Theft Protection

[mxp01]

Gentlemen:

In April I will be moving to the Bahamas for two years. I will be brining my BE with me. One concern I have is vehicle theft. Can anyone recommend any anti theft measures for the BE?

Thanks,
Mike Pennell

 

[SilentUnicorn]

seriously tho...kinda tuff ...soft top and all. A well hidden iggy kill switch and maybe a fuel cut off. and keep nothing of value in it.

I envy you, Bahamas and all, for two years...wow that sux....

m

 

[mxp01]

Can't I just get him to sit in the front seat while I'm inside?

Mike Pennell

 

[losmorob]

I have a Harbor Freight battery cut off switch located under the dash just to the left of the steering wheel. (near the battery) Installed in the engine compartment with the neck for the removable "key" through a hole up under the dash. I pull the key out and stash it under the rear carpet. Poor mans theft deterrent. But simple and doesn't take much effort. Also great for when you're working on the car.

You can also pay the big bucks for an alarm. I have a Viper unit on my Scion that I'm happy with.

And then there's the "Club" type steering wheel locks. Kind of bulky to deal with all the time IMHO. And if someone really wants your car, they can saw a notch in your steering wheel.

 

[abarth69]

All that salt air your BE will rust away no need to worry about theft protection.

Better leave it with me up in Canada and the beavers.

A cut off switch and the pull start of a BE should keep the natives at bay.

Cheers

Mark

 

[twas_brillig]

You really don't want to leave it in Toronto - too much humidity. Now, Calgary, however: nice and dry; sunny....

I like the Club type lock: it's a visible deterent and quite convenient. The ignition key is a bit of a joke as a theft deterent as even I can hotwire a BE. There are some sophisticated ignition interrupters out there as well as the simple battery shut-off - if you can, put the switch somewhere where a thief with his head under the dash, hotwiring the ignition, won't spot it immediately.

A thief couldn't get very far on an island, but a lot of damage could be done. Enjoy the time!

Doug

 

[spritenut]

All my Sprites have a fuel pump kill switch, then again, I run electric pumps on all of them.
I use the dash light switch as the fuel pump switch.
IF a thief starts the car, they will only get a few blocks away before it runs the carbs out of gas.
This will cause a scene and maybe they will be caught in the act.
Nothing will stop a thief if he really wants the car. I kill the fuel just to keep the kids from taking it on a joy ride.
Someone tried to hotwire my Austin A40 a few years back, they failed at the hot wire attempt but the fuel was cut off anyway so the car would have ended up a mile from my house have they succeeded. It had to be kids as they had 2 wires off the back of the ign key and I think they were trying to spark them together like in the movies. No damage done thankfully.

 

[scoutll]

I have a cut off key under the dash that disconnects the electricity.

 

[mightymidget]

How big is the islnd of Bahama, I would think a GPS locator mounted in the car would help you find it, A serious theif will push your car on a trailer and haul off, so the fuel cut off and such would not make any difference, but it would stop a rookie theif.

My suggestion would be a removable steering wheel like the race cars have and a GPS locator to help you find it should someone actually take it. The removeable steering wheels are fast to remove and install and small enough you could carry with you to secure in a safe location

 

[Sarastro]

The thing you have to remember about theft protection is that there's really little you can do to stop a serious, professional thief. However, those guys are rare; the huge majority are dim bulbs who are just looking for a fast, easy score. (And, at least in S. Cal, there's the joy riders, who fall into pretty much the latter category.) Do anything to make the car even moderately difficult to steal, and they'll go looking for something else.

Here's my story: some time ago, I bought a Toyota Van, which had an externally mounted spare tire that was notoriously easy to steal. Knowing that, on the way home from the dealership, I stopped at a K-Mart and got a bike chain. Put it on the spare, and tucked it away out of sight. FIVE TIMES in the next few months someone tried to steal the spare--popped the catch, found the chain, and left. Never got the tire. The chain wasn't difficult to get past--a simple bolt cutter would snap it easily. But no one wanted to take even that much time or go even to that much trouble.

