theft prevention?

[O'Brien]

Hi everyone. New to the forum, and fairly new to owning a series. been wanting one since the first time i saw 'born free' when i was a little kid. just something amazing about seeing that old series truck rumbling across the savanah.

anyway, i've recently purchased a '66 109 SW, which i am super excited about. 6cyl, overdrive and original california black plates. at this point, she's still shows her age in the body dept., but all good things in time.

i guess my question is options about theft deterrent/prevention. granted, i know this is sometimes a sore subject. i've been thinking my options as far as alarms go. i know this sorta frowned upon, but im trying to make sure i can enjoy my rover for years to come, without being worried about it getting stolen when i am out and about.

any tips you super knowledgable folks have about more robust door locks, window locks, alarms etc, I'm all ears. and thanks!

[daveb]

a big battery cutoff switch that is hidden or where you take the key.

put a club on the steering wheel to keep the honest thieves away. anyone who actually makes off with it will quickly regret it anyway so don't worry too much.

[KevinNY]

I've never heard of a stolen series, why would a theif want it? With all those levers they just pass.

[greenmeanie]

These trucks are their own theft prevention. It works on several levels.
1. It's an old Land Rover which means it isn't shiny enough for people to want to steal it. If it is stolen talk to your local LR community and someone will have seen it. If not hire a fellow Rover owner to follow the oil drips.
2. Most car thieves can't figure out the funky starter button sequence.
3. Most car thieves can only drive automatic and certainly won't be able to double clutch. That forest of gear levers will scare them into submission. If you want a little extra security leave one in neutral or in low range. If one night you here your truck start and the gears graunching you know someone is trying to steal it. Be calm, finish your beer and then saunter after them. They should be somewhere just down the street before it is abandoned.
4. Place a sticker in the window 'Powered by LUCAS.'
5. If not already, you will soon be known in your area as the scary person with the bloodshot eyes, scarred up knuckles, smells of cat pee, drinks a lot of dark beer and who mutters to themselves in a strange language. This will ensure that nobody will steal anything from you as everyone is sure you are either mad, psychotic and definitely not to be messed with.

When I lived in Tucson I used to leave my truck at my friends house in not nice south central part of the city. He has three vehicles stolen from outside his house. I used to leave my IIA topless with the keys in the ignition overnight and nobody would take it.

In all I wouldn't worry. As someone said above use a club on the steering wheel to deter the little kiddy joyriders and leave it at that.

Cheers
Gregor

[jp-]

...leave one in neutral or in low range. If one night you here your truck start and the gears graunching you know someone is trying to steal it. Be calm, finish your beer and then saunter after them. They should be somewhere just down the street before it is abandoned.


Leave it in low range! I love that! Good idea green.:thumb-up:


No need for a club either. One turn of the wheel with no power steering and most people will say, "screw that."

[ajones]

For what it’s worth a used a toggle switch to interrupt circuit to the ignition coil and placed it underneath the instrument panel. It just adds another layer of complication thus deterrent. So, even if ignition is on and you can turn the engine over it will not crank.

[LaneRover]

Even in San Diego where the Mexican Police come to steal 4X4's I have never once had a problem with my 1965 109SW, even when it was freshly painted and restored. Mostly because the Mexican cops want big new 4X4's with air conditioning, V-8's and so on. I have known of people to have 2 or 3 Explorers stolen in 1 year before they decided to move to a sedan in San Diego.

At the most I think everyone is right about just using a club and a secret switch to cut off the ignition.

Where in LA are you? I head up there for work quite a bit.

Brent

[O'Brien]

a kill switch sounds like a nice idea, and easily hidden. i'll look into making that happen. any ideas on more er... robust locks for the doors/sliding windows? aside from protecting the rover, i also would love to protect the stuff inside it as well. so if you folks have any ideas on that, would be much appreciated.

i'm all over LA all the time, plus runs up over the grape vine, and sometimes back home to oregon. but most of the time im in pasadena, when im not running around l.a. and orange county taking care of business.

it's sad that i haven't seen my rover in a week though, she's at huntington service center! ha!

