Worried....how do u protect ur z from being stolen

[Duce40Z]

any1 mind explaining lojack?? never heard of it

[texasz]

Some of you have suggested a quick release steering wheel...anyone know about this little device?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=7991690629&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

[Ed]

any1 mind explaining lojack?? never heard of it

LoJack is a GPS tracking system. Check with your local Police Department to see if they support the LoJack tracking system. Some departments don't have it. Southern California does. If you ever notice four little antenna on the roof of a police car those are for LoJack.

[mrdatto]

In my 74 260z I had a valve (with a tap like switch on top) which interrupted the fuel line under the removable ashtray in the centre console. It would allow the car to start and I could get about 30 metres down the street before it started to sputter and I realised I forgot to switch it back again (electric pump at tank). It was prettygood, just felt like you were running out of fuel and I imagine most thieves would panic and leave the car at that point.

Also had an ignition cut off in the glovebox.

[That Ozzy Guy]

The best thing I have found is to leave it half taken apart in a locked garage, I've had it that way for about 20 years and nobody has stolen it yet

might give that a go. is it going to cost me anything?

[Ed]

In my 74 260z I had a valve (with a tap like switch on top) which interrupted the fuel line under the removable ashtray in the centre console. It would allow the car to start and I could get about 30 metres down the street before it started to sputter and I realised I forgot to switch it back again (electric pump at tank). It was prettygood, just felt like you were running out of fuel and I imagine most thieves would panic and leave the car at that point.

Also had an ignition cut off in the glovebox.

Please don't advertise what you've done to your car. Your only asking for someone to steal it. Remeber this is the World Wide Web. Anyone can read what should be your secrets.

[sblake01]

Please don't advertise what you've done to your car. Your only asking for someone to steal it. Remeber this is the World Wide Web. Anyone can read what should be your secrets.

That is why this is my one and only post in this thread. Some of the responses are totally ludicrous. Again, to each; his own.

[mrdatto]

Its fine, I wouldnt post that, but it hasnt been my car for about 5 years now.

If anyone can track down and nick the car I owned 6 cars and five years ago from my user name on the web, best of luck to them. Just wanted to share an idea for anyone who may want to use it (secretly.)

[kinfish]

If you don't want it stolen keep it in a locked garage with a hefty chain around the differential attached to a eye hook imbedded in the concrete and secured with a mondo lock.

Start with simple stuff like removing the rotor when parked in public, install a battery cutout switch, install a solenoid cutout in the fuel line, etc.

My '66 427 Vette was broken into on Commonwealth Ave in Boston in the late 60's and the ignition switch was popped and jumped. The frustrated thief had no trouble cranking the engine but it would not start since I removed the rotor. I drove home that night to Connecticut using the same technique as the thief. Cost me a new vent window and new ignition switch but I didn't lose the car.

[imhoppy]

What about hooking a switch to the nuetral safety switch.Can it still be hot wired?

[montoya_fan01]

Might work if you had an automatic trans in your Z, but really; if a Z has an auto trans... who cares if it gets stolen.

Seriously, I'm interested in the new product that gnosez mentioned coming to Bad Dog Parts. Any further news on this?????

[jackboxxx]

any1 mind explaining lojack?? never heard of it

Hi all..

I worked for Lojack for 6 years as a field service tech...installing about 2500

Lojacks a year..so ive done about 15,000 of them on everything from big rigs to mini coopers. I dont work for them any longer, so I have no interest in the company, so all the stuff im telling you is just the facts on the company and what it does, how it works etc..

Lojack is a great tool to use in the "RECOVERY" of your car AFTER its been stolen. Lojack maintains about a 95% recovery rate.

On average, most of the cars are recovered within an hour or 2, they get most cars back within minutes of notifying the police, the key is KNOWING your car has been stolen RIGHT AWAY...the longer you are unaware of the theft, the lower the odds of recovering it go.

