Battery cut-off switch

I have one on my IM, but before my restoration I the power for my electric fuel pump to a switch hidden underneath the dash.

 

Consider adding a 5 amp fuse (pre made fuse holders w/pigtails readily available) bridging the terminals. Keeps clock/radio memory hot but blows if more current is applied.

Hi Doug...Thanks for the suggestion on the 5 amp fused tap. Probably not a bad idea for future accessories. Currently I have no plans to have any, ie, radio etc but who knows what I may want to add later.
I see your in Arcadia. Me too. Are there others here as well? Do we have any cars n coffee meetups around here? I would love to get to know others in this area.  I am still building my VS. Next is an engine.
Cheers....Bruce

I'd put the 5 amp bridge in for storage time, easy to add a battery maintainer through the cig. lighter plug...

 

No radio in my car either, or anything else requiring permanent power.

For what you want, you would be much better off with a four prong kill switch. The one that you have will shut of the battery connection to the starter, but not the power to the coil.

 

A simple hot 12 lead run from the battery terminal to the #15 hot side of the coil and a simple push start jumping in gear will start your car easily. Especially easy if you have a mechanical fuel pump.

 

You really need to have the four prong switch and shut down all power to the main loom, starter, coil, and electric fuel pump (if you have one) in order to be covered.

 

Short of this, wire in a kill switch on the hot 12 volt coil lead going to the #15 terminal, and make it invisible.

Has anybody ever experienced or heard of a speedster replica car-jacking or theft?

Nope - not for an individual.

 

Vintage had three stolen from their company building.  As fas as I've heard, they were never recovered.

Tom---Probably not a car like mine---but yours is another story!

 

Poor man's security system;  simply remove the distributor rotor.

 

 

See you at Carlisle!

thanks Jack ... Jami and I are very much looking forward to see you all at Carlisle.  I just keep wondering if it is worth adding.  I can't see much reason for somebody to steal the car except for a joy ride  .... and heck, how many of these thugs out there know how to drive a stick now-a-days anyways ....  a manual transmission could be the best anti-theft device out there

My thoughts are that the theiving idiots might not know it is a lowly replica and snag it anyway. We park in front of a ground floor room every night and I crank the steering wheel and lock it up with a heavy duty wire rope lock . They 'd make a lot of noise trying to pick it up or starting and I'm a light sleeper. My defense would be 911. Common senseseems to go a long way.... 

 

Why not just turn two mixture screws 1/4 turn in opposite directions when you park the car?

 

The crappy idle will drive the thief nuts. He'll lie awake nights trying to sort out the problem. Lack of sleep will turn him into a nervous wreck.

 

After a few days of agony, he'll be forced to this forum for help, and you can nail him then.

 

 

It's getting to be that way, isn't it?

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS. ALSO THE HUMOR AS WELL.

THE KNURLED ESCUTCHEON NUT WHICH RETAINS MY IGNITION SWITCH IN THE DASH WAS TEMPTING SO I REMOVED THE SWITCH USING ONLY MY FINGERS. THE THREE WIRES WASN'T HARD TO FIGURE OUT AND HOW TO HOT-WIRE IT WITH SOME ALUMINUM FOIL TO START AND RUN THE ENGINE (JUST LIKE WE ALL SEE IN THE MOVIES RIGHT?) HENCE, THE BATTERY CUT OFF- SWITCH TO AT LEAST MAKE IT A LITTLE HARDER TO GET IT STARTED AND ADD A LITTLE MORE SAFETY IN THE EVENT OF AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. (EXCEPT BETWEEN THE BATTERY AND THE CUT-OFF SWITCH) AGAIN....THANKS TO YOU ALL !

When I took my middle son, now 24, on his first ride in Natalie, about 5 years ago, he said "Does this have a manual transmission?"  I said "Doesn't it look like a manual transmission."  He said "I don't know, I've never seen one."  I subsequently taught him & his older brother to drive a stick in my Speedster.

Kathy's Subaru Outback has the best of both worlds - a "Continuously Variable Torque" transmission which is, essentially, an automatic which never seems to shift, plus, a pair of paddle shifters (?!?!?) on the steering wheel.  Put the "shifter" into 'manual' mode and paddle to your heart's content.  Tired of that in traffic?  Pop it back into "Drive" and chill to Mantovani.

 

My new Rogue also has a CVT transmission but, alas, no paddle shifters. I was bummed til I discovered the bluetooth connection to my iPhone and the Sirius/XM radio lurking behind all of those dash knobs....  Way easier to find Mantovani now.