Protecting your baby

cut off swith and removeable steering wheel, i-pod. C-boy

I'm sure GB and Jim Ward are passing Speedster road trip sagas. God rest them both - they certainly added to this forum over their few years participating.

Wolfgang, I fully agree. And, they both were Intermeccanica-men. And where I live, (the Netherlands), IM (also) means: 'in memoriam'.

At risk of asking a dumb question...... Has anybody ever even heard of a Speedster being stolen? As Theron put it over 4 years ago (above post), He had never heard of one being swiped.
I say drive 'em, that's what they're for!

The other side of that question, since a large number of these cars are customized, is how soon would it be re-discovered after being stolen??

Makes you wonder when you have the only pearl-white Speedster in North America...

In South Africa we have a really big problem with vehicle theft. I have fitted a remote (code jumping remote) which does a number of things, it disables the ignition, closes a fuel cutoff solenoid valve and locks the doors for good measure. When the doors are locked with the remote you cannot open the doors from the inside.

After the engine transplant i will have the immobiliser cut thepower to the electric fuel pump and disable the engine management system.

If you do no lock the car with the remote in order to start the car it is necessary to press the button on the remote. It certainly makes me feel that I have done what can be done to prevent somebody going for a joy ride

I have heard from others "in the business" that these cars, at least in the US, are not stolen. Kill switches, and alarm systems are all good ideas, but one wonders what sort of problem actually exists. I have not done a search, nor read all the SOC posts here either, but would ask if anyone within "ear" shot has ever heard of a Replica Speedster being taken.

I have not heard of any Speedys that had been stolen. No history on the SAMBA for any stolen Speedys (Bugs, Buses, Ghias, 911s, Dune buggies, etc - but no Speedsters).

Rather than alarms or other preventative measures, just hide a GPS tracker on it. If your car ever gets stolen, round up your biggest baddest friends and trace the GPS to the dicks who stole the car, then beat the holy f**k outta them.

...I'm just saying...

I agree.... a good 'thumpn' puts shit back into perspective! Doncha know!?

Great suggestion Jimbo!!

I just purchased the Claw from the makers of the "club" . It basically grabs the wheel inside and out and its easy to install and remove and doesn't leave much room to mess with it.. I put it on the rear wheel and it's right next to the passenger door for easy stow. I have a manual cutoff but was concerned about someone putting it in neutral and releasing the ebrake . So this way it's a bit of a hindrance to roll the car. But I have to agree since I've had a few thumpins in my time that reality comes quick.

I hate doin Jimbo's dirty work. C-boy

I don't know if it's just me or not -- probably is -- but when I take the car to someplace like Annapolis, it seems like people will take great care to not touch it. They're not especially careful to keep coat zippers from dragging on the primer while they're looking inside, but they're not busy putting bear paws all over it, either.
It might help that my door handles don't function, but nobody's tried to climb in for a photo-op while I've been nearby.
I just leave it on the curb with the secondary kill in the off position. It's the same kind of battery kill switch you find in boats and RVs. Didn't cost very much, if memory serves.
I also have a detachable wheel.

CIP has a kill switch / bettery disconnect that is cheap ($13) and easy to put in. It's key'd too.

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C26%2D971%2D005

A friend of mine in Detroit had a low tech solution that actually worked for him, although it wasn't a speedster. He had a Mecury low rider street rod stolen from his driveway. They found the car two days later a little abused but fixable. He got it back and rigged a smoke bomb to the gas pedal and hooked it under the dash. The same moron that stole it the first time must have come back again- duh!!- and tried to boost it a 2nd time! The smoke bomb went off right away and the thief bolted. Took him two weeks to get the smoke smell out of the interior.

Often thought about trying to rig something up that did some minor harm or laying a beating on someone, like my daughter's Ex boyfriend who used to beat her and now threatens, but I'm sure that I'd be the one in jail or sued or both.

Got a removable steering wheel and a battery disconnect and that's about it. Didn't stop some moron from scratching "F--K You" into the rear deck lid though...