[Donnie]

A 9mm or 44 mag. will deter most , but U must be in the area for this to work. Actually any of the above tips will work, but the toggle switch makes the most sense. But, if someone is serious about taking you car, they will hot wire the coil. on another note: a few years ago a prisoner escaped from SCI in a town nearby and stole a series truck and got away for a couple of days..when he was caught his response was that he was doing life & had been in jail for about 20 yrs. He had no idea of how to get these newer cars hot wired or by pass alarms etc..so this was his escape...This happened in Pa about 10? years ago....

[siiirhd88]

A variation of the kill switch idea is to install a fuse in the circuit from the ignition switch to 'start' post on the solenoid. This is usually the white with red trace wire. Tap off of the white / red wire between the fuse and the solenoid with a wire run to one post on a toggle switch, and lead the other toggle switch post to ground. When the toggle switch is 'on', and the ignition switch is taken to 'start' the fuse will blow, interrupting power to the solenoid coil and the truck stops cranking.....

Bob

[LaneRover]

None of my Rovers fully lock. Though they can be made to fully lock. The push in 'stays on the sliding door windows work really well. Of course someone could just yank and bend the window if they really wanted in. For the rear sliding windows I use a dowel as an additional locking mechanism kind of like using a broomstick in a sliding glass door in your house. You can get new locks for the doors that have key locks. You can also get locks similar to the sliding window locks to lock the other doors (assuming it is before series III I believe).

As for protecting stuff inside as with any car it is always best to make sure you have stuff out of sight.

Brent

[rovertek]

any one that would steel it probally would use a ramp truck if they wanted to get away that is, and if they did want to start it they would use a jumper wire from the positive battery terminal to the positive on the coil and activate the starter with a screwdriver, my kill switch consists of a hidden toggle switch connecting the point side of the coil to ground, simple as it grounds the points out so no spark will occur and causes no ill affects, as for things inside i have a big dog no need for locks.....

[O'Brien]

interesting thing about my 109... and i don't know if this is common at all, but my battery is under the drivers seat. (LHD) something to do with previous owner swapping in a chevy six? i'm still not sure why it's there, but it is. any thoughts on that?

[greenmeanie]

Ah the big dog in the back of the truck. My favourite dog story….

I have a 4 year old female Malamute called Nikita who weighs in at about 80lbs and is a lover of all humans. She came from the Human Society and is a gentle soul with just a bit of that mental, mischevious quality that mals have. She loves kids, loves old folk and will be your friend forever if you have food. She likes to ride around in the back of my IIA 88Hardtop SW (not my 101 for some reason) as she can see out really well. When driving around locally I usually slide one of the side windows open a bit so that she can poke her nose out and enjoy the ride.

Well one Saturday after a hard morning hike on South Mountain I stopped in at the supermarket to pick up breakfast. Niki was pooped so she just curled up in the truck bed and settled in to wait on my return. When I came back out I could see a middle aged cougar type all dolled up with big hair and lots of makeup unlocking her Bimmer X5. While she was concentrating on the locks she didn’t see Niki rear up out of the load bed and lean out the window for a sniff. I don’t know if she used her nose or gave the woman a lick round the ear but she snapped round only to see fur and teeth and I swear the poor woman could have landed on top of her SUV on the way back down. After encountering husky hair her nice suit will never be the same again either. She left very quickly and I had to wait some time before I could stop laughing enough to go back over and start the truck.

I know she would and could never attack someone for tampering with my truck. Like most huskies she is just not a guard dog. On the other hand it is very difficult to steal anything when an 80lb. mal has its nose buried in your crotch saying hello.

Cheers
Gregor

[jp-]

She came from the Human Society...

I too hail from the Human society, but can your dog walk on two legs and talk?


Good story.

