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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