Shite security

[Des]

The recent gut wrenching post here about the stolen Capri has me thinking about security, cars are just too easy to steal, It's not uncommon to see transporter loads of modern tidy looking stuff on route to the scrappys, so who would look twice at something knocking 20 on the back of a hiab. I've done the transponder immobiliser thing, hidden switches, I also have a camera watching my regular car overnight, although that's to protect against traffic wardens and their irritating habit of falsifying statements. So I've covered the cheap but not greatly effective precautions. Trackers were extortionate but these days an old cellphone can be hidden away and tracked via internet, or a purpose made gps device which takes a sim card can ring you reporting its location, of course there are signal blockers / scramblers for the pikeys to use, but at least there's a chance of finding the piece of shit that steals your car, (just be sure to pick up all the dismembered bits of pikey and chuck them in the cab before you torch the hiab)

Has anyone here employed or researched cellphone based trackers? Any recommendations? Obviously don't go telling the internet where you've secreted it, would be good to hear of something affordable as I, and I suppose many here, could do with 5 or 6. Everyone should have them, and then we can have us a pikey culling.

[warren t claim]

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source ... 9A&cad=rja

 

[Shep Shepherd]

The Volvo is currently fitted with a Stoplock Pro and has its HT king lead disconnected and TV2 has a Thatcham class 1 alarm/immobiliser fitted as standard. Both cars are parked in a private courtyard overnight. So far so good

[Espacetic]

I'm just starting to think about security for the Cortina, because if they want it they'll have it these days. A cat1 or 2 would be useless on a car of that age so I'm starting to think the Tracker route. Thanks for the link.

[Des]

Those trackers look sexy, but cost more than my car is worth, I'm thinking along the lines of an old phone with a ciggy lighter adaptor hardwired in, using the net service that those sickening mollycoddling over protective parents use to monitor their precious little shits, a quick scan of ebay brings up various from China at around 40 ish so maybe a ton with import duties, I'll keep looking.

[Richard]

Any old phone with a pound shop SIM should do. Do people still sell boxes of shitty phones on eBay?

[catsinthewelder]

I bought a brand new pay as you talk phone from Tescos recently for £12.50, its a little Samsung flipfone thing which is really basic with no camera etc but the battery lasts about 3 weeks. Just thought it might be a handy tool for this sort of thing as with a hard wired charger behind the dash it should keep going for ages. Just remember to switch it to silent as an unsolicited 'top up today to receive 200 free minutes' type text at the wrong time could be a right sod.

 

Proper Autoshite style would be an ancient Nokia with a cracked screen giving your alternator a noticeable load though

[Guest]

My "daily driver" Nokia 3210 has a massive crack in the screen casing and therefore I will take this personally.

[oldford]

There's not many places to put switches in a Cortina.

 

When I had a Cortina I wired in a rear wiper switch from an estate to the ballast resistor. It was pretty much the same colour as the underside of the dash where it was fitted. In the off position the car was immobilised, the starter would turn, the engine would fire, but as soon as the starter disengaged the engine would stop.

 

You can also put a small toggle switch in place of one of the screws that hold the lower steering column shroud on.

[Lord Sterling]

My mums old mk3 Fiesta had an immobiliser fitted after it got nicked the first time. It worked by flicking a switch which stopped the engine being started once armed.

 

Some little twat once tried to break into my Rover Sterling a year or so back. Its a 1987 car so looks pretty old, little tosser must have though 'fair game'. Thankfully it had an alarm fitted which sounded just after the door was bent back

 

Called the cops and they were on scene within 10 minutes, the next day a policeman visited to inspect the damage, he suggested a steering wheel lock to act as a visual deterrent. I wanted something secure yet visible so bought one of those huge steering wheel cover locks.

[garycox]

sounded just after the was bent back

 

Just after what was bent back?

[dollywobbler]

Not sure talking about your personal security on a public forum is very um, secure. I do take steps, but I'm not discussing them here!

