Has anyone used a GPS locator on their classic car? I mean something like a lojack. Pros and cons?

 

I'm well insured, my only hope is if something like that happens they don't leave large pieces behind.

 

LoJack is not a GPS system.

They use some sort of pre-GPS, pre-cell-tower proprietary set of satellites or antennas, and only work in certain geographic areas.

And the answer is, No. I don't even lock the ignition. They wouldn't get half a mile before being caught.

- Eric

 

No not really but I do have a chapman lock/ignition cutoff on my post coupe before I changed the hood to OAI.

 

The best anti-theft device you can have in a car today is a manual transmission.

Second best is a hidden kill switch (which costs nearly nothing to install).

 

And if you have a 3 on the tree, You can leave the windows down and it running and its safe.

 

Indeed! Just last night leaving a work function I had to pull my car out as the valet didn't know how to drive a stick.

 

I disconnect the high voltage coil wire at the center of the coil at the coil. I just place it near the coil to make it look like it is connected as the air cleaner base hides it also. Still wanting to install the "Hood Lock" option that I have for added protection.

I have considered the "Lowjack", however it does not provide full protection in certain areas of the US. I am looking in to a GPS type made by drag racer Darrel Johnson's father.

 

That works. I like the fake coil wire made from vacuum tubing also. Pretty much anything you do to make it difficult will cause the thief to move on to another car. If they can't steal it in a 60-90 sec, they won't bother. If they want your particular car, they will get it no matter what you have. Witness the stories of cars inside a locked enclosure being stolen. Even a car parked on the street can be grabbed quickly with the new repo fixtures on tow trucks.

 

If you run an electric fuel pump and a carburetor, if you put the kill switch in the fuel pump circuit, the thief will be able to start the car and get onto the road, and then have the car die in the middle of traffic, which is a somewhat inconvenient place for him to troubleshoot.

- Eric

 

joe: I totally agree. I just want to slow them down and make it more difficult to steal and then they will give up. On the tow truck deal that is why I want to go with a GPS system. It is costly, however when you have $105,000 dollar investment in a restoration on a rare car, not so expensive!

 

I agree that an ignition system or fuel system shutoff is much better than a starter kill. If a thief turns the key and the starter doesn't run he knows there is a kill switch, but if the starter turns and the engine doesn't fire, or better yet, it fires then stalls a bit later, that just seems like a crappy old carburetor setup that doesn't run well and may take a lot of time troubleshooting to get the engine running. This is probably enough to make a casual thief give up and go looking for easier pickings.

 

Actually, most people today don't even know to pump the gas to set the choke on a carb. May not even need the kill switch.

Back to the OP's question, it's really easy to defeat LoJack or GPS-based systems. Simply park the stolen car in an underground garage or metal building. That shielding prevents the signal from being received until the thief can find and disable the transmitter.

 

I was...until I misplaced it. Now I can't find it anywhere.

 

That's why I like to back into packing spaces in public lots -- and even in my own driveway. The thief would have to put dollies under the rear wheels before dragging it away. If you're nose-in all they have to do is lift the back end; gone in less than 60 seconds.

 

They'll just drag it onto a flat bed and drive off. I don't see this being a deterrent.

 

Yes, if you've ever had a car towed off, especially an old junker, you've seen how easily they can yank a car.

I remember one '70 Chevelle coupe I stripped and junked "back in the day" - the car was in the driveway with the controls off of it and the wheels locked.
The guy just put a cable on it, popped the clutch on his 454 tow truck, and yanked it out onto the street, then drove a car length down the street 90 degrees to the car, popped again, and spun it parallel to the street, then pulled it up onto the bed.
Couldn't have taken more than 5 minutes, and he wasn't trying to be fast or sneaky.

- Eric

 

No, actually once the front end is up, all they have to do is reach under and push the trans selector lever into NEUTRAL. Even if the backdrive linkage is hooked up, that comes off very quickly. This is faster and less conspicuous than dragging a car.

 

When I was repoing cars if you were more than about 30-40 feet away from your car I could get it and be gone before you could cover that space and catch me and I never got out of the truck. I pulled many a front drive from the rear and rear drive from the front, squealing all the way around the block. I'd put them in neutral or swap ends once I was a safe distance away. Debtors would complain I damaged their car when they'd come to the lot but it wasn't a problem if they weren't getting it back, which was about 95% of the time. Very rarely hurt a car. If some one wants your car bad enough and isn't a huge dumbass they can get it. I do have Lo-Jack in a 94 25th Anniversary Trans Am but it was in the car when I bought it. Registered the Lo-jack in my name but have never needed it.
Best theft (repo) deterrents I saw- chaining a Ford Focus to the gas meter, noticed just in time, I was quiet and used the bolt cutters. Genius who removed all the lug nuts from his F-150. Tires didn't come off until the truck was in the street (good thing it was a short double wide trailer driveway) and I was in Frost, Texas. Repos had to be reported to the police before you attempted recovery so they could help "keep the peace" (Breech of the peace in Texas usually means no recovery) Debtor came running out and the cop sent him back in the house since the truck was no longer on his property. Messed up all 4 rotors pretty good when the tires came off and even more when the flat bed driver drug it aboard.
FYI cutting the steering wheel all the way can be defeated in most cars or trucks by beating the steering wheel with your hand or a rubber mallet and returning it to center one notch at a time. Just takes a little practice. A rear drive backed in with wheels cut still screams, "I'm behind on my payments!" every time I see it.

 

I rarely drive my Olds someplace I can't watch it from inside. I have an 80s era Club (yes I know a thief can get it off in about 10 seconds).

 

To the OP's question I recently saw a GPS location device on TV that is a phone app. The transmitter was about the size of a quarter and could be hidden anywhere on the car.
Can't think of name or brand, sorry

 

So lots of BS but no real answer.

Yes I know all of what has been mentioned.

Had a legitimate question.

 

Part of your question was "any pros and cons?". I think that was answered by this "BS".

 

I believe I answered your question about "cons":
- Eric

 

was there not a tread about used car lot gps locator a coupe year ago?

 

Everyone's diss'ing the small theft deterrents, saying that a determined thief WILL get your car. Of course. But not every thief is determined, and many are not talented. Most car thefts are just juvies looking for a joy-ride. Anything you can do to discourage them or slow them down works in your favor.

Of course, the whole point of Lo-jack isn't to discourage but catch the b@stards. I used to do the same thing with a silent alarm to protect my car stereo. I didn't want to scare them off with a siren, I wanted to catch them with a baseball bat.

 

I thought that was my whole point with the kill switch discussion above.

Just don't bring a baseball bat to a gunfight. The reality is that they will likely be gone before you even get there. All the more reason to use the hidden MP3 player I talked about in another thread. They won't steal what they don't know is there.

 

I agree completely. Many years ago my sister and bro-in-law's FWD Cutlass survived a theft attempt simply because BIL always set the park brake, which on this car was a console hand lever. Dufus kids abandoned the car two houses down cuz they were too dumb / ignorant / inexperienced to realize the rear wheels were dragging and squealing because that lever on the console was in the UP position.