How do you keep your classic safe?
We are welcoming this new year with a serious question for enthusiasts of all classic and specialty cars and trucks. Well, perhaps not too serious, because the term “safety” is relative to where you live and how easy it is to steal your car. Some vehicles simply aren’t going anywhere, but others are worrisome to own because of their value and how easy they are to steal.
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Take this Fox-body Mustang notchback I worked on during the pandemic. (Actually no, please do not take it!) The comments and DMs I got from the above Instagram post occasionally got out of control, as people thought it was for sale because it was rolling up a flatbed. In reality, it died on the highway (alternator, I shoulda known better) and needed a tow, but the sheer volume of traffic it stopped was both delightful and concerning. Which begs the question: If people loved this “notch” to the point of toothy grins, thumbs up, and cash offers to purchase it, how likely is it to get jacked if I leave it unattended at my local grocery store?
Since you can’t know who to trust, I look all around when walking to my car in a parking lot. I’ve never felt unsafe, but vigilance isn’t a bad thing, either, especially in big cities and sprawling suburbs. And my conscience is clear, as I helped protect my friend’s Bimini Blue Mustang by installing a NOS door-lock solenoid (the old one was jammed in the unlocked position!) and by leaving a Club in the cabin with its key on the key ring.
But my disaster mitigation plans are not everyone’s story of automotive safety. So the question remains: How do you keep your classic safe?
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Well frankly, I’m not inclined to publicize any details, but suffice to say that through various electronic and mechanical means, I feel pretty === well, fairly === confident. I will say that one should not rely on one tactic only, but combine two or more so you have backup. And then, tell/show no one – NO ONE – what your secrets are. If you are not a “wrencher” or DIY’r, you may indeed have to pay someone to install some sort of system(s), so please be sure you know your installer well.
You make a very good point which a lot of people miss. Know Your Installer! About 30 years ago there was a place that installed car stereos, alarms and auto start systems. They would install and collected everyones info, wait awhile then started stealing back car stereos at first. Then entire cars since they knew the alarm system codes by having a spare remote made. The business did not do the thefts themselves but sold the info to others. It was only when some very high value vehicles went missing that they caught the culprits and they admitted they bought the info from the business. That business in particular had not only a great reputation but in business for over 35 years. Needless to say the business is gone. If you can’t install it yourself then ask other owners of high value vehicles to recommend someone. GPS/cell trackers work well but its an ongoing expense. But again a lot of good points stated in these replies, keep your insurance up to date, know your environment and a gut feeling is usually right!
I live in the country. Probably not foolproof, but so far it was worked very well
Nothing is more satisfying that a cross country trip in a classic car. Yes, I use a steering wheel “Club” and always turn the wheels all the way to one side (so it can’t be towed). I guess the best suggestion is to stay in a nice hotel in a nice suburb and park under a street lamp as close to the front door of the hotel as possible. If there is a security camera on the building I park under that as well. But I still worry about the car. I’m looking forward to reading other’s replies.
We once went on a road trip with friends. Two classics in a motel parking lot in unknown (for crime) areas was a bit scary. We bought two balloons that had blinking mini-lights inside them (it was nearing Halloween). Deflated the balloons and placed the tiny, blinking lights down in the speedometer wells. In the dark, it looked like both cars had activated security systems. A thorough thief shoulda/coulda/woulda figured it out, but at least we all slept easier!
On one of my vehicles I have a hidden switch that kills the spark. The kill switch allows the starter to still turn, it just won’t fire up. Hopefully they’ll get discouraged quick enough when it just sits there and spins over, or they draw enough attention to walk away before they troubleshoot the wiring.
On my other vehicles – I just drive crappy enough versions that stealing them isn’t likely anyway.
Thankfully, to date, there have been no attempts at breaking in or stealing anything.
Owning crappy cars is also my solution to the problem.
I have two hidden kill switches and a removable steering wheel. So far, so good.
