Recently purchased a 73 Centurion. Would like to get some advice on some fairly cheap ways to protect my car from theft. What do you guys use or recommend? Alarms, secret switches, club, etc. At some point I might consider a tracking service like Lo-Jack, but would like to start with something a little cheaper.
if you live in a bad area, an external column lock is a good way (so they are less likely to bust open the steering column.) a hidden kill switch to the starter solenoid. (blend it into the factory wiring.) a kill to the ignition coil. a combination of the above maybe the way to go. if your hood opens from the outside you could fabricate a lock setup to keep from opening the hood. other than that there arn't too many options on these older cars. and besides a tow truck will defeat any of the above options as well. in that case a lojack is the way to go. -nate
I have never seen a steering column lock before. Is it pretty common to use some sort of mechanical lock(steering wheel or steering column) and an electrical lock or switch. Is there a preferred electrical switch to use? Where is a good place to mount the hidden switch that won't damage the dash, ashtray, or glovebox?
i have a switch that is fused. it is located to the left of steering column. you have to feel to find it. it is attached to the back of the dash front.
the column lock keeps the steering column from being broken (easy to do on these cars) and allowing the lock tumbler to be removed and bypassed, along with access to the steering lock to allow the wheels to turn. you'll need to search a bit for them. About the electrical kill switches, Glove box is a bad idea, they would look there. I'd think of some other place to put them and well placed ones will take a little creativity and work to install. Somewhere under the seat perhaps, or even in the trunk. but they are only as good as their hiding and if you use them. A momentary one for the starter solenoid is a good idea as then you'd need to hold the button/switch as you crank the car. or if you have a loose piece of trim and you can put the momentary behind that. as long as you set the tension right. I've thought of making a dongle that would kill various electrical components(this is my plan on my efi'd project) but i'm not sure how many things you could kill in an older car, other than those mentioned above. with a bunch of dummy wires running from it. http://www.neverstolen.com/productinfo.html
You mentioned the ashtray, I think if you tucked a switch behind the actual tray, no one would think to pull that out to check. Also, a long time ago, I saw an ingenius ignition kill using the cigarette lighter. I can't remember if the cigarette lighter pushed in disabled the ignition or required to start the car, but the person wired the ground wire to the cigarette lighter. Pushed in, it completed the ground circuit. It's right there in full view, and you'd never think it was an anti-theft device. -Josh
theres always a removable grant wheel with a hub lock..but dont think you'd want to lug around a steering wheel everywhere you go lol i currently have a colum lock, works beautifuly i'm also getting a gorrilla grip III sterring lock http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...3/p-2001433/N-111+200729491+600000480/c-10101 and of cource theirs always killswitches internal/external ...be creative with the locations and the realays to trigger them :-D killswitch can disable youre fuel pump, starter,battery..and can have a switch or a magnetic pickup switch..
A 73 Centurion is low risk for theft. Therre is liitle market for its parts. A teenage joy rider is the only risk to the car. Cheapest protection is Mr B. I use it myself.
I know several people who have hidden kill switches in plain sight, by routing the wire from the key to the starter solonoid through a relay, then powering that relay with something innocuous like the heater fan switch. In practice, you have to turn on the heater fan, which powers the relay closed, and then when you turn the key, power flows from the ignition switch through the relay to the starter solenoid. Nobody who hot-wired the car would ever be able to get it to start, because even if they powered the wire, the flow of power would stop at the relay unless they found that they had to turn the fan on, and what thief, no matter how enterprising, would be that patient?
I know a big vintage cruzer would get plucked by the brothers quick around here. next thing you know it would be painted white and pink with 24" wheels under it and the ground clearance of a monster truck.
True, but it's a real b**** to retrofit the dog with the thumbs necessary to allow him/her to fire the shotgun. :Brow:
