What do you do to secure your Cadillac?

[Lexi]

Thought I posted this in General Discussion, but found it in the Suggestion box, which I must have chose accidently. So moved it here.

Car theft is rising here, (up some 600% in some locales), and is now out of control. Do-gooders just wringing their hands as usual. They don't get the whole negative re-enforcement aspect of justice, law and order. So Joe citizen continues to take it on the chin. My question therefore is what do you do to secure your Cadillac? Don't want to hear if someone wants your car they will just take it. Not always true. Besides make it tough for them as they will be more likely to be caught and/or leave more evidence behind, if they got to spend more time committing their crime. May also assist in your insurance claim rather than have the underwriter say you just rolled out the welcome mat for the thief to steal your ride. So, what if anything, do you do or can recommend to secure our Cadillacs?

Also, do any of you have plans for welding a brake pedal imobilizer either for your classic Caddy or even your daily driver? That augmented by the steering wheel "Club" anti-theft device would be a good deterent. Looking for ideas, even if just pictures. How do you secure your classic Caddy, if at all? Clay/Lexi

[Cadillac Jack 82]

I either keep them directly where I can see them or locked up with a lock/key.  If I'm not near the car I'm usually not gone long.  Also, I carry too so as Dirty Harry says, "Do I feel lucky?"

[J. Russo]

I installed a battery cutoff switch in my 1941. It has a key.

[Carfreak]

Cameras everywhere at home, good locks and solid doors might slow them down plus gate locked at the end of our driveway. 

Try not to park where we can't keep an eye on our vehicles but it happens. Fuel shutoffs, kill switches, GPS in some of them, etc.

Disconnect the battery, coil wire or both, sometimes take the coil wire with you.


 

[Clewisiii]

When my car gets farther along I may start locking my shop. I got to see if I have a key to my house somewhere.

[Carfreak]

When my car gets farther along I may start locking my shop. I got to see if I have a key to my house somewhere.

LOL, thought that was a Canadian thing!

We stayed at a B&B up in the Owen Sound Ontario area; checked in then left for dinner with friends who lived in the area. 

Returning several hours later we realized that about not having a key. No problem, the 100 y.o. home never had a lock installed on the front door. 

[Jay Friedman]

I have a kill switch for the starter in the neutral safety switch circuit.

[Art Director]

I have an Apple AirTag hidden somewhere inside my old Caddy.

[PHIL WHYTE CLC 14192]

There's one thing if they steal a 50s Cadillac, they will run out of petrol (gas) and not know where the filler cap is!
Clay makes good points here, the police here are the same, they will give you a crime number and do nothing else, even with clear cctv evidence. God forbid you put some hurty words on Twitter though, they'll come and arrest you.
When I use my car I'm more worried about it being vandalised, either because of jealousy or Just Stop Oil activists.

[billyoung]

Wow, I don't know where you folks live but here in Central Florida Polk County we have Sheriff Grady Judd ( look him up on you tube ) he doesn't play regarding criminal's. Also Florida is a stand your ground State. Personally I like it here.

[James Landi]

I suspect, for the most part, we're safe. Stealing a vintage car would make the thief highly visible as our cars are standouts in an average line of average cars in traffic. 

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

The three on the tree makes for a pretty good deterrent....

But seriously, I store them in a locked and alarmed building, hide the keys and put a large car trailer and truck in front of the garage doors....

Mike

[J. Skelly]

LOL, thought that was a Canadian thing!

We stayed at a B&B up in the Owen Sound Ontario area; checked in then left for dinner with friends who lived in the area. 

Returning several hours later we realized that about not having a key. No problem, the 100 y.o. home never had a lock installed on the front door. 

My family visited relatives in Western Canada in 1968.  People left their cars and trucks unlocked in the small town and some even left the ignition key in the ignition switch.  Apparently everyone knew everyone else there!  Growing up near Detroit, we could hardly believe it.   

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Ours are in a locked garage so no concern there. But what about if you stop at Walmart on the way home, or go out to dinner and park it in the restaurant lot? What do you do?

There are a couple schools of thought here. Lock it, or not?---
Wait, don't yell at the screen yet, hear me out.

One concern is that if someone is going to steal it, they will just joyride and dump it. Do you want them tearing up the car (breaking the glass, punching out the lock, etc) only to joyride?

I know someone with an older convertable (not a Cadillac or even a classic) who doesn't lock it at all- If someone wants in, they will just cut the top, reach in and unlock it. He would rather not have the top torn.