[thixon]

I've used this one on numerous brit cars over the years. If you are truly worried about theft, this one is great. Even the tricky theives who think they know all the trick don't think of this one.

Can the old mechanical fuel pump, and go to an electric clicker. Install a toggel switch under the front seat (inside the tool box or something), or somewhere out of sight. When you park it, hit the switch, and disable the fuel pump. They can hotwire to their hearts content, but the truck aint going anywhere without to towtruck. Most people will never think of this, and you can install the switch virtually anywhere.

Travis
66 IIa 88' aka "the falcon"

[Donnie]

AH CRAP, I didn't post all that info.in my profile, did I????????????
OH ya, tha cat Nancy has been sleeping in my 88" series II....guess I'll have to replace that missing rear window, shot it out by accident, trying to catch a thief.. I guess I'll have to get a , na, better check out the site B4 I suggest it
later, donnie

[Donnie]

5 stars man, this is a pretty good tip........Donnie

[greenmeanie]

[quote=jp-]I too hail from the Human society, but can your dog walk on two legs and talk?


Not quite, but she is very good at indicating that we should set a place for her to eat at the dinner table. Bones and all that doggy stuff are great but she will kill for Indian food.

She doesn't usually get any because the doggy farts afterwards can clear a building. Hmmm there's an idea for an anti theft system.

Cheers
Gregor

[scott]

20' of 5/16 chain, 2 good locks and a convient light pole

[PH4]

Has anyone had or heard of a Series LR being stolen in the states?

[scott]

Has anyone had or heard of a Series LR being stolen in the states?

wouldn't ya just hate to be the first? granted the multi shifters are intimidating when first encountered but the ease of starting w/o a key and my remembering what a jerk of a teenager i was has me worried just a bit about joy riders. i usually don't go to all this trouble but i had to leave it at an airport for 2 1/2 days

[greenmeanie]

If I'm leaving mine for a length of time at the airport or something I just do a little mod like pulling the dizzy rotor out. They can try and try but she just won't start.

Of course if she goes missing now I'll be phoning 4flattyres.

Cheers
Gregor

[ajones]

Has anyone put a cut-off valve in the fuel system? I was considering using a globe valve mounted on the frame with a non-descript choke linkage to open and close it remotely. any thoughts?

[scott]

Has anyone put a cut-off valve in the fuel system? I was considering using a globe valve mounted on the frame with a non-descript choke linkage to open and close it remotely. any thoughts?

i put in a second tank, used a dual tank valve off an early 70s ford pick up. it has 2 off, 1 left and 1 right tank position. the lever stick thru the right hand e-brake plate on the seat box just below passenger seat. there are no markings so if i put it on one of the off positions the old truck will start and only run for about 3 minutes. i also have a 2nd sediment bowl that i got at napa that has a a pepcock on it that can be used to shut off the fuel line

[scott]

for the best theft prevention always park ammoungst freinds
http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=487&stc=1&d=1198310233

[badvibes]

Nice Scotty! I thought maybe it'd be you and the Princess in convoy with some Hummers. Reminds me of the rules of gunfighting that says something like "bring as many of your friends with longarms with you as you can." I'd say that one in the background qualifies.

[NC Rover]

The previous owner of my rover installed a Jacobs Ignition with a hidden micro kill switch. Turn it off an no one is starting it.

[SHORLAND]

I would say a master battery disconnect and I love the idea of putting it in Low Range! Now that is one smart move!

[JimCT]

Had my bug eye '68 stolen from my gf's driveway with the keys in the ignition, kids rolled it down the road but could not figure out it was push button start! Lost a few odds and ends but the truck was fine.

[Firemanshort]

I have owned two Series Land Rover since 2000. I have never locked a door. I live in suburbia - Northen Virginia. I have mostly run a soft top.

All of the above comments stand - street thugs do not generally seek out smelly, 25 year old British trucks with bad paint and puddles of oil under them.

