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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