According to You: How to protect your classic from being stolen
Your answers to our question about ways to prevent the theft of classic vehicles went above and beyond; they not only taught others interesting tricks but kept us all grounded. That’s because car thieves are likely to never tire, and if at first they don’t succeed, they shall try again. However, the harder you make it, the less likely they are to remain motivated. Or, as Hagerty Community member @David said:
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.
How do we lower the chances of a vehicular tragedy? Let’s learn more from your answers.
Losing that spark
@Jeepcj5: On one of my vehicles I have a hidden switch that kills the spark. This kill switch allows the starter to still turn, it just won’t fire up. Hopefully [thieves] 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.
@brian: I put a two-prong turn-signal flasher in line with [the] ignition-circuit motor. It starts, it will rev up, but when put in drive [it] won’t pull itself!
@vette guy: How about running a wire from the hot side of the coil to a switch, then to a loud horn? There are many ways to alert you; just use your imagination!
@Walter: A friend of mine had a 1968 Dodge Super Bee. He wired the high beam switch (which was on the floor) as the ignition cutoff switch and mounted a switch under the dash to activate the high beams.
I myself had a 1969 Roadrunner that someone tried to steal three times. First time they pushed in the small vent window, then cranked down the window and opened the door. They removed the bezel around the ignition switch but tried to remove the switch by pulling it forward, when all they had to do was push it and it would have fallen out the back. I then installed an alarm, so the second time the alarm went off and they were gone. The third time they knew there was an alarm, so they pushed in the vent window again, rolled down the window, and climbed through. What they didn’t know is that there were two ignition-cutoff switches under the dash. Unsuccessful again.
@Malcolm: Battery disconnects work well.
Own a “difficult” vehicle
@Jeff: 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.
@Michael: 1938 Chevrolet—first level is a manual transmission and a floor-mounted starter—would probably slow down some of the bad guys. A battery disconnect (with the battery under the floorboard) may slow down the next level [of thief].
@Headturner: My van has the best deterrent straight from the factory: a three-on-the-tree will keep them occupied. My ’57 Chevy is a four-speed but I leave the key in it while it is in the garage. If they steal it, I’d rather not have them cut up a 65-year-old harness to hot-wire it.
A bypass switch is like “fuels” gold?
@Mike: I have a kill switch hidden in plain sight: An unused blower switch on the dashboard, rewired to the electric fuel-pump hot line.
@Mike, but not the same one as above: I’ve pulled the fuel pump fuse before. I’ve even cable-locked around a coil spring before. Anything to make a thief have to spend more time.
Steering-wheel locks
@Jeff: Nothing is more satisfying than 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.
@Jim: 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.
@Bernd: I use a club since the airbag in the steering wheel of my daily driver was stolen twice. (Now it’s a quite an old model, thieves get them at the scrap yard.)
@Blu: A club can be defeated with big bolt cutters: [You] cut the steering wheel beside the club and take it off. A hidden battery disconnect works well.
Tracking devices
@greg: I have a Viper alarm on one, and Carlock on my other two. All have instant phone app notifications (including my ’31 Model A). I sleep well at night, even if staying in a hotel on the road; and no, I have no stake in either company.
@Arrow: Just put mine away for Christmas, but I’m going to put an Apple AirTag in my classic when it’s out of the garage.
Balloons
@DUB6: 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!
Bunka’s Bunker?
@Bunka: 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 which also needs to be removed; it is also locked. 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.
Do it all?
@DrivingHy: 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 [thieves] 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 quickly.
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.
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 …
If I go [a] long distance and am not comfortable with the area, I’ll sleep in my car before leaving it out of sight!
Keep it a secret
@DUB6: Well frankly, I’m not inclined to publicize any details, but suffice [it] 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 DIYer, you may indeed have to pay someone to install some sort of system(s), so please be sure you know your installer well.
@TooFast4Me: 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 everyone’s info, wait awhile, then start 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 [had] 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 [they are] ongoing expenses. But again, [as] 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!
@don: Yup, the club is great, but then add a hidden kill switch (that stops most people) and I keep the vehicle in a locked garage with my daily driver in front of it. My “collector” cars are not extremely high value so I think I don’t need much else, so just keep your secrets, secret.
@Sajeev Mehta: I keep a few secrets for this reason too, because some of my vehicles have hidden theft deterrents and automotive journalists are easily googleable by anyone. I love my silly Fords too much to have it any other way. (Even if they are mostly value-less to most any thief.)
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My wife’s Monte Carlo SS got stolen from chuckie cheese years ago at 1 PM in the afternoon. Dirtbags took a screwdriver and knocked out door lock. Cut steering wheel rim to remove club. They busted up steering column to unlock it and start car. Trashed dash to steal crappy factory radio. Stole factory rims with tires that had 50% tread. They maybe got a couple hundred bucks for parts. Insurance paid out $4000 to repair By the way I bought the car from tow lot. It was stolen and stripped when I got it. Wife was too scared to drive it after insurance fixed it. Down the road it went
Your comment is awaiting moderation. – Strikes again!
I just leave a box of angry cobras on the front passenger seat with the lid slightly ajar! That’ll teach those pesky car thieves!
