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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Henri:
I find that booby traps lead to extensive body damage in Canada.

Booby traps are actually illegal...remember criminals have rights...seriously...as stupid as it sounds you could face serious charges setting up a booby trap...let say it killed someone...you would be tried for premediated murder...no matter what someone steals from you it's not worth going to prison for...
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I know it sucks...better to use the flashing lights...car alarms...big dog...whatever...but don't go the booby trap way...unless you are willing to accept the consequences...
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Happy Holidays...
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Well actually, the law makes alot of sense to me. A person can legitimately defend themselves, or others, up to and including causing the death of another, if he is in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury of himself or the other. Obviously, if you are not there, you cannot be in fear of your life, or be acting with contemplation in defense of another. To allow booby traps would be to value property over life. I'm kind of glad I live in a world where that is not the case, at least as far as the law is concerned.
 
My garage is full of MG's while wife's big Mercedes & my 380SL sit outside,,,nobody ever messes with them because of the little red lights that blink on & off near or on the radio itself....
....maybe that's something to do if you don't have a gaqrage...install dummy little red lights that blink on & off
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by lawguy:


Well actually, the law makes alot of sense to me. A person can legitimately defend themselves, or others, up to and including causing the death of another, if he is in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury of himself or the other. Obviously, if you are not there, you cannot be in fear of your life, or be acting with contemplation in defense of another. To allow booby traps would be to value property over life. I'm kind of glad I live in a world where that is not the case, at least as far as the law is concerned.<hr></blockquote>

I didn't really want to inflate the thread much more - I'm not playing devil's advocate here, just really curious about your opion based on your last reply:

Let's assume you walk outside and see a couple of neighborhood thugs in your MG. The top is sliced open, the doors open, one is pulling speakers out and the other is working on getting the radio. They haven't made any direct personal threats but they are destroying your property - have you the right (legally) to take physical action to protect your property?
 
I'd just let the dogs out and see how fast they could get over the fence, which I park inside of. I don't think you could shoot them or even whack them over the head with a 2x4, unless they threatened you. I'd also call the police and my insurance company
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by aerog:


I didn't really want to inflate the thread much more - I'm not playing devil's advocate here, just really curious about your opion based on your last reply:

Let's assume you walk outside and see a couple of neighborhood thugs in your MG. The top is sliced open, the doors open, one is pulling speakers out and the other is working on getting the radio. They haven't made any direct personal threats but they are destroying your property - have you the right (legally) to take physical action to protect your property?<hr></blockquote>

You absolutely have the legal right to take physical action to protect your property. The question, legally, is what form can that action take. Most generally, you cannot inflict death to protect your property, though you may to protect yourself. You may, in most jurisdictions, commit a battery, not causing death or great physical harm, that is, an injury which may have led to death.

Would I act in defense of my own property? Absolutely. Would I even threaten deadly force? Absolutely not. As a practical matter, that has the serious potential to escalate the situation making a deadly encounter more likely.

Now this is the rational, lawyer me speaking, after rational contemplation....in the heat of the moment.....
 
Let's get our priorities in line. Confronting a vandal or thief could result in you getting shot or killed(especially since many of these criminals are also substance abusers). I don't know what your personal situations are, but I've got a wife and kids that depend on me, and that's more important than any property loss or damage. Having said that, there is a simple solution to stereo security. A removable faceplate lets you take the stereo controls with you when you leave the car. The remaining stereo component is worthless to a thief if he doesn't have the faceplate.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by pmenhusen:
Let's get our priorities in line. Confronting a vandal or thief could result in you getting shot or killed(especially since many of these criminals are also substance abusers). I don't know what your personal situations are, but I've got a wife and kids that depend on me, and that's more important than any property loss or damage. Having said that, there is a simple solution to stereo security. A removable faceplate lets you take the stereo controls with you when you leave the car. The remaining stereo component is worthless to a thief if he doesn't have the faceplate.<hr></blockquote>

You're absolutely right, certainly you have to use your best judgement no matter what. I was more curious about the legal perspective rather than an emotional one (thanks for the info lawguy).

All things considered we're usually lucky enough to not have an overwhelming amount of petty crime. Several of the countries I've worked in over the past few years have been so bad they have armed military patrolling shopping malls and neighborhood streets carrying M16s ready to fire (and often do). Its common in at least two of those places to see the average citizen living behind 10ft concrete block walls topped with broken glass set in concrete, or razor wire - along with iron-barred windows and doors.

Makes it all seem quite tame here.
 
if the owner put his money into a new cd player and speakers, certainly he can spend 80-100 bucks for a car alarm that has a motion detector and current sensor. never ceases to amaze me.
 
Like I said, I have a BIG pit bull that does not like anyone but my wife and I.
 
so bad they have armed military patrolling shopping malls and neighborhood streets carrying M16s ready to fire (and often do). Its common in at least two of those places to see the average citizen living behind 10ft concrete block walls topped with broken glass set in concrete, or razor wire - along with iron-barred windows and doors.

Hey you must have lived in downtown L.A.
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They call them "gangs" there...

So much for law and order...
 
