On Wed, 3 Dec 1997 22:50:19 -0800 Bruce Cannon <bcannon@SFSU.EDU> writes:
>All this stun-gun disabling etc. talk recently intersects with my
>girlfriend's paranoia about the possibility of her vintage car being
>stolen.
[...]
>3. have I overlooked something?

If the main fear is someone "hotwiring" the car and driving it away,
consider disabling the car by removing a critical part while it's parked.
 For example, the distributor rotor or the coil high-tension wire can be
quickly removed and easily carried.  Replacing the part with a
non-functional dummy duplicate would be a nice touch to thwart the
mechanically-inclined thief.   Since you're removing, rather than adding,
the vintage nature of the car is completely preserved.

A hidden valve to cut the fuel off is also well-known.   I don't think
you'd get enough power from the fuel gauge wire to keep a valve open,
especially without distrubing the gauge reading.  Control by a
well-hidden toggle switch would probably work just as well, as long as
everything is hidden.  There are locks that attach to the steering wheel
or other controls, but thieves know how to get around most of the
existing ones.  Some heavily built homemade device may be more secure.
Remember that the steering wheel itself is the weak link, it is easily
cut.  There are also key-lock devices to disconnect the battery, but
these are likely both obviously present and easy to bypass.

There is no absolute protection, it really depends on how much time,
privacy, and resources the potential thieves have.  The first two are
somewhat under the owner's control in the choice of where and when to
park.  Anti-theft devices help a lot too.  But what about the really bold
crooks who bring a tow truck?  (Maybe a set of 4 wheel "boots" would slow
them down a bit.)