 

Absolutely right though - older cars can be so easy to pinch, yet people just don't seem to bother taking security steps. You can't really defend against a HIAB but that's no reason not to deter others.

[fordperv]

As well as the security on the cars ive got 2 german shepards and a lovely bat for when theyve cornered the thieving bstards

[Guest Tony Hayers]

Is this on the increase then? As I seem to be hearing lots of horror stories about olduns being taken of recent.

 

This Sierra had no security according to the thread...

 

http://forum.fordsierraclub.co.uk/viewt ... 15&t=48006

 

Bastards.

[warren t claim]

I know this is hard to believe but the Sierra Cosworth came with NO additional security features at all.

[Lord Sterling]

sounded just after the was bent back

 

Just after what was bent back?

 

Door, dont know why the word wasnt included. Seems to be happening alot lately

 

Post amended, as most of them are.

[Des]

I've had a looky at what's available for tracing cellphones, it appears a modern phone with gps gsm and all that bollox I don't want to know about can be tracked free on google maps, whoopee shit. But back to reality. A 'normal' cellphone is tracked by triangulation of surrounding masts, you set up an account, the phone in question has permission confirmed by text. it's a pay as you go thing, pennies, and can be multiple phones. So far so good. I looked at a site called traceamobile, read halfway and it assumed I wanted to be presented with popups, so they can fuck right off, I then found http://www.locatea.net/index.php, local to me, seems reasonable enough, so now to gather some old mobiles. I'm guessing most hiab monkeys will have a blocker device, which gets tossed into the car or stuck on somewhere, I wonder if locating the phone behind rad grill will allow it some shielding by the engine block. One big issue is that mobile phones cannot turn themselves on, the pikeys are probably clued up to this, the obvious pikeys precaution would be to disconnect battery and stash stolen car somewhere remote from decent coverage, or, leave a blocker running for a couple of days while any phone that may be present will have its battery run flat, phone will now stay turned off. Would be worth modifying the phone, disconnect the sounder and tap into the power button, knock up a little circuit to hit the power on button something like every time the courtesy light operates, thus if the car gets nicked and there's no tracking response, try again regularly and it could reappear.

This thing is looking very feasible, I don't want to read anymore posts of peoples loss, I'm going to get onto this, and report on it (as far as is viable). I may drive a car that would fetch more from a scrappys than on ebay, but I've spent cash money and many hours welding, gassing, rebuilding brakes, suspension, blah blah blah, it's worth thousands to me, a Vanessa to anyone sane, if it gets nicked the police or insurance company will merely decide the pikey has done me a favour.

 

On the subject of hidden cutout switches, the scum will probably have a hunt around for them, hide it well, I fitted one to an old Rover to cut the fuel pump. When I finished I found it had one already, easier to find than mine, wired to cut the ignition. I disconnected it as I think cutting the pump is better, a 3 year old pikey could get it started, but then it will cut out after a float chamberful, hopefully in the middle of the road, more likely to attract attention, and pikey should get shy and leg it. I may wire my 'spare' cutout switch to sound the horn.

[fordperv]

I felt so sorry for this guy when i read it on the sierra club, i think the difference with this one is the fact it was joyriders imo a lot of cars are gettin stolen for parts or to be sent to ireland.. have you seen their classic car prices they ive seen cars that over here would only fetch half of what they would over here. The mk1 sierra only had the old style ford locks that you could open with a tea spoon handle and no factory fitted alarm twoccers dream really, at least on the mk2 they put higher security locks on and factory fitted security

[Gompo]

For what it's worth, we had a van nicked from work with a tracker - not a mobile phone one, I guess of the 'traditional' type running off the battery. The tracker was still working 3 weeks after it was stolen, and with NO help from the police while we knew where it was; we eventually got the van back. Goes to show pikeys dont always rip vehicles to bits looking for this sort of thing.

[Rocket88]

I know of a friend of mine who put a switch on the seat runner [armed by another switch hidden under the dashboard0. He reckoned the number of 6 ft 8" car thieves about where few and far between [he had the seat right back, I'm 6 ft and couldn't reach the pedals!