To: Vette guy, We did that prank to a fellow employee one time on his new 89 Ford F150. Jumped a wire from his horn to his head lights. Needless to say he was embarrassed and little ticked when he was out on a date.
When I got my first generation Miata, I didn’t think it would ever be considered collectible. Apparently I was wrong. I have all the materials to install a momentary button switch into the clutch cut-out circuit. My plan is to put the button somewhere that isn’t obvious. Starting the car will require clutch in AND button pressed simultaneously while turning the key. I think that will at least offer some level of deterrent to any opportunistic thief.
I wish at the time February 12 1992, that my 1966 Pontiac GTO was in some body’s mind, I always thought that it didn’t draw that much attention, also It was parked in my stall which was on top of our apartment. So I assumed it would make enough noise if started. The thief pushed it out of the stall and rolled it down the hill from our apartment complex and then hot wired it. I hope the efforts I have done with my 1971 Camaro RS are sufficient. The one advantage is that it is four speed,and it is in some disrepair, working on getting the garage cleared so I can put it inside, it needs to be repainted has a lot of surface rust on it. Sold my other two Camaros, the 1967 Camaro plain jane because the wife wrecked it, and 1978 Z-28 because it falling into disrepair, sold it to my neighbor he restored it, now it’s his worry.
I had a 235 six banger in my 1955 Chevy which had the distributor cap with snap clips instead of screws to hold it down. So I used to just pull off the rotor where ever I parked it. It was a time when I was just restoring it
so it was in gray primer with all the stainless trim and front bumper removed. Of course sometimes I used to get back in it and crank it over forgetting the procedure. Oh yeah the rotor’s in my pocket. Instead of the 153624 firing order, it had the 000000 firing order.
Trunk Monkey.
We’ll worth the money.
I did a lot of motorcycle touring in the 80s and 90s. Mostly on my Harley Electraglide. Harleys were fair-game in those days, they were stolen and quickly parted out. I traveled with my garage sale bike cover. it was proudly emblazoned “Gold Wing”. Never had any trouble, yes, I still have the bike.
At the bottom of a hilly driveway, first, it’s under surveillance, then the door is unlocked so the alarm goes off when easily opened. Next, the ignition switch won’t turn the starter (disabled neutral safety switch), so it’s hot wired to a button under the dash. However, since the timing is so advanced it won’t turn over. That’s why there’s a hidden power switch to the coil, and when flicked it will pop loudly (true dual exhaust) but that won’t last until a camouflaged choke is pulled. If all that is defeated, it will die in 10 seconds unless a hidden electric fuel pump cut-off switch is found. Finally, a GPS is along for the ride.
my first car was a tbird -and did an ignition cutoff switch hidden under the dash – not that anyone would go out of their way to steal my base model 86 v6 thunderturd.
Funny nobody mentioned two different methods that most people wouldn’t want to do but would be highly effective at deterring 99.99% of all thieves from daring to even open the door. Well, one would be a fake, the other wouldn’t be.
The best thing to do is have good insurance when a stated value that would satisfy you if you never saw your car again. Then do what ever you desire to protect your car. When I was in college my 68 Road Runner with nearly all options was stolen. In the end I got the car back and the person that stole the car was convicted. If I had my choice I would have set the person that stole my car free and sent the insurance adjuster to prison. The person that stole my car just need a car and had no animosity toward me. The insurance adjuster sat across the table, looked me in the eye and tried to screw me royally. That is the guy that needed to go to prison. Be sure you have adequate stated value insurance to eliminate this issue.
very thick case hardened chain from one classic chassis to the other classic chassis parked next to it. Sure a cordless grinder could cut it but it’ll make a ton of noise. But by far the sweetest prevention is catching the alleged thief in the act. Disclaimer,,,I do not condone violence or taking the law into your own hands. The following may or may not have happened in 1980’s NYC. A guy I knew got to high school early every day so he’d be guaranteed the parking spot within sight of his class room. Classmate yells one day that someone is in his car. He was not even out the door when I heard the shop teacher yell “ don’t let him go by himself “. The entire shop class cleared out with assorted tools in hand. Class of adrenaline filled 17 and 18 year olds caught him a block away. Was not a good day for alleged thief
Knew another neighbor that was tired of having his Caddy’s fender skirts stolen. So he tack welded razors to the release handle. Cops arrested the car owner when the thief sliced his hand up when he “ just wanted to see how they attached “ Then there was my parents friend that was tired of loosing car stereos so he soldered fishing hooks to the back of the radio. One day at the mall he hooked a big one.
I keep my prized classic in a locked one stall garage and no key (key kept at home) and also remove the rotor out of my Mallory four lobe distributor, and keep the car up on jack stands.
My buddy has a club on his car that hooks under the steering wheel, attaches to the brake petal then ratchets to the floor, locking the steering wheel while making it impossible to push the brake petal down.
Lock removes easily in seconds with its key.
It like any other anti theft device can be defeated as well, however it will take a bit more time than a standard club.
Use a car cover, even placing a couple small cardboard boxes on the hood or trunk to obscure the shape of the car, makes your baby look different to would be thieves looking for an easy target.