dash to simulate an armed alarm system,since LEDs draw so little power it would take weeks to discharge the battery. Combine that with one of the fake alarm decals, and you’ d discourage most would-be thieves. Nothing will deter a determined, knowledgeable thief…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...I’m gonna chime in here with a story I told on the Speedster board regarding “security.”
I work in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a wonderful town full of excellent people. It also has one of the highest murder rates in the civilized world, which is driven by the illegal drug trade, which serves several tens of thousands of desperate junkies, many of whom break into cars as a matter of routine. Months after I moved there my old Pontiac convertible’s top was slashed to enable one such specimen access to my console, which contained about $2.45 in change.Word in Baltimore is to leave nothing valuable in the car and leave the door unlocked. Junkies try the door and if it’s unlocked they know you know and move on.Anyway. I tell you that to tell you this:Nobody has yet messed with the TD. Ever.I have driven it to work many times, parked it all day in the back lot, where cars got hit once a month at least. I have left in it good wrenches, sunscreen, bug spray, a jack handle–which is in plain sight–and myriad other tidbits that a typical street junkie would be expected to liberate and try to sell on the next block.Never happens. And I have a theory as to why.Whenever I drive Bridget in the city, people on the street cheer. They wave, they smile. They ask for a ride.This is especially true in the poorest neighborhoods. It is true on the corners where drug dealers serve junkies. Smiles, hoots, compliments and questions come loudest in those areas. Never threatening, always genuine, in my experience.It is human curiosity. It is joy. It is respect.An open car sends the signal that you are not afraid. A nice, and unusual open car with an open person in it who is not afraid is much, much harder to rob than almost anything else rolling.It does not matter that you tell them: “It’s a replica of a $20,000 car. It costs $5,000 all tolled.” It looks exotic, and so they cheer.And when they see it parked, junkies don’t know if you’re a player, a citizen, a sheik.Some magic combination of trepidation about what might happen to them if they mess, automatic knowledge that an unsecured car can’t have anything valuable in it, and genuine delight at seeing such a weird throwback keeps thieves out.You could put a sticker on it. Or a tonneau. Or a flashing light (which would tend to just make the thing looks weirder to the kind of person who could be expected to notice it).But, IMHO, none of this is needed.Just don’t leave the keys in the ignition.Have a brother in law who was dating a girl in a really seedy part of Oakland CA. The girlfriend would leave her car parked on the street windows rolled down And some times with the keys in it. Never had radio stolen nor car. I lived in Oakland for a short time I had my spare tire for a Dodge truck stolen while I was at work. Truck was a half of a block from were I was working.
I’ll park my opinion right next to Ed’s. Houston is huge — 600 square miles — and no stranger to property crime. But in the eight years I’ve owned and driven my Lafer here, I’ve never lost anything from it or worried that it wouldn’t be right where I left it anywhere in town. Too many times to count, I’ve returned to find one or more somewhat scary-looking individuals checking out my ride, but in every case the encounters have turned out to be pleasant and interesting. No worries (knock wood).
1981 Lafer TI
1600 cc Type 1 engineI can’t see anyone stealing a TDR. What would you do with it? It’s not like there’s a big chop shop operation looking for parts, and where can you drive such an obvious rare (but not terribly valuable) automobile?
As for security of what’s in it, the previous owner fixed the hood (trunk) with a latch that can hold a padlock. I assumed that all TDRs had that. I would have no concerns at all putting my wife’s purse, iPhone, camera, etc. in the trunk. It’s probably more security than a regular car.The radio was originally kind of a concern. I hid the antenna under the hood and put the radio itself behind a “glove box” in the dash. The real radio security, however, is that the radio I installed is a “Retro Sound.” As difficult as that SOB was to install, I don’t think any thief could get it out without a few hours of time and a crowbar. Not that he’d want it, anyway, since it’s so completely non-standard radio that it wouldn’t fit anything but a hot rod, and then only after about 40 hours of cutting, grinding, and cursing. I guess the thief could steal the gearshift knob and the knobs off the radio. If a thief is that desperate, he can have them.This is all reassuring, since I’ve yet to get mine on the road. But, leaving it parked with the top down is a concern. Because mine retains the stock 69 steering column and ignition switch, theft is not the concern as much as just inviting someone to rummage through it. I do plan to hide the radio to reduce that temptation, at least…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Semper Fi, Brother! I would appreciate a pdf file from you.
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
I’ve benn able to take mine anywhere. As Ed observed, everyone “likes” it. Park it, take the keys, cover what you want out of sight with a “security blanket” and walk away. Nobody has ever messed with it.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"“… I do plan to hide the radio to reduce that temptation …”
That’s a good idea, but most radios are DIN and mount into a DIN case that they slide into and out of (see crutchfield.com). A thief can slide a DIN radio out of your car in about 10 seconds with the right tools. If that is your situation, I think you could attach a metal bar to the back of the radio and anchor it to the car itself. That would not stop theft completely but it would eliminate the 10-second theft scenario and require the thief to actually climb under the dash to try to access the security bar … which would be far too obvious for most thieves.Or you could get a RetroSound radio, which attaches using the knobs and about 50 little fussy brackets, screws, and washers … and which would not fit most cars, eliminating resale value and thus making it a poor target for a thief. Note, however, my RetroSound radio was overpriced, came with awwwwful instructions, and was a huge PITA to install …I’ve got a motorcycle radio/MP3 player that I plan to hide in a console, then put the speakers under the seat. It uses a length of wire for an antenna, which can be hidden under the carpet. It’s operated by a wired remote about 1.5″ x 1.5″ so hopefully it won’t be readily noticed. The only time I’d need to access the radio itself is swap the USB memory stick.
These are inexpensive, with plenty of power, and sound decent if used with decent speakers…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...
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