How do you prevent theft of your car?

[Brobrian]

We were all reading about the poor old man in Oregon whose A was stolen and wrecked. I, like many of you, drive my A's everywhere. Friends have often asked if I feel safe leaving them in the parking lot when I go out to eat or shopping. My usual response is, "I don't think there are many thieves who know how to fence a car like this, nor how to start or drive it. You'd need a flatbed to steal this car. So I keep a weather eye out for tow trucks tailing me around town." If possible I park where I can see the car, and, of course, I always shut of the gas and remove the key. At home, the cars are inside the garage.

So, how do you feel about leaving your car in a parking lot? Do you secure it somehow?

[mshmodela]

Sadly, nothing is totally theft proof. I have a battery cut off switch near my starter but it would not prevent a flat bed from just yanking the whole car.

[foxfire42]

Hire a guard armed with an AK47.

[BlueSunoco]

I'd think the fuel shut off will 'get' them 90% of the time. After stealing the car and having it die half a block down the road, the thief will panic and bolt leaving the car behind. Few young people know of the shut off under the tank, or know if it is 'on' or 'off' even if they did find it.

[springerpete]

I try to park the A where I can see it. Shut off the gas, shut off the hidden battery switch remove the key. Seems to work as I still have the car.

[George Miller]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

If we tell how we do it then the whole world will know. Then it will not be theft prof

[Pete]

Originally Posted by foxfire42

Hire a guard armed with an AK47.

Excellent plan except I would have him armed with a Thompson because the magazine holds 100 rounds and it's made in the USA..

[29ModelA]

I insure it heavily. When gone I'll buy another.

[ctlikon0712]

I am more worried about them stealing my gas and radiator caps. I don't have the fancy type or the ones with locks. Just the good ole original ones.

[Drive Shaft Dave]

Somtimes if I was really woried about theft I would take the rotor with me.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by Pete

Excellent plan except I would have him armed with a Thompson because the magazine holds 100 rounds and it's made in the USA..

thats what i do

[Patrick L.]

Originally Posted by foxfire42

Hire a guard armed with an AK47.

An AK ? Wouldn't a Thompson look better ? [ smiley face]

[Rex_A_Lott]

I always park near nicer and more desireable cars.

[Patrick L.]

I figure that not many today could figure out how to start it, then wouldn't know how to drive it.
Most of the time I just shut off the fuel and get out and go. Once in awhile I'll I'll trip the main cut-out switch. But, heck, I'd forget to turn it back on.

[foxfire42]

Originally Posted by Pete

Excellent plan except I would have him armed with a Thompson because the magazine holds 100 rounds and it's made in the USA..

Oooops, USA made is a better idea except the AK's are more readily available on the corner......however, it's a cash only transaction.

[Brobrian]

Love it, guys!
Let's see. Armed guards, machine guns, just let 'em have it...
Guess, as I suspected, there's not much of a threat.
Wish you hadn't mentioned the radiator and gas caps. Now that will be on my mind. Some idiot will be just dumb enough to think they are valuable.

[peters180a/170b]

i have a 44 mag. 357 mag. 38 and a 9 mm. to name a few... and great neighbors just as armed. Come down my driveway when i am not home and you will be met..

[29tudorsedan]

I have one of the cutoff switches with the removable key, lock both doors and a fox spare tire lock. Plus the Popout is clamped with the stud so even an A'er would at least be slowed down a little I hope!

[holdover]

I'm not as worried about it getting stolen as I am someone keying the paint just for spite when I am not around it. I use a cutoff switch and have a safety fuse on it. Always park it where I can see it. At home with all the security systems it would be tough, they better smile when their pics are being taken from multiple angles and redundant systems, and the alarm is sounding etc etc. I really like my Model A but it is not the most valuable vehicle I own. Also I have stamped some numbers in hard to find locations which might help in the recovery in the event it does get taken. Agreed value insurance will help with the pain.

[Brobrian]

Wow, some of us are serious!
I subscribe to the "Thieves are Lazy" theory. There is no quick market for A's, on A chop shops, and I can't even imagine the coincidence that would have to occur for someone who knows how to start and drive the thing to be in the same place as me and want to steal the car.
That said, I have been keyed once, at a golf course. Still burns me up. A huge four foot scratch right down to the primer.

[P.S.]

I don't park my Model A just anywhere. When I do leave the car, I lock the doors and shut off the gas valve. However, I like the suggestion above about taking the rotor out! That's great. Doesn't stop a flatbed tow truck from stealing it, but does prevent a joyride.

I live in real small town (no stop lights) and small (population wise) county with a lot of square miles. Nearly everyone knows my car and if someone saw my car cruising along with someone else besides me or my wife in it, there would be trouble.

