Poor guy had his '69 Hurst-Olds Cutlass convertible stolen out from under him in Amarillo, Texas. Thanks to the Garage Journal for the heads-up. http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-08-17/mo-retiree-wants-his-last-hoorah-back Keep your eyes peeled. Shouldn't be hard to spot.
I read this and immediately thought that I should probably put some type of anti-theft device on my 64. We will be traveling in it with some overnight stays in the fall. Suggestions?
Whatever system you get- you could always opt for the remote start . You could also wire in a hidden fuel pump kill switch witch would be cheaper.
Mechanical fuel pump No steering or transmission lock I suspect on older cars they are pushing them and then loading on a roll up. Would "the club" be effective? Thanks
LOL- oh yea. Sorry ... This is my first older/carb'd car. Still- you could make an electronic kill switch from the battery from somewhere in the car. When you park it for the night- reach into your secret spot and "switch". I don't think a lot of cars are taken by being rolled onto a trailers or truck bed- I think a lot of people are still just breaking in and hotwiring the car, especially the older cars.
My theory on this particular theft is that the old guy was set up. He "heard" about a car show that wasn't there.(?) Anyone knowing that he goes to these shows could have slipped him the false info so he would go and park his car outside over night. The thieves may even have known the motel he would use. Anyway....the car won't be easy to spot inside a container on the dock. The car is likely bound for Europe if it isn't already on the water. I really, really hate a thief. Of any kind. Stealing a man's pride and joy car is a lethal offense in my book.
A friend of mine was recently on vacation with his truck, towing his motorcycle in an enclosed trailer. The entire setup was stolen from a hotel parking lot. The stuff was soon recovered all severely damaged and it turns out, the front desk clerk is the thief's sister. Scum is everywhere. The simplest thing to do on an old car is to take the coil-to-distributor wire in with you. To make that even less obvious, put a non-functional dummy in it's place.
Now days, like everything else, even car thieves have become considerably more sophisticated unless they are simple chop shop artists. They have wrecker trucks that lift the rear end and move the car. They have semi's that they shove the car in and the car is instantly hidden. They have automobile shipping containers sitting at the dock ready to ship when the car arrives. This Olds is not a chop shop candidate. It is a car that someone likely ordered for a price. The pros that steal cars like this are well financed, have state of the art equipment and can take just about anything and make it disappear in minutes. And, yes, W88...hotels and motels often have a network of employees that enable car thieves. If you have the network, the sophisticated equipment and nerves of steel...there is big money in stealing cars. Some of these pros can steal 6 or 7 or more cars a night. Or, day, for that matter. Sadly, there are not many, if any, alarms or protective devices that can prevent your car from being taken if these pros really want it. They stay a step ahead of the technology.
Lojack or Escort Entourage CIS won't keep them from stealing it, but may help you get it back. http://www.lojack.com/ http://www.escortradar.com/entouragecis/
