Opinion about a kill switch

[Barb69]

Has anybody put a kill switch on your classics?  What is the best option? I do not necessary need a loud alarm, just something that does not start the car. I want to keep Dusty safe when I'm at work and he is on a busy shopping center.

kicking Dust.

[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security personnel,

Has anybody put a kill switch on your classics?  What is the best option? I do not necessary need a loud alarm, just something that does not start the car. I want to keep Dusty safe when I'm at work and he is on a busy shopping center.

When I was living in San Diego back in the late 90s, I found a little kit that used a pressure sensitive switch that could be hidden in the upholstery.  You needed to press on the switch before trying to start the engine and only then would Biquette start.  I wired it into the transmission neutral safety switch, so that Biquette would appear to "light up" but the starter wouldn't turn over.  My thinking was that thief would try to get her started, observe that something was wrong and give up.  Alas, the company apparently went out of business and the unit failed in 2010 leaving Biquette vulnerable once more.

I had found a similar system called CarDefender.  It worked in a very similar way to the system I had bought in San Diego with the additional advantage it required that you wave an electronic token over the switch that could be out on your keychain.  Only with the token could the car be started The website used to be:

http://www.cardefender.com/

It looked like a good system that was made in the USA.  However, it isn't now responding and this looks bad.  I hope this outfit hasn't gone out of business.

That's the best I've got.  has any other 65GS.com person found anything better?

Cheers, Edouard

[Barb69]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security personnel,

Has anybody put a kill switch on your classics?  What is the best option? I do not necessary need a loud alarm, just something that does not start the car. I want to keep Dusty safe when I'm at work and he is on a busy shopping center.

When I was living in San Diego back in the late 90s, I found a little kit that used a pressure sensitive switch that could be hidden in the upholstery.  You needed to press on the switch before trying to start the engine and only then would Biquette start.  I wired it into the transmission neutral safety switch, so that Biquette would appear to "light up" but the starter wouldn't turn over.  My thinking was that thief would try to get her started, observe that something was wrong and give up.  Alas, the company apparently went out of business and the unit failed in 2010 leaving Biquette vulnerable once more.

I had found a similar system called CarDefender.  It worked in a very similar way to the system I had bought in San Diego with the additional advantage it required that you wave an electronic token over the switch that could be out on your keychain.  Only with the token could the car be started The website used to be:

http://www.cardefender.com/

It looked like a good system that was made in the USA.  However, it isn't now responding and this looks bad.  I hope this outfit hasn't gone out of business.

That's the best I've got.  has any other 65GS.com person found anything better?

Cheers, Edouard

Thanks for the info.   

kicking Dust.

[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security seekers,

It is definitely old school, but a club certainly should also be a deterrent to a thief:

http://winner-intl.com/

Thieves will cut your steering wheel to get around the club, but this will at least slow them down.  There are versions with an alarm to make cutting the steering wheel more difficult.

I'm like you in the desire of having something that prevents the car from starting.  I'll keep looking for something like the device I bought in San Diego.  If I find another one I'll report back.

Cheers, Edouard

[Barb69]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security seekers,

It is definitely old school, but a club certainly should also be a deterrent to a thief:

http://winner-intl.com/

Thieves will cut your steering wheel to get around the club, but this will at least slow them down.  There are versions with an alarm to make cutting the steering wheel more difficult.

I'm like you in the desire of having something that prevents the car from starting.  I'll keep looking for something like the device I bought in San Diego.  If I find another one I'll report back.

Cheers, Edouard

Thank you. I will make some local calls. The thought of someone cutting Dusty's steering wheel made me sad. He sleeps indoors all the time. Is when he would go to work with me that worries me.

kicking Dust.

[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security seekers,

Thank you. I will make some local calls. The thought of someone cutting Dusty's steering wheel made me sad. He sleeps indoors all the time. Is when he would go to work with me that worries me.

Unfortunately, the locks of these cars are extremely easy to pick.  Car security simply wasn't a priority in the 1960s.  There was a neat web page that explained the problem but unfortunately I can't find it right now.  I suspect that there are very few car thieves who know how to deal with a 1960s car lock, but that's the worry.

You can have Dusty fitted with a version of LoJack designed for classic cars:

http://www.lojack.com/Cars-Trucks-And-Classics/Products-for-Cars-Trucks-and-Classics/LoJack-For-Classics

Alas this is an expensive option.  Another approach has been putting some sort of GPS transmitter than can be accessed via your cell-phone.  This is less expensive and doesn't involve fees.  Either way, you can track a car that has been stolen rather than trying to defeat a thief.

I'm hoping to take Biquette out on extended trips and in those cases you want to be sure if you park in a motel, your car will still be there in the morning.    In a case like this, having something like the "Denver boot" is one sure way to prevent a thief from moving your car.  The company that makes the club also makes a wheel lock:

http://store.winner-intl.com/the-wheel-club-p18.aspx

If you take Dusty to work, try to avoid making a habit out of it.  A classic car that shows up to the same place at around the same time could get noticed by a thief.  If you make a point of using Dusty randomly, thieves won't start hatching "plans" given a regular appearance of a classic car.

Something else to consider.  Do you have collector's car insurance for Dusty?  Lot of folks on this forum use Hagerty's:

https://www.hagerty.com/

That way if something did happen to Dusty you wouldn't have to pay the repairs out of pocket.

Sorry, car security does get complicated!

Cheers, Edouard

[Barb69]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security seekers,

Thank you. I will make some local calls. The thought of someone cutting Dusty's steering wheel made me sad. He sleeps indoors all the time. Is when he would go to work with me that worries me.

Unfortunately, the locks of these cars are extremely easy to pick.  Car security simply wasn't a priority in the 1960s.  There was a neat web page that explained the problem but unfortunately I can't find it right now.  I suspect that there are very few car thieves who know how to deal with a 1960s car lock, but that's the worry.

You can have Dusty fitted with a version of LoJack designed for classic cars:

http://www.lojack.com/Cars-Trucks-And-Classics/Products-for-Cars-Trucks-and-Classics/LoJack-For-Classics

Alas this is an expensive option.  Another approach has been putting some sort of GPS transmitter than can be accessed via your cell-phone.  This is less expensive and doesn't involve fees.  Either way, you can track a car that has been stolen rather than trying to defeat a thief.

I'm hoping to take Biquette out on extended trips and in those cases you want to be sure if you park