(Sod's Law - someone will probably steal it tonight)

[I Leak Oil]

I don't personally know of any trucks that have been stolen but I do know of one that was broken into and some items stolen. There's nothing wrong with installing an alarm if you really think you need it, even if it's just to make a lot of noise if broken in to. Don't expect to be able to make any vehicle theft proof. If a pro thief wants it or the contents they will have it.
Jason T.

[ChrisB]

I saw this post a while ago and had a theft/security issue "almost" come up tonight (not really). Gregor's reply made my LOL.

Getting in late this morning to work and in a rush, I apparently left my keys in the ignition of my IIA while parked in the parking deck all day. Of course, I did not discover this until I was leaving tonight.

I don't lock my LR usually, and I guess the warning signal telling me my keys were in the ignition failed to go off this morning:p . I went out to the parking deck tonight only to discover my keys in the ignition, the radio ("hi-fi system") still in the ashtray, and a growing oil stain underneath, all still there.

Had it been me viewing an errant Series owner's mistake, I might have been tempted to go for a joyride. However, I guess my co-workers were scared off by one of the four knobs in the front seat, gigantic steering wheel, or they just slipped on the oil slick in the process of trying to get into my ride.:)

[gudjeon]

Fake vomit on the seat and fake doggie doo for the rear keeps everyone out. I knew a guy that did this and never had to lock his doors. Only works when going into unknown territory. At home someone might see this as a pattern. Maybe you won't get bothered by those nosey neighbours again

[Tim Smith]

Hi O'Brien,
Welcome to the forum!

My first thought is that the stuff inside the truck is what you really need to be worried about. My fix was tinting the windows in the back so now no one knows about my tools and laptop sat back there. <well other than you folks that is :p>

However, if I were to do some trekking outside of the modern world, then I'd get some door hasps like these.

http://www.overlandhardware.com/protect.html

Expensive but would be worth it if you were to do some major traveling with all your stuff in the truck! :thumb-up:

[JimCT]

my '68 bug-eyed 88 was stolen from my gf's driveway in Chester, Ct, they rolled and pushed it down the road a mile or so but even wtih the keys in teh ignition never figured out how to start it! Lost some tools and odds and ends but the truck survived being pushed into a ditch.

[giorgio]

O'Brien said,

"interesting thing about my 109... and i don't know if this is common at all, but my battery is under the drivers seat. (LHD)"

My bone stock (I think) 1968 Series IIA 109 2.6 NADA has the battery under the drivers seat. The battery tray is still in the engine compartment, but there is no battery there. Maybe there is not enough room with the 6 cylinder, dunno?

[Jeff Aronson]

I have suffered from one known attempt to steal one of my Series II-A's. The robbers attempted to hot wire the car by tearing apart the dash and fiddling with the ignition wires. They did not know about the starter button, apparently. In 18 years of ownership, that's the only attempt to steal the car or break into it and walk off with its contents.

I love the ideas presented! The Rover comes built in with some other options:

1. Shift the transfer case lever into neutral when you leave the car. And do the same with your overdrive - the car's not going anywhere unless the thief knows of both levers.

2. Buy a battery cutoff terminal - unscrewing it the tiiniest amount means no battery, no start. Or just remove one wire at the terminal when you're gone.

3. Unplug the wire from the coil to the distributor cap and just leave it loose. The car won't start. If you can do the same at the ground wire from the distributor to the coil, it will crank but not start.

4. I've seen a chain run from the clutch pedal through the steering wheel. Until you release it, you can't push down on the clutch or turn the wheel. It has the added advantage of being visible from the outside of the car.

Have fun with your 109".

Jeff

[jp-]

I have suffered from one known attempt to steal one of my Series II-A's.

Jeff

Yeah, but you're famous. Who wouldn't want to say they had taken the QE II for a spin?

[Jeff Aronson]

LOL ! The real reason was stated once by Jim Pappas. Watching me wash the Rover at a British Invasion one year, Pappas looked at my Rover and said "you're the only person I know who details his truck by filling a garbage bag!"

Jeff