Finally, I draped the chain so it was visible at a glance, and NEVER, in the following six years, did anyone even try for the tire. Finally someone stole the whole car, so I guess you could say the spare eventually was stolen. Sigh.

 

[Morris]

I think you should get that theft protection like James Bond has on his Esprit Turbo... you know the one that makes the whole car explode when the goon tries to break the window?

 

[mxp01]

Thanks guys. I'll be on New Providence Island, which is a decent size and someone could hide the car if they were really serious.

I had a kill switch that I had removed prior to knowing I was getting assigned there. I'll reinstall it. I also like these other ideas, especially the fuel cut off.

Now my next concern will be the salt air...

Mike Pennell

 

[vagt6]

Of course, you'll be insuring the car (I hope!). Be sure to purchase agreed value comprehensive coverage which includes theft/vandalism/fire.

You probably already know this, but your U.S. insurer(s) won't provide coverage in the Bahamas since it's part of the British Commonwealth and not a U.S. Territory.

Sounds like a mighty nice place to be, please post some nice ocean view photos for us poor landlubbers when you get there.

 

[jvandyke]

I always considered my electric fuel pump switch (toggle under dash) to be something of an anti-theft device. If it's off they will only get a few hundred feet before the carb bowl empties. I know. I've forgotten to turn it back on a few times and caught myself.

 

[DrEntropy]

Racer's kill switch (wear th' red key on a long chain around your neck for 'bling'...you'll fit right in :wink: ) and a fuel cut-off switch mounted with the others as spritenut has. If the fuelpump switch is segregated from the rest it'd be the first one they'll try. Turn the pump off before you turn off the engine when parking.
You'll likely be able to deal face-to-face with the thief within a few yards. :hammer:

 

[Hairyone]

I use one of these battery isolator & I have a removable steering wheel, which also helps the getting in & out off.

 

[KSIS]

Finally, I draped the chain so it was visible at a glance, and NEVER, in the following six years, did anyone even try for the tire. Finally someone stole the whole car, so I guess you could say the spare eventually was stolen. Sigh.

Stole the van and left the chain?

 

[Nelson]

I found a short time delay kill switch setup that looks like it might be worth trying. It is on Gerard's web site.

https://www.gerardsgarage.com/Garage/Tech/killswitchWS.htm

My Sprite is currently being painted and will need to be reassembled but I am giving this idea some consideration myself.

 

[twas_brillig]

I'm looking for a switch (or some form of relay) that would be normally 'off' but when switched to 'on' (and with voltage being provided to one side),it would stay 'on' until the voltage to the circuit was switched 'off'.
The concept would be to put the switch into the distributor circuit (per Nelson/Gerard). The switch is normally open. You turn on your key and energize one side and then (need two hands!) hold the switch/button/whatever down while turning the starter over. Turn the ignition off later, and the switch goes back to 'open'.
I'm both lazy and dumb, so looking for something fail safe, where I won't have to remember to turn my 'secret switch' off each time I turn the ignition off.
Any suggestions/ideas? I seem to recall seeing such a switch in instrumentation, years ago.
Thanks
Doug

 

[Sarastro]

I think that you're describing what we electrogeeks call a "latch." Attached is one way to implement it. The idea is that you cut the white wire from the ignition switch to the fuse and insert this circuit.

You could also put this into the white wire from the fuse to the ignition coil, if you wanted it to affect just the ignition. Might confuse a thief even more that way.

When the ignition is turned on, nothing happens. Then, when you push the button, the relay coil is energized and closes the relay's switch. This applies power to the car's electrical components, but it also creates a path that keeps the relay coil powered when you release the pushbutton, so everything stays powered. When you turn off the ignition, the relay coil is no longer energized (nor is anything else) so it all goes off.

The button should be fairly husky--I'd make sure it is rated at at least 5 amps DC. It carries the full current of the switched circuits for a fraction of a second until the relay closes. You could get around this problem by putting a large diode (like a 1N4004) in place of the wire from pin 87 to 85 of the relay, but that's starting to get complicated.

Of course, I haven't tried this, but it should work. I might have overlooked something, but if I have, and it doesn't work, you're out only $5 for a relay, a button, and some wire.