'78 C20 too easy to steal

[LukeSkywanker]

About to put it on the road. Bone stock, but very nice bod. Paranoid it will get stolen. Don't want to spend money on LoJack. HEI distributor, so no yanking the coil wire. No good location to chain down the hood. Any suggestions on kill switch or other methods?

[mongocanfly]

I've got a real secure garage you can store it in..ill even let you drive it sometime..haha..mine had a main battery cable disconnect switch mounted under my seat when I got it..it was on the ground cable..like the ones used on racecars..nothing will stop somebody that wants it bad enough..sad world we live in..I remember when everybody could leave the keys in their truck and you didn't have to worry about it..nice truck you got

[El Dorado Jim]

put a hidden kill switch under the dash, use a relay for the hot wire that goes to the HEI..

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by El Dorado Jim

put a hidden kill switch under the dash, use a relay for the hot wire that goes to the HEI..

This may work half the time but if somebody wants it bad enough he can carry a 6 ft piece of wire in his pocket with an HEI plug and a clamp for the battery and be driving away in 2 minutes after he breaks the column lock. One of our members just had his truck stolen last year and it was depressing for sure. If I lived in crimeville I think I would spring for a real alarm system.. A hidden brake line lock may be another good option.

[Dead Parrot]

For home defense, install a gizmo that will send a signal to a remote in the house if the door or hood is opened.

Get one of those round key locks and install by the door. Your choice if it is actually connected to anything. If the thief thinks it is part of an alarm system, might move on to the next potential target.

Park it to make loading on a flat bed car hauler a PITA.

Put a second keyed switch in series with the primary ignition switch. That way, it prevents the 10 second pop the column switch and start with screwdriver trick.

Any alarm system that is a PITA for you to work every time you use the truck is an alarm system that will quickly quit being used.

[D13]

Relay in the ignition wire, with a hidden switch, prevents 'casual' theft. Somewhere on here is one someone made out of the cigarette lighter.
The quick clamp wheel lifts used by repo men are virtually impossible to stop.

[ranger danger]

Do the best you can at securing it and that's it. A determined thief will get it if he wants it. The best offence is a defense. Get a hidden gps locator. If its stolen, you can find it on your smart phone and "steal" it back. You might even get a chance to teach the thief not to steal the process!!

[LT7A]

It's a great looking truck but you are actually already doing a good job of running in stealth mode. In my personal experience, it's the wheels that get you noticed and the stereo that gets you stolen. So I would go stock appearing radio and hidden components if you do big tunes. While it is true that a somebody with a truck, wire, connectors etc. is probably going to get it if they are determined to, my opinion is that most of the time you just need to give them a couple of good reasons to move on to the next target.

[Edahall]

I heard another thing that cuts down the risk is manual transmission.

[LukeSkywanker]

Good suggestions, all. Really appreciate it. I like the kill switch idea and keeping the stock wheels. The hidden radio is a good suggestion, too.

[1970pelle]

I have a radio delete plate on my 86. And the radio is under the seat, I control with a remote key pad. Stock wheels and caps.


Ken

[TrailerTrash]

Could the neutral safety switch on the column be unplugged as somewhat of a killswitch?

[andrewmp6]

The best insurance you can afford,If they want it bad enough they can tow it pretty easy or always pull a gun on you to get the keys.

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

I had a c20 with dual tanks. As I was only using one i made it so you had to have the tank in the right position to crank the car.