Security

[AlanT]

Hi All,

What’s everyone’s fix for adding ‘no drive’ security to a Spitfire,  given that they are less secure than Boris’s grasp of the law? On my old Morris it was a simple switch on the fuel pump circuit but not so easy with a mech pump.

Thanks

Alan

[mishmosh]

Iirc my mates old one had a rocker switch on the dash that operated a relay. Ignition on.   Switch on  bingo. 

[Chris A]

My 13/60 has been equipped by a previous owner with a manual cut off valve on the petrol pipe just above the tank. There is also a pull switch hidden . . . . that cuts the electricity to the coil, it means the starter will spin but of course no current to coil.

[Clive]

13 hours ago, AlanT said:

Hi All,

What’s everyone’s fix for adding ‘no drive’ security to a Spitfire,  given that they are less secure than Boris’s grasp of the law? On my old Morris it was a simple switch on the fuel pump circuit but not so easy with a mech pump.

Thanks

Alan

Stoplock Pro, good physical deterrent that isn't too clumsy to use. You can fit an ignition cutout switch pretty easily. Or a friend made a pedal cover from a bit of catnic lintel and welded a shutter lock. Almost impossible to break past that as inaccessable

 

[AlanT]

I like the idea of hidden switch on the coil. Easy to hide a rocker inside the car. Will look at this.

Thanks

[Pete Lewis]

they work well last summer a car would not start after our pub meeting , and 10 seconds before calling the recovery 

you dont have any immobilisers do you ??????

flick the forgotten hidden switch and va room  !!!!  dont get caught  out 

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

ive told this before  but Dad in the war removed the rotor as was required , they pushed the car 4 miles home and 

on putting hand in pocket for the house keys found the rotor arm 

again  good idea dont get caught out with memory fog 

Pete

[cliff.b]

I have been thinking of putting a 2 way switch in the 12v feed from the coil to the electronic ignition. When switched it would divert any voltage present at the coil +ve to a horn relay instead.

So if some toe rag either turned on the ignition or even tried to hot wire it the engine wouldn't start but the horn would go off.

[Chris A]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

they work well last summer a car would not start after our pub meeting , and 10 seconds before calling the recovery 

you dont have any immobilisers do you ??????

flick the forgotten hidden switch and va room  !!!!  dont get caught  out 

Pete

I fell into that trap myself.

[DanMi]

hidden switches are ok but really of little use without bonnet locks as well, as it is dead easy to run a wire from battery +ve to the coil +ve and then on early cars at least just press the button on the starter solenoid, all bypassed  in 20 seconds. I use an old crooklock and remove the rotor arm if leaving for a long time

[cliff.b]

25 minutes ago, DanMi said:

hidden switches are ok but really of little use without bonnet locks as well, as it is dead easy to run a wire from battery +ve to the coil +ve and then on early cars at least just press the button on the starter solenoid, all bypassed  in 20 seconds. I use an old crooklock and remove the rotor arm if leaving for a long time

My switch plan above would thwart hot wiring. But until/if I actually do it I am careful where I park and use one of these as a visual deterrent. 

Obviously won't stop a determined thief but I would imagine anyone wanting to nick a Spitfire is probably a "joyrider"

[cliff.b]

7 hours ago, Mathew said:

Don't forget, quick way to fall out with your neighbours. 

Hmm, yes, but it's not an alarm with sensors etc. and it's only going to go off if someone actually tried to start the car. As discussed above though, that might include me, but at least it would be a timely reminder that I had forgotten to move the switch 😖

[Colin Lindsay]

Years ago I had one of those devices that covers the handbrake and goes round the gearlever. (Actually still have it!)

I lost the key and it took me all of 30 seconds to realise that if I unscrewed the gearknob, it just lifted off.

[68vitesse]

In my tool box I have a length of wire with a crocodile clip on each end, is that being prepared or going equipped?.

Regards

Paul.

[Clive]

1 hour ago, cliff.b said:

Hmm, yes, but it's not an alarm with sensors etc. and it's only going to go off if someone actually tried to start the car. As discussed above though, that might include me, but at least it would be a timely reminder that I had forgotten to move the switch 😖

If doing that, have a seperate horn inside the car. Preferably one of these, it makes teh MoT assistant jump out of his skin every year. Any scote trying to start the car would crap himself. (edit, mine is fitted as a normal horn, not an antitheft device. And yes, it got him again on Monday at 8.05 in the morning.... the tester found it very amusing)

[cliff.b]

2 hours ago, clive said:

If doing that, have a seperate horn inside the car. Preferably one of these, it makes teh MoT assistant jump out of his skin every year. Any scote trying to start the car would crap himself. (edit, mine is fitted as a normal horn, not an antitheft device. And yes, it got him again on Monday at 8.05 in the morning.... the tester found it very amusing)

Good idea 👍 Although my horns are already fairly loud lol

[Badwolf]

I have considered the lot. Petrol shut off valve (waiting to fit). Electrical isolator, part of my old SX1000 electronic ignition, conventional, electronic or off. Alarm system, old Harry Moss system works well. I also use an old crook lock fitted upside down on the gear stick and hand brake, won't stop a determined thief with a battery grinder but it's visual. Bonnet locks...and a huge bunch of keys!!! (Must reconfigure my lock tumblers so I only need the one). Oh, and I also have one of those dis-car-nect thingies but it still allows a trickle of juice for the radio, alarm etc, so if you leave the lights on, your security system can still drain your battery, but then, no one can nick the car I suppose.

[Bfg]

Related to the above, but more as a deterrent when out and parked.. does anyone here have experience, for or against, of one of those half-car-covers which cover the roof and windows of a soft-top ?   some seem pretty expensive for what they are and yet their hooking onto wheel arches or closing a boot lid on them seems pretty crude.

