Major anti-theft measures on our trucks?

[Project1970]

During the next school year, I'm going to be parking my truck in a storage unit and driving it maybe once or twice a week, tops. Yes, it sucks, I know, but it's all I can do, really. Since it'll be parked for such long periods of time, I figure I might as well do everything I can to make it hard for someone to steal. I've already got a Club and a hidden starter kill switch, and it'll be covered while it's parked. What else can I do? I know while I had points, I could pull the coil wire...but I kinda have HEI now, lol.

Hmm...just got a new thought, I have the 12V from the HEI running to the fuse block. Disconnecting that would kill the ignition, right?

And what else is there that I can remove easily / reinstall easily that would render the truck unstartable?

[XXL]

Well... you just told us all the tricks to starting your truck

Fuel shutoff. If you want to be cheap, pinch the rubber hose down by the fuel pump with a pair of Vice Grips. If you want to do it right, there are a number of way to install a manual fuel shutoff valve. It won't keep them from stealing it, but unless they know where to turn the fuel back on, they're only getting as far as the end of the driveway before it runs out of fuel.

Kenneth

[Longhorn Man]

Not sure about your area, but I know here, getting your truck stolen is not a big issue. But getting your stuff IN your truck ripped off...IS a big issue.
I'd remove the stereo, and everything else out of the cab, and chain the hood shut too.
Removing the wheels is a good way to keep it from being stollen. Just an idea.

[Alexis]

fuel line shut off, a plate that keep anyone form getting under the dash, wihth locks on the side. there are alarms that companys sell so if it does get taken they can trace it.

[oldyeller]

here's another one, the easist way into the cab is the vent window, and roll down the main window right? how about taking the window handle off, it would make it more difficult.

another one would be put cardboard or something similiar in the windows so ppl can't see in, less temptation that way.

Most thieves are looking for an easy score, make it as much of a PIA to get in to as possible.

[lukecp]

You could put a toggle swith on the HEI wire, it would do the same thing as removing the coil wire. Just don't put the switch under the dash, that will be the first place a theif will look. Hide it somewhere creative, like maybe inside your glovebox if it locks, hook it up to the ciggarette lighter somehow (if you dont use it), something like that. But remember, none of that is gonna help against a theif with a tow truck .

[bbs1965]

down here they back up to your car or truck with a repo type wrecker and they are gone.
I would park next to a big ass pole and chain it to poll.
also cut wheels all the way this make towing harder.

get a chain or heavy gauge cable thats rubber coated kinda like the cheap ones they make for bicycles but a better thicker gauge
and chain all your wheels together if your wheels aren't made like a spoke type take a chain around spindle that is fully extended and tie it tight to rearend, This will slow down this type of thief as far as stereos go get rid of stickers that say Alpine etc. get a good radio with removeable faceplate and even though sunshades are nice they make it a perfect habitat for a thief if you look at a car from 100 yards with a sunshade you will see guess what a sunshade. But at the same there might be an idiot inside stealing your radio. if they want it they will get it but when a doped out thief is rolling looking for a quick lick to get a fix he isn't going to mess with a truck all chained up. He will steal the new Z28 next to it thats practically unlocked. All you do is slow em down so you can catch em or they get nervous and move on.

I have seen em pull up next to car get out bust door glass and steal radio and cd's faster then you can imagine but if they look into cab see a radio with no faceplate and all your stuff is under seat they will go to next car.

These thiefing ass munches get you when you slip. You get lazy you get your mind wandering and bam they get you.

[Dave67]

No kidding.... My Dad used to keep a rattle snake under the seat of his '58! Word got out, and he never had any trouble!:p

[Southpa]

I don't know if this helps much, but in the event that your truck DOES get stolen, it will likely be parted out. Make sure you have everything identified. Very likely VIN and serial numbers could be altered, but you could also put your OWN identification on in places that thieves aren't likely to look. I know this is a real longshot, but if the police have this info they might be able to recover your stolen property. Take pictures too.

[Longhorn Man]

Wait a min, you say its going into a storage unit...
indoors? If not, you could do that for just a few $$ more.
The unit I have all my house hold goods in is 80 bucks a month...it is $70 to store a vehicle out side there.

[72Lester]

Pop one end of the drive shaft out and wire it up to a frame rail then disconnect your tie rod

[jhwkns]

You can also hide a remote battery switch on the inner fender, or firewall.