[DrinkMan]

I don't do anything special. I don't lock the car (I've even accidentally left the key in the ignition since that is where I keep it at home). So few people can drive a manual transmission that to think that a theif would know how to start a Model A and then drive it would be a rare thing.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...n-9563062.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRDQy7f-g88

[by3]

Good topic.

[37fordtruckguy]

I just disconnect the coil wire.

[KenCoupe]

Originally Posted by Drive Shaft Dave

Somtimes if I was really woried about theft I would take the rotor with me.

I did that with a 1966 VW. It was stolen, but I was lucky and got it back (with broke rear axle). After I got it back, the rotor came out every time I parked. Good idea for the Model A also.

[Tudortomnz]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I rarely lock my car as I live in a small rural town. I do lock it if I am at an old car meet, as people will sometimes open a door, even sit in it if unattended!
I am 60 & think there would be no one younger than that who could possibly start & drive away with any success even with the key .

[Arlen]

Wasn't theft the original reason for the pop out ignition switch?

[roccaas]

Originally Posted by 37fordtruckguy

I just disconnect the coil wire.

I keep an old coil wire that has fried internals. Looks fine from the outside, but will not pass current. I also do this on my uh, well, other car (Chevy).

Also, cleaning your weapons (cheerfully now, not with a weird gun nut look) on the front porch, and word gets around that you are not to be messed with on any account.

[Bob Bidonde]

Ford gave us the popout ignition switch that grounds the ignition when the switch is in the OFF position. The gas shutoff valve also adds to the difficulty of theft. A battery cutoff switch is another protection. However, a knowledgeable Model A thief will get through all of these deterrents. The bottom line is that if a theif seriously wants the car, it will be stolen.

I am of the opinion that most Model A's are stolen by people who know how to drive them.

[V4F]

i am simple about it . park where i can see it , lock it , turn gas off .......................

[KGBnut]

Model T coils can be a fun deterrent.

[Marco Tahtaras]

I've never worried about it and never will. I have better odds of winning the lottery.

[Marshall57]

Originally Posted by Drive Shaft Dave

Somtimes if I was really woried about theft I would take the rotor with me.

Not a lot of thieves with extra ignition parts and they come off so easily.

[Model A Man]

When I lived in California. I was at frys store in Burbank. This was at Christmas time when I came out of the store I noticed the motormeter cap was open. I went to close it and it came off in my hand. Someone tried to steal it but must have seen me coming back before the got it all he way off. After that I always wanted to leave a sign on the car that said. Please dont steal parts off my car, I worked hard for what I have, get a job and buy your own parts. But then I figured they would just take the whole car.

[29Cabriolet]

Originally Posted by BlueSunoco

I'd think the fuel shut off will 'get' them 90% of the time. After stealing the car and having it die half a block down the road, the thief will panic and bolt leaving the car behind. Few young people know of the shut off under the tank, or know if it is 'on' or 'off' even if they did find it.

Seems to me that if they are able to even start the car, they would know about the gas shut off. And I wonder how many potential thieves would target Model A's if they didn't know enough about them to complete the job? That would be only the amateurs who panic and leave the car behind.

[goodoldvic]

I drive my car a lot and go everywhere with it. If someone is gonna glom it they will. I use my battery disconnect take my key and try to park in a conspicuous spot other than that I enjoy it. My cars also a driver and I think someone would rather steal a rod or something of that ilk. But that's just my two cents

[Bruce Lancaster]

Flatbed...no answer except a motion sensor alarm, which would probably go off every time a bird lit on the car and drive you mad.

People getting into a roadster and stealing shift knob, radiator cap, etc...no answer except rabid dog or Thompson. Legalities a difficulty...

Drive-away theft: Probably less than 1% of the human race could figure out gas shutoff, pop-out, or the location of starter. Maybe 10% could manage three speed shift pattern.
With no popout, dash tunnel combined with the highly eccentric backwards switching on an A would confound even most mechanics. For Model A humor on this, watch the Old Bonney and Clyde movie...Beatty pops open the left hood of a parked Model A, fiddles with something unseen for 3 seconds, and the car comes right to life! HA! Good luck, Fella!

[Bill B]

It would take a little time, but take out the rotor and the "A" is going nowhere.
We did that in high school just to mess a guy up.

[Keith True]

I guess if it ever bothers me I'll start taking the key out.I keep the cars in garages here at home,the garage doors get barred from the inside and I go out the side doors.I have never owned a house key for my home.My rentals have keys,but I have to ask the tenants to let me in,I have no idea where my keys are.It may seem strange,but it has always looked to me that the people that do the most to prevent problems have the most problems.If you park a car in a parking lot across a couple of slots to keep people from door-dinging it you might as well hang a sign on it saying,key me.Some people can be real jerks,and when they see somebody trying to preserve their car by taking up a couple of parking spots they see red.I just drive and park normally,and have had zero problems since 1972.