Locking an open top car, or any old Triumph, is bit of a lost cause, save it still being required by insurance companies.  An isolator switch on the battery is useful when working on the car, but I'd really prefer it within the car, so that in the event of a fire the electrics could at least be switched off.  I was thinking about this just yesterday and realised that now I've moved the control box to under the dashboard, then there's just one power lead to it from the battery lead (formerly on the solenoid connection) and so it would be dead easy to fit a hidden-in-full-view switch to that. The toggle switch I have under the dashboard (is where the bonnet cable release was) so mostly looks like 'a hidden switch'  but when switched - it turns the hazard warning lights on.  Those flashing lights would confuse a would-be opportunist thief for a few seconds. 

I had a steering lock on a Vauxhall FB ..many years ago, and attended an evening music festival where the parking was in a field.  At the end of the evening, with the darkness inside the car, I drove off and before I knew it I had driven & turned into the back of a mini.   Not one of my finest moments !   

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

59 minutes ago, Bfg said:

Related to the above, but more as a deterrent when out and parked.. does anyone here have experience, for or against, of one of those half-car-covers which cover the roof and windows of a soft-top ?   some seem pretty expensive for what they are and yet their hooking onto wheel arches or closing a boot lid on them seems pretty crude.

Never tried one of those (are they called storm covers?) but I have a full tonneau cover that I intend to use on the Herald; it's not security but does prevent prying eyes seeing what's in the car and the casual 'arm over the door' scenario.

[Badwolf]

I have one but only use it in an emergency such as totally dreadful weather and couldn't get under proper cover. I think the retaining clips, and if/where the cover comes into contact does bad things to the paint. Neighbours had one for their modern MG. They built a car port eventually.

[daverclasper]

10 hours ago, DanMi said:

hidden switches are ok but really of little use without bonnet locks as well

I had a WASO locking petrol cap, though was forced off, to nick fuel, luckily didn't appear to damage filler neck lugs, so now don't lock it.

I do have bonnet locks, that were on the car when I bought it, though reluctant to us them in case of damage, if they are forced?.

Bit like locking doors, they will get in anyway, so limit damage to car?

[PeteH]

Texan Bumper sticker:- "Protected by Smith and Wesson".

23 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

ive told this before  but Dad in the war removed the rotor as was required , they pushed the car 4 miles home and 

on putting hand in pocket for the house keys found the rotor arm 

again  good idea dont get caught out with memory fog 

Pete

Snap. Only with father, it was a 3ton truck, and 5 of them pushed, it had to go back into the compound several hundred yards, up a slope, as the payload was HE burst shell`s for the Big Ack-Ack Guns .!. The corporal (Home Guard) had taken it home! on his bike!.

9 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Years ago I had one of those devices that covers the handbrake and goes round the gearlever. (Actually still have it!)

I lost the key and it took me all of 30 seconds to realise that if I unscrewed the gearknob, it just lifted off.

The percieved wisdom with that was to "loctite" the Knob onto the Gear Lever. I think I saw one in the garage a few weeks back?. Might be useful for the Triumph?.

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

as for bonnet locks on H V S  might make the lock lever restricted use but a real good shove on the bonnet and the lock hooks will slide out of the J plate on the baulkhead and up she goes  works better if the rubber cones are shot 

weld the J plate up to close the ends then the hook cant escape 

the J plate is hardened so care is needed 

pete

[PeteH]

I use a similar system to secure the (up and over) garage door, basically a large dia pin which goes through the door into the Jamb. Only used when we are away from the house for a few days or more.

Pete

 

[Top Banana]

All,

I am still on the journey of how to best Immobilise my GT6 Mk1 from theft. I like the idea of a kill switch or battery isolator in the cabin but with the bonnet not locking a knowledgable thief can make progress against deterrents. (   I do like the idea of an internal cabin horn @135 Db sounding, if the ignition feed to the coil is compromised or not initialised via the key)

In the interim, I have gone for a physical deterrent of a handbrake to gear stick lock, it took a lot of research to find one small enough to fit and that is the reason for my post to pass knowledge on a safe purchase and from an established UK company that details in security products.

 I did contemplate a steering lock/foot break lock but my Moto-lit styled steering could easily be cut or misshaped to wriggle off the lock. My other main concern would be scratching the steering wheel.

Having watched YouTube videos - a thief with a battery-powered drill or grinder will be able to get through these deterrents within minutes and professionals will probably trailer away our cars if they wanted them.  I plan to take a picture each time I put the lock on so I can show the insurance company that I have been diligent in securing the car when parking. 

This is the company I purchased the item from, it is an Autolock product that they stock.

https://www.barriersdirect.co.uk/parking-posts-residential-c1087/handbrake-steering-wheel-locks-plus-vehicle-clamps-c1205/handbrake-to-gear-stick-lock-fits-manual-and-automatic-cars-p911

key features ( NOTE the sizes of the lock in highlighted in BOLD TEXT)

The GT6 needs the smaller of the two lock sizes. 

Product Description

The original easy-to-fit car theft deterrent.

Simple and effective as it locks the gear stick to the handbrake making impossible to operate the car.

• Fits manual and automatic cars
• Fits in seconds
• Compact for easy storage
• Easily stored in the car’s glove compartment
• 3 Keys Supplied as Standard

Available in two sizes:

STANDARD: Gear stick to handbrake distance 165mm - 250mm MINI: Gear stick to handbrake distance 135mm - 165mm

Hope this helps

John

 

 

 

(Distance measured is from tip of the handbrake to the centre of the gearstick)