You know, despite our best efforts, if some nefarious person(s) want what you have, they’re probably going to figure out how to get it. Kill switches and other such devices are fine, but the determined thief will just roll up with a tow truck and drive off if they have zeroed in on your car. I mainly want to deter the opportunistic thieves out there. So, I keep my cars locked when not in use and in public and I make sure my insurance is active and the value up-to-date.
Club can be defeated with big bolt cutters, cut the steering wheel beside the club and take it off. A hidden battery disconnect works well.
I haven’t done anything special beyond having a garage.
I think thieves will usually get a car if they want it bad enough but the idea is to make it inconvenient for them. That’s the reason I use steering wheel clubs, especially when an overnight parking place looks iffy.
They’re cheap and only take seconds to put on the wheel.
Battery disconnects work well.
A manual shift car is to a degree it’s own deterrent. Most kids won’t even know what the third pedal is.
Even the ones that know what the third pedal is for are stumped by three-on-the-tree.
I have a kill switch hidden in plain sight. An unused blower switch on the dashboard rewired to the electric fuel pump hot line.
I keep my Porsche 356 in the garage. It is a one car garage. The car outside in the driveway abutting the street is my daily driver. A thief first has to get it out of the way. It is always locked. Then there is my wife’s car that also needs to be removed it is also locked. These cars have to be removed straight out of the driveway, they cannot be pushed aside. There are stonewalls on each side of the driveway. Then there is the garage door. No handle on the outside so you need to know the code in order to open it. Then the trash cans and soon to be snowblower have to be removed from in front of the 356 which is in the back. All of the work and time involved to steal the car is bound to draw someone’s attention. I feel very confident that the car is secure. On the flip side, I have to plan an extra 30 minutes in advance when I want to go to a car show or rally. As far as security is concerned when the car is out, I have the factory installed shift lock and the factory installed interior gas shut off. The various positions of the gas shut off are all written in German so that makes it a time consuming trial and error thing.
I use the standard features my 1954 Austin-Healey came with as standard features: no exterior door handles, a battery disconnect switch, a starter button, and a manual transmission
Everything said here is true. There’s no defense for a determined thief. Given enough time any car can be stolen.
That said, I do agree many devices and clubs are better than none and will slow them down or divert them elsewhere but it’s best to be proactive.
I’ll do the club just for something obvious but also remove something essential that prevents a thief from getting away quick.
I’ve known people who’ve removed all the lug nuts from one wheel. It’s rarely noticed and can stop a thief fairly quick when a wheel comes off. I suppose it’s better to have a damaged and abandoned car than one that’s stolen.
In my case I’ll pull the distributor cap and wires. Park in an “ender” preferably next to a fixed barrier like a wall and turn the wheels in a direction that makes backing out straight impossible. Naturally I always set the handbrake so if they try to tow the car it’s way harder to go unnoticed and pull it out straight and onto a flatbed.
If I go long distance and not comfortable with the area I’ll sleep in my car before leaving it out of sight!
Naturally an AirTag (or similar) couldn’t hurt. And take lots of car pics after parking it – just in case the police need to ID it…
>> simply connect an inconspicuous wire with a switch that leads down to Negative ground, anywhere along on the Positive side of the primary igintion circuit, and the ignition will never fire, even if it’s hot wired.
if there is an interlock that requires the car to be be in Park or Neutral to start, it can be disabled so the car won’t crank.
many cars require stepping down on the brake pedal first, to allow shifting out of Park – that can also be disabled electrically.
a brake line lock, that keeps the hydraulic brake line pressure up when it’s set on, or otherwise engaging the brakes when parked, will make lock up the wheels, and make towing difficult.
parking with your front wheels turned, also makes towing hard without a key to release the steering wheel.
`used to take off the inside door handles, so they couldn’t be snagged with a coat hanger – just don’t lose the handles.
`also used to have a police siren with a mercury switch on the hood – worked great, until my girlfriend’s father backed up in a snowstorm, right into my snow-covered car, and set it off.
alternatively, keep a doberman in the back seat.