The system is a small transponder system, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and can go anywhere in your car. lojack has wired and wireless units. usually on the average car they are wired, to a power source somewhere..the techs will try to wire it up discreetly as possible..on a early Z

its not to easy to be discreet since theres hardly any wiring...1 requires only 1 power wire so theres no harness stuff being obvious like an alarm. the units also come with a backup power supply inside the units. this supply has a shelf life of about 10 years. if unused. Once the lojack is activated the backup battery will run the lojack for about 2 days..assuming the power feed from your car has been taken away.this is usually plenty of time to find the vehicle. lojack guarantees it will recover your car within 2 days..or your money back.

What makes it work.

like I said its a transponder system, it does not emit a signal until it is told to do so, the only way to activate or wake up the transponder is by reporting your car stolen, and entering your VIN number into the Stolen Vehicle computer by the police. this computer system is not a lojack thing, its a network setup by law enforcement , and the database is maintained by the

Department of Justice. even if you live outside a "covered" lojack area, once the local police dept punches it in thier computer the info goes to DOJ (dept of justice) and your vin is checked with thier database, if you have a lojack, it will be activated automatically & remotely. of course its silent. the thiefs generally have no clue whats up. a pro may look in "common" areas of a car to see if its got a lojack, but like i said, lojack get about 95% of the cars back, so 95% of thiefs do not find the unit.

1st of this year Lojack started offering a "early warning" lojack system, to help cut out the "not knowing my car was gone" weakness in the system down. how this works is, a 2nd device is connected to the Lojack, which uses an inertia sensor of sorts, similar to an air bag sensor, but rather sensing

the type of motion a car moving makes...which sends a signal back to the main unit, which sends out a signal OUT of the car, to the network, which then calls you or emails you or pages you or text messeges you.., tells you someone might have taken your car..then you can verify this, and report it stolen right away. YES it would be better to just tell the police this directly, but...the cops dont like chasing false alarms...like your teenage son going for a little joyride, or your ex wife taking your car...to wizz you off

etc etc..

the way the early warning system knows its not YOU just driving your car,

is it also has a 2nd transponder setup built in, like some of the new cars have today, built into thier Keys. but for the lojack they use an alarm sized remote

on your key chain. anyone with this remote, can drive your car without triggering the device. the lojack detects the remote transponder automatically.

coming out soon is a new device, called a lojack "locate" system, which will work almost like a "Onstar" system in GM cars does. able to unlock locked doors and other features too.

For me, the best setup would be a

Lojack with the early warning system.

And a fuel cutoff switching system thats activated remotely.

(so there is no flip switches hidden around the car to be found..and so the thief briefly moves the car

just enough to trigger the lojack then the car dies. remote control setups are about 1/2 the price of alarms, and have several outputs to control multiple things...the DEI (Directed Electronics) Valet System has door lock outputs and 3 or more seperate channels for controling other devices...like a fuel cutoff..or starter/ign kill..it also has a flashing LED for the dash/console. so it is a visual deterant as well , without all the dumb siren sounds that everyone ignores anyway. and yes, a tow truck WILL trigger the inertia sensor inside the Lojack too.

Ive been doing automotive aftermarket for a long time, so if someone needs

help with installation questions just ask

OHHH Lojack does NOT sell its products outright to anyone. it maintains its own fleet of techs, that come to you, and hide the units in your cars. It is policy that no one is to be around the vehicle at the time of installation including the owner. This usually isnt an issue with new or newer cars..but with classics like Z's and others , some owners, really really want to be

right there with the tech...some of the field techs dont mind while others are by the book not allowing anyone around the car at all.

the reason for the secrecy is that they are installing a police tracking sytem,

a hidden tracking system, that if the hiding locations were general knowlege,

the success rate of the system would drop. and then of course your odds of getting your vehicle back would drop. It is also policy not to show anyone what a lojack looks like as well. Though suggesting a good hiding location especially on a "out of the ordinary car" or classic car, or even pre tearing down of an area you think might be good isnt out of the question. Noramlly a tech may go weeks without touching a classic car, as most people that are buying lojacks are new car buyers. A classic like a Z is fairly fragile, the tech knows it , so this kind of assistance is usually not rejected. ok enough for now. ive been typing forever it seems.

JacK