[quickchange]

Just hire Bill & Dog , problem solved ?? Have a master switch in all of mine, seen results of fires & will not allow an A in my shop unless battery isolated , I also turn off the fuel but normally leave key in the ignition , most thiefs would expect a key start ??Of course keep insurance hi just in case ,

[al's28/33]

I am more worried about some idiot stealing my motometer wings or license plates off the car than the car itself......that being said I still don't leave her out of my sight for very long if it's a trip to the store or ice cream shop. Always garaged and locked up!

[Bruce Adams]

How many A's have we even heard were stolen on this Board in the past two years?

The guy last week was about the first one I recall who did not coincidentally steal a Model A when he was really grabbing an F-250 with an aluminimum trailer, later dumping the A.

I think some other A's were stolen by "family Members" after recalling Grandpa "Promised" it to them when they were ten.

[Tom Wesenberg]

" For Model A humor on this, watch the Old Bonney and Clyde movie...Beatty pops open the left hood of a parked Model A, fiddles with something unseen for 3 seconds, and the car comes right to life! HA!"

I got a kick out of that also. I guess he must have found the not so hidden spare key.

[fredski]

I usually park next to a nicer car that's more desirable.

fred

[Clydes 31 P/U]

I have a 4 step approach to theft prevention on my A...... shut off gas, remove ignition key, turn off and remove key from battery cut-off and leave her by the truck. First 3 not really needed.

[jthomas6]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by Clydes 31 P/U

leave her by the truck. First 3 not really needed.

Very good solution!

[Benson]

I thought about putting a Bamboo Pit Viper snake inside the car.

Problem was that "Step and a Half", the snake, could escape out of the smallest cracks and holes in the car and besides, he did not like the cold weather.

A Viper bites you and you might make a step and a half before the venom gets you.

One night I went to wake up a guy. In the flash light beam I saw a Viper wrapped around the barrel, right below the plastic bag covering the flash suppressor of his AR-15. For just second I thought "that guy is playing a joke with a green plastic snake! Then I reconsidered when the snake's tongue started to flick in /out.

[P.S.]

In the second "Dukes of Hazard" reunion (the TV show, not the potty mouth movie), Bo and Luke kept a sack of rattle snakes in the General Lee as an anti-therft device. It worked!!

[Tom Wesenberg]

You just paint the car a color so ugly no one would want to steal it.

[mshmodela]

I suppose a long chain or steel cable threw all 4 rims and looped around the axel and or drive shafts might slow them down a bit...a steel snake if you will...

[Clydes 31 P/U]

I don't know Tom, somebody somewhere would swipe it. My Dad was color blind, being in the construction business with heavy equipment he wanted to paint his A (CC/PU) Cat yellow and put the company decals on the side boards, he chose the paint color ( Cat yellow, by his eye), when it was laid on, it was more of a calf s**t yellow but to him it looked great. Letting the color blind man choose the paint is like having the vegetarian of the group choose the steakhouse!

[Ron Lachniet]

Someone said they had their VW stolen. The only new car I ever owned was a 1968 VW. After owning it for one year it was hit five times and the ice on the floor in December melted in April. I wish someone would have stolen that miserable car.

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by Ron Lachniet

Someone said they had their VW stolen. The only new car I ever owned was a 1968 VW. After owning it for one year it was hit five times and the ice on the floor in December melted in April. I wish someone would have stolen that miserable car.

My first car was a 1964 convair purchased for 300$ back in 1967. My unemployed brother shined up so well that it looked like a million dollars and as a result the car was stolen but broke down 2 blocks away.
Maybe we should leave out vintage auto looking like barn finds so nobody would want to steal them.. Ha HA.

[nickair]

Passive: Fake coil wire

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by BlueSunoco

I'd think the fuel shut off will 'get' them 90% of the time. After stealing the car and having it die half a block down the road, the thief will panic and bolt leaving the car behind. Few young people know of the shut off under the tank, or know if it is 'on' or 'off' even if they did find it.

I cant remember if its on or off!

[H. L. Chauvin]

FWIW: Advice I received from a Hotel Security Guard:

Some time ago while often flying out of town on early morning flights, I was making hotel reservations using company's similar to Park-N-Fly.

I parked at the same large multistory Hilton near the airport, leaving my "modern" car there several days until I flew back.

Got to know the Hotel security guard after a few back-to-back out-of-town trips.