Nope... Caracas and any other moderately populated area in Venezuela (and this was years before their current poor state of affairs), Guatemala City (feel safe at McDonalds - they're behind walls and wire, and have their own security force), cities in Honduras, etc. The tank-like armored cars is what intrigued me
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In the Dominican Republic (lots of tourism there, nice folks generally) everything is watched over by armed guards (not Deputy Fife either). Yes, nice little paradise there - the better hotels reside within a compound made up of high walls, razor wire, and armed patrols. Good food though, no need to leave
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While driving my MG, there is so much engine noise, road noise, etc. a good car stereo is a was of money. I use a small radio/cassette player with a small earphone. I can take it with me if I'm not in the car. Since I don't even have roll-up windows, I never leave anything in the car I can"t live with out. I've never had any indication someone's tampered with my car in the 30 years I've had it (knock on wood).

If you need a stereo, a removeable face seems like the best idea to me.

I enjoyed the legal discussion.

Safety Fast,
Dave
 
I had a '79 MG Midget in college, I wanted to protect my Alpine stereo from theft, so my father and I removed the center console, fabricated a 3/16" thick plate with two holes for the knobs and a larger hole for the center of the unit to stick out. When assembled, the stereo could not be removed without removing the console. Well, the console is only held on by a few screws, so we used round headed bolts that were tighted with nuts on the underside of the car. I never had to worry about the stereo. There was no way would be theives could steal it without a cutting torch or a floor jack.

But that was 13 years ago, and now stereos don't have the same knob configuration. What a bummer. I'm going to stick to the cheap aftermarket AM/FM that's in my MG for now.
 
...and the discussion lingers
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There is always the stealth "type" radio that you can mount in the trunk or under a seat (if it'll fit in an MG), leaving a small remote head up front that can be unplugged and taken away, revealing no radio equipment at all.

Last year I put a new Kenwood system in my MGB Roadster. There are several varieties of Kenwoods that have a hideaway (DMASK) faceplate that folds over to hide the radio. An upgraded motorized version is the DMASK+ which automatically opens and closes when the ignition is switched on/off.

Personally I'm not sure how well that feature (and others like it) do in the way of saving the radio from a lowlife, seems like everyone knows about them anymore.

However, if you're so inclined you can take time to flush-mount the radio so the faceplate is completely flush with the console, and maybe put a false cover over the whole thing so it looks like there isn't a radio there at all.

I went partly to that extent with mine. I didn't want to have the stereo showing all the time, and didn't want the black/blank panel there either so I dressed it up. I bought a valve-cover logo-plate, used two small pieces of double-sided scotch tape, and stuck it on the back of the radio faceplate. Then I got two small stainless-steel screws, cut the heads off and glued them to the MG logo-plate so it looked like they were screwed in.

The faceplate on these radios also comes completely off (even comes with a handy carrying case for the faceplate). Once you get it up and running you can lock the radio to a personalized code and supposedly won't be able to use the radio without the faceplate. That's the theory anyway.

This picture kind of reveals that it is a radio because of the flash, but in the sunlight a lot of people at shows see the speakers and ask where the radio is hidden.

Radio closed:
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Radio open:
P8102169v1.jpg
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 61Alpine:
In high school (back in 1969) my friend had 3 car stereos stolen from one car. So we rigged up a 110 volt wire to junk stereo, disconnected the ground and battery. Hooked up a transformer between the wall and the stereo. I don't know how many volts we had but a couple of mornings later some poor smuck tried to get his stereo. Must have shocked the crap out of him because he hid his head on the rear view mirror or something and there was blood all over the car. Never did have a problem after that. By the way it was an 8-track player.<hr></blockquote>

back in 69, i used to steal car stereos and sell them. well, one day i saw some crap radio but figured "what the hey" so i went in for the kill. to my suprise the bugger electrocuted the heck out of me and i split my head open on the rearview mirror. worst day of my life.

that story was a lie. i was born in 82
 
I took the fancy stereo that was in it, and replaced it with a cheaper version, with a detachable face plate, consequently if you want the stereo its all yours, it just doesn't work without the face plate. I also installed it in away that if someone really wants it, I won't lose my dash,etc. One good pull and it's his/hers. I have hard top also somewhere in storage, but cann't see the sense of using it just to protect a stereo, it's too much of a make work project, on and off all the time. No way,I think I'll stick to the soft top. The other thing I did to make my car theft proof(???), is to carry a club (locking device for the steering wheel), and installed a override mechanism in the starter system. You can try to use a key, all you want, but if you don't know where the override is the car just won't start. Oh darn it has a dead battery!!. However I haven't tried it to see if you can still hot wire the car? If they want it bad enough I don't know how else to stop them.
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Any kind of booby trap will only land you in jail. After the perp is through with you, you will own nothing, he will own it all. Bottom line is if you want to have something nice, you better find a safe place to keep it. That said, a well placed .45 can make a man suffer. It can even turn him from a man to a eunch! That sounds approiate to me for a penny ante thief!
 
I was just wondering since i'm planning to buy an MGB soon.. is it possible to install sensors on the body connected to an alarm (you know that loud "bji bji bji ou ou ou" sound) to prevent thiefs from touching the car ? if so, how much will it cost roughly ?
 
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