Stuntman_Bill

Gentlemen, pardon me if I just jump in with questions but I just treated myself to the purchase of a '66 Charger and I have one big, immediate issue I need to address: holding onto it. This isn't my first rodeo with a classic, I've pushed a lot of 60's-era Ford and Cadillac iron, and the first thing that I need to deal with is how easy it would be to steal the car. For various reasons, I need to use the new sled as my daily driver and do a fair amount of street parking. A rodded Charger of this era is an easy target for teenagers with jimmy bars. I know how easy it is to hotwire the car! Until I can do some serious anti-theft mods, what can I do quickly to keep the sled from evaporating on me if I leave it on the street? It's a '66 with a 440 RB/Hurst tranny heart transplant, but otherwise fairly stock.


First step, lock the pedals. The previous owner tossed in a cheapo pedal-to-wheel lock, but I know not to trust that. Can anyone recommend a really sturdy brake/clutch lock that will securely lock either pedal? Ideally one that fits tightly against the floorboard of a '66. Beyond that, I'm out of ideas. I used to use a wheel hub lock on my '60 Cadillac, but I rarely parked it on the street and it's a pain to whomp on and off a hub lock if you're driving the car a lot. The battery has disconnect-terminals installed but I don't want to keep popping the hood and that's not much of a deterrent without some type of hood lock installed.


While we're on the subject, if anyone wants to suggest serious anti-theft mods, I'm all ears. I'll install a fuel pump cutoff when I have the time. I only need to protect the rod from casual thieves. This isn't a numbers-matching 426 Hemi '66. No one is going to bother rolling it onto a flatbed to steal it. It is, at the moment, a not-all-that attractive street rod, so I'm only worried about casual thieves.


Sorry, I'm sure these questions have been asked before, and I'm not new to classic car forums. But I need to keep the new baby safe right now so I'm asking for both your advice and forbearance.

RacerHog

Pull the coil wire when you leave the car.. Take it with you into work...
When you have time.... Add an extra headlight high beam foot switch in to the ignition circuit…. Click off to kill... click on to fire it up and go... Just mount it up high enough so only you know where it is with your foot.. Clubs and other stuff is ok also...
Hope this helps..

TVLynn

Removable steering wheel, lojak, electric fuel shut off

Iowan

Insurance for a proper replacement value.

Archer

Bill -

It's a 66 Charger and while you didn't go into detail about it's condition, I doubt it's going to be your daily driver.
Car shows and cruise nights are fairly safe since most people learn to associate cars and owners quickly.

If you do have to park it and leave it on the street, a Crook-Lock and (if you can find one) steering column collar will deter most people.
"Casual" thieves don't want to work hard to steal a car.
Sure, Lo-Jac is fine if you want to go that route as are simple kill switches and GPS homing devices.

Probably shouldn't say this, but my Charger currently has no anti-theft devices, but it's never out of my sight or sight of club members/friends.

Back in the day, when it was parked on the street it had a Chapman lock (remember those?) and a HEAVY Crook-lock. After 40 years, I still have the car.

Archer

Stuntman_Bill

Thanks for the advice, guys. Pulling the coil wire is a good suggestion, should have thought of that myself. I'm using a heavy-duty Auto Zone pedal lock now, and that should at least provide some deterrent. Unfortunately, I do need to park it on the street at night at the moment. It's not a numbers-matching stock classic that would attract sophisticated thieves: '66 Charger with 440 dropped in, painted flat black. A real Stuntman Mike car. Looks rough enough from the outside that only joy riders would want to jack it. Nice baby, though, with lots of potential. I do want to hold onto it (yes, it's insured).

Eventually, I was thinking of installing a jack-resistant ignition switch and running the ignition wiring through an armored conduit to the firewall. No point in keeping the sled stock so replacing the ignition switch with a theft-resistant one is fine, but I've never heard of such a thing. I suppose installing ignition and fuel pump kill circuits are more practical.