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RE: How's this for anti-theft?

To: "'DT Gebhard'" <kimkell@decaturnet.com>,
Subject: RE: How's this for anti-theft?
From: Craig Smith <CraigS@iewc.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 08:51:23 -0500
I like the Anti-Theft thing that James Bond had on that Lotus...
The white one that also was a submarine.

But the problem is you can only use it once.


-----Original Message-----
From: DT Gebhard [mailto:kimkell@decaturnet.com]
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 8:37 AM
To: Nolan Penney; spitfires@autox.team.net; jmcneal@ohms.com
Subject: Re: How's this for anti-theft?



>>>>>Be disconcertingly obvious.  As in make your car look like bait.  A
Spitfire at the back of a parking lot, under a street light, top up, is
normal and wouldn't worry a thief.  A Spitfire at the front of a mall, top
down, open to god and everyone looks odd, suspiciously so.  Hopefully enough
so to cause a thief to pass it by.


My *other* car was broken into in my drive-way,under a street light. The
cops reply was"the light makes it easy for them to see what they're
taking"...
    by the way,I live in a small town,Northern IN.,less than 10,000
people...probably local *thugs*

            Dave Gebhard

----- Original Message -----
From: Nolan Penney <npenney@mde.state.md.us>
To: <spitfires@autox.team.net>; <jmcneal@ohms.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2000 12:23 PM
Subject: Re: How's this for anti-theft?


>
> Not very good really.  First, you can get to the wiring you need directly
under the dash.  Second, almost always, people will position the switch in a
convenient place, which makes it an obvious place, especially with a spartan
Spitfire interior.  Third, the wiring you run will tend to stand out from
the rest, giving away the existence of the kill switch, as well as the
location of the switch.  There are better ways.
>
> You're better off advertising that you car is a pain to steal.  A flashing
led on the dash indicating an alarm, a Club sitting on the steering wheel,
etc.  These things deter amatures.  After all, most cars are unprotected,
and a heck of a lot of them have the keys sitting in them for you.  Better
to steal on of those for a joy ride.
>
> Spitfires aren't big on the pro theft circuits.  So don't worry about it,
and don't think you can even slow down a pro.  Many of them use a wrecker
anyway, and it's just a matter of seconds to hook up to your car and haul it
away.  By second, I mean about seven.  I think that's the average for the
guys with the boom trucks.  Roll backs are a bit longer, something like 15
seconds.  The most you have then is your car going down the road on the back
of a wrecker with the alarm chirping.  That doesn't garner any attention.
>
> Be disconcertingly obvious.  As in make your car look like bait.  A
Spitfire at the back of a parking lot, under a street light, top up, is
normal and wouldn't worry a thief.  A Spitfire at the front of a mall, top
down, open to god and everyone looks odd, suspiciously so.  Hopefully enough
so to cause a thief to pass it by.
>
> The notion of an electric fuel pump cut off that allows the car to start
and then die in a bad location resulting in the thief abandoning the car
isn't a very good plan either.  First, the car is stolen, with the usuall
damage in the process.  That's not nice.  Then when and if the car is
abandoned, it gets towed away, and you pay the bill.  So you get a car
that's been vandalized by the thief, with a big clonk'n towing and impound
fee.  Not very good either.
>
>
> >>> "Jeff McNeal" <jmcneal@ohms.com> 06/22 12:44 PM >>>
>
> I was telling my local car buddy about my experience the other day with
the
> rotor flying off inside the distributor cap after I'd replaced and removed
> the rotor as a cheap anti-theft device.   He suggested that I remove about
> 5" of tape from the wiring harness that feeds the negative side of the
coil,
> tap into that wire and install a hidden switch somewhere in the cockpit.
> Then retape the harness, of course, so there would be no evidence under
the
> bonnet of the hidden switch.  Not quite as heavy-duty as a battery kill
> switch, but a lot cheaper and just as effective, wouldn't you think?
>
>
>

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