He said they had a lots of vehicle break-ins in this metropolitan area, i.e., thieves looking for cash, stereos, GPS's, battery's, car parts, & if extra keys were found in the car, the car was often stolen & later completely stripped.

He mentioned that no doubt it was thieves looking to obtain drugs.

He suggested that from his 10 years or so past experience with car thieves at this Hotel, that I park overnight(s):

1. Under or near a parking lot light pole; and,

2. More importantly, in a parking space immediately adjacent to & facing the (4) lane thoroughfare out front.

He reported that he never witnessed a single theft of any kind for cars parked as such in his parking lot. His theory was that patrol cars passed often on the thoroughfare & thieves always prefer to break in cars concealed from sight by other cars, especially where the parking lot was not well lighted.

Followed his advice & never had a problem.

With a Model A or modern car, this advice may have merit for somebody parking & spending a night at a hotel/motel where the parking lot is not readily visible from the Receptionist's Desk.

Also, if one intends to obtain a battery cut-off switch for security purposes, not a bad idea to go a step further & buy a more expensive "Marine" type cut-off switch with a removable metal key that one can remove for overnight parking at hotels/motels.

[1crosscut]

For overnight stays at hotels, home etc... get one of the motion activated driveway alarms.
Place the remote motion sensor in the vehicle and place the home unit inside with you.
I do this when I am traveling with my pickup truck. I place the ssensor unit inside the covered bed of the truck. If anyone opens up the tail gate it will let me know.

[P.S.]

Originally Posted by 1crosscut

For overnight stays at hotels, home etc... get one of the motion activated driveway alarms.
Place the remote motion sensor in the vehicle and place the home unit inside with you.
I do this when I am traveling with my pickup truck. I place the ssensor unit inside the covered bed of the truck. If anyone opens up the tail gate it will let me know.

That is.... BRILLIANT!!

Great idea, thanks!

[Tacoma Bob]

In '94 I built a sweet 77 chevy short wide. Some SOB decided they needed it more than me. It was stolen at 9 AM on a Sunday. It was found filleted within 3 hours. Now days with my "A" I'm more inclined to put a body bag in the car with instructions that read "try this on for size. If caught you will need it."

[Jeff in BC]

You could always try this (from Oct. 1932 Popular Mechanics).

Jeff

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Remove a wheel & take it in the store with you.
Bill W.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi Bill,

Per reply #61, nothing like real positive thinking.

Seriously, when away from home, with little Model A wheel removal effort, seems it would work great to discourage thieves during one's overnight stay in an unknown motel considering that all of the surrounding cars in the parking lot would have 4 wheels.

[Mitch//pa]

does anyone use a

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by Benson

I thought about putting a Bamboo Pit Viper snake inside the car.

Problem was that "Step and a Half", the snake, could escape out of the smallest cracks and holes in the car and besides, he did not like the cold weather.

A Viper bites you and you might make a step and a half before the venom gets you.

One night I went to wake up a guy. In the flash light beam I saw a Viper wrapped around the barrel, right below the plastic bag covering the flash suppressor of his AR-15. For just second I thought "that guy is playing a joke with a green plastic snake! Then I reconsidered when the snake's tongue started to flick in /out.

Quite true, they were called 'step-and-a-half' snakes. Nasty little buggers. I never knew how Charlie handled them, I imagine a number of them got bit in the process......

And of course you mean his M-16 not the civilian AR-15!

[H. L. Chauvin]

An armed anti-tank mine under the front seat would definitely stop a thief from stealing one's Model A.

The biggest & most important concern naturally is that the Model A owner could never later identify who was the Model A thief.

LOL

[olut]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Gear shift lever lock on steering wheel ???

Nice and easy...

Cheers
Albert

[Bruce Lancaster]

New Model A owners...DO note that the anti-tank mine method should NOT be employed if you have a closed car. Roadster owners just need to remember to fold their tops...

[Fred]

I Don`t, on either one.. Both 100% stock.. How many "A"s do you hear about being stolen VS. todays car!!..

[ericr]

Originally Posted by Jeff in BC

You could always try this (from Oct. 1932 Popular Mechanics).

Jeff

cute ad....but did they not have bolt cutters in 1932?

[jr-41ford]

I don't care to have mine stolen, but I figure if someone is going to steal it, they will find a way to take it. If they do, I seriously doubt they will drive it away it's too noisy.

I'm more concerned about removing items from the Model A, than stealing it.

I also have very good insurance on the car and it's contents.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

does anyone use a

Well, Son, I jist recently found both keys to mine! NOW, I'm out of EXCUSES for not gettin' Vermin finished.
By the way, LOCKS are jist fur keepin' HONEST men HONEST! (A direct quote frum CHIEF!)
Bill W.