[Project1970]

A fuel shutoff isn't a bad idea either...though I kinda wish I had an electric fuel pump, though; just pull the relay and boom, no fuel...

longhornmail...hmmm...valid points, all of them. I can't keep it inside because they don't have any units large enough and they're the closest place to campus (about 2 miles at that! i won't be putting on the freshman 15, that's for sure, lol) that can store autos. If I could, I would, but their biggest spot is 10x10 or so. I don't know if they'd let me remove a wheel because one of their requirements is "Vehicle must be in good condition" and missing a wheel might not help that. :P

alexmart...I've thought about blocking off the underside of the dash for a long time. Any ideas as to what to screw into, though? JB-Weld nuts to the other side of the dash, maybe? Possibly use security Torx screws to make it even more difficult...

oldyeller...the problem with that is that once they get the ventwindow open, they can also just unlock the truck. That's what happened when some thieves tried to steal my stereo.

yellow72custom...especially a thief with a towtruck who got through a locked fence to boot. I like the idea of a toggle on the HEI as well, especially if it's mounted outside of the cab...this is what prevented my neighbor's truck from being stolen, they got one of his killswitches but not the other. This way, if they get the first one, it'll crank, but it'll act dead...they'll think it's broken down and give up on it.

bbs1965...ironic you should say that. My brother's stereo got stolen out of his '94 Z28, while it was parked in front of my house along with my '70 GMC. Didn't even touch mine. If there's something to chain it to, I might do that...

Thanks for the tips, guys! Keep 'em coming!

[70 Jimmy]

Don't even bother with the "club". 30 seconds and a hacksaw and it's gone. If you recover your truck, it'll have a hillbilly dragster wheel left.

[XXL]

You must live in a reaaaallllllly bad area for all this anti-theft protection. Or, it's not really a Chevy truck, but instead it's serial #2 of a 1964 Ferrari GTO we're trying to protect here.

How about taking the truck apart into little pieces and storing it in boxes labeled "books." It might be a lot of trouble to put back together for the 2 drives per week, but it'll be even harder to steal

Kenneth

[Project1970]

Hey, I'm just highly paranoid and moving to Tucson, that's all. :P

[Andy4639]

Take the battery with you when you leave it. It will only take a few minutes and how many theifs carry spare batteries with them. As far as the rest of the stuff I would take everything with me. I wouldn't leave nothing inside the truck. Is it going to be inside a fence with any kind of security, and if so have they any kind of insurance and what do they say.
I would also go by the police department and ask what kind of crime rate the area has.
If the theif wants it bad enough and see's that it sits there day in and day out he might come back with a tow truck.
You may want to consider this before you store it.
All of the above were good idea's, but most of the time around my area locks are for the honest people not the theifs themselves.
My next question?
Why do you not want to drive it to school? I would rather it get a few dings than never seeing it agin. I know we all want our trucks to be the best they can, but reaility is if you drive it it's going to get dings.

[Project1970]

Believe me, if I could, I'd have it parked in the garage next door to my dorm - but parking for that filled up a LONG time ago. There's a 2000-person-long waiting list for some of the parking lots. First, a car is impractical around campus - a bike is much faster, cheaper, easier, etc etc, but I still need the truck to get home and all.

Don't worry, it's already got a lot of dings. It was a farm truck for at least the first three years of my life, and the bed looks like hell compared to the rest of it. It may be my baby, my pride and joy, but most of all, it is still my truck. I just want it to stay that way.

Also, FWIW, the place is fenced and electronically locked. I'm also going to keep it covered to keep the wrong interest in it down.

Never thought about the battery bit...then I run into the problem of carrying a 12V battery on my bicycle, though! :p

[Woody]

Sounds like you need to make the truck hard to get started and driven away than anything else. Most of the people around have something stored there also and will ingore your truck. Get a battery that has a cut-off switch on it or install a cutoff switch. Then chain your hood down and lock it. Remove the window handles and lock handles (or install the slick chrome ones). Chain it to a post. That's about all you can do without going to extreams.

[68 with 350 TPI]

1) well you could get under the truck and take the wire off the starter.

2) take the driveshaft loose on one end and support the other end up so you cant even see it.

3) take the batt with you.

4)Im not sure what kind of wheels you have but I have seen people run a chain through the wheels front to back/or side to side.

5)If you have ever been to NYC they was this thing they put on the front wheel that was like a werid (vise grip).
Not sure what its called but it went over the wheel like a large vise grip and it had rubber on the inside to keep the wheel from getting messed up.
If you were to try and drive off the other end would come around and make sweet monkey love with your fender and A arm.

Or you could just use this as a sign in the window with a note that says Im watching you

[BadAzz70PU]

You could always get air bag suspension and just set the frame of the truck directly on the ground and tuck your wheels way up in your fenders so they have no option but to drag your truck away...if they want it that bad, youre not going to stop them...lol.

Anyway, I think two kill switches and removing everything from the inside including your radio's face plate should be enough in most areas. I am not too sure how bad where you are going to be is though. What college are you going to? I never brought my truck to school with me, I bought a car to drive.

[jku72]

People really steal these trucks? I could see tools or somthing inside, but who the heck steals a chevy truck? Unless its a showpiece, of course. I mean, dont let me discourage you from protecting your assets, but jeese.
I could see the major lockdown on a hemi Cuda, but I leave my truck at the airport parking lot for up to a month at a time, I lock the door, but thats it. If they want it bad enough to break the window, they are going to get it no matter what you do, so why be so tense?

[CE20934]

That vise-grip thing is called a "Denver boot".