Just a rhetorical question here, but something to think about.

[James Landi]

"Just a rhetorical question here, but something to think about."

Two experiences--- my wife left the keys in the ignition overnight with the car parked on the street. Police officer said, "Don't worry, it will show up in town, and we'll call you."  I was skeptical, but he was correct.  On another occasion many decades ago, a thief cut the convertible top to steal the tape deck, (clearly visible where I mounted it under the dash). Replaced the tape deck, replaced the top, and never locked the doors again. 

[dn010]

More extreme with the amount of work required and of course you lose "originality", but all my cars get an alarm system with central locking system installed during restoration. However it will not help when someone is trying to steal trim off the side of your car unless you have a proximity alarm.

[Lexi]

However it will not help when someone is trying to steal trim off the side of your car unless you have a proximity alarm.

Yes. There are a lot of things that can be taken from a car even though it was locked. Being unlocked increases one's vulnerabilty. Cigarette lighters stolen from unlocked vehicles at car shows is but one example. My personal perspective is not to encourage any theft, as many would be thieves are opportunists. Seen too much of it on the job. My Father in law used to say that "locks only keep the honest people out". Nonsense. He used minimal security on his house until it was burglarized. Different mind set after that. There is also the prospect of "collateral damage" for some victims of crime which I imagine would also apply to those who have had their car broken into or stolen, regardless of whether is was under lock and key. Some go through emotional turmoil that is similar to what some rape victims experience, even to the point of wanting to no longer live in their house. So they pack up and move, rather than have anything to do with what they now regard as a "tainted" property. Seen that on the job as well, and one never knows how a person will react until they are in that situation. I imagine the same factors would be at play with respect to automobile theft & related issues as well. Interesting psychological perspectives. Clay/Lexi

[tluke]

The three on the tree makes for a pretty good deterrent....

So does the pre '56 hydramatic transmission. There's no Park so the offender doesn't know what gear to put it in to start the car.

I did have my '55 Limo stolen back in the 70s. It was only 20 years old back then but the ignition switch was worn and could be turned with any GM key. It was the night before school started and I had left it on the street - which I never did. The perpetrators were never caught but I assumed it was some high school kids having fun on their last night of freedom. I called the sheriff's office every day for the first 3-4 days to see if they found it. They told me to stop calling and that they would call me if and when they found it.  I let it go several weeks but called again and they had found it, the same day I last called. It was a few blocks away from my home parked in a cull de sac. The residents had reported it as suspiciously parked there for several days. I had to pay several weeks storage to get it back.

[Carfreak]

My first vintage car, a 1959 98 coupe could be started with anything - a dime, nail file, ANY key, etc.

Cigarette lighters?  Try finding the correct ones for a 1942 Cadillac.  Someone helped themselves to our original set and it was a PITA and $$$ to replace them.  Now most of the time, when the car travels, the lighters stay home.

[Carfreak]

WSATI (Western States Auto Theft Investigators) previously hosted a listing of 'Stolen Classics', it was amazing the quantity of vintage cars that were stolen in their area.  Not seeing that webpage currently but the recovery percentage was nominal.  They theorized most of the vehicles were quickly loaded into containers going to an international destination. Same problem along the east coast, Florida, etc. 

Some common sense suggestions to TRY to keep any vehicle 'safe'   https://www.ocatt.org/prevention.html

Last week at a military vehicle meeting, a retired Mich State Trooper brought in the LoJack unit from his 2008 Jeep.  It was a very non-descript unit which could have been hidden in many spots on almost any vehicle. He highly praised LoJack's technology and how quickly stolen vehicles could be recovered. He told a few stories how he would challenge drivers with a Test LoJack to hide from him when they were training. 

"The thieves will go to car shows and find the exact car they need. They'll take photos of it to show their buyer, and follow the owner home or to his garage or warehouse. Then they'll break in at night. Locks, fences, and gates are no problem for them. And they'll take the vehicle at gunpoint if necessary, it can be in a container and being shipped overseas as 'household goods' in a day, often long before the owner even knows it's missing,'' says Saraf. "These thefts are lucrative, and punishment usually is a relative slap on the wrist. It's a lucrative pursuit.''

https://www.boston.com/cars/untagged/2014/09/07/classic-car-theft-once-rides-gone-it-doesnt-return/

https://medium.com/motorious/19-vehicles-stolen-from-orlando-classic-cars-af704617d10

https://www.motorious.com/articles/news/10-classic-and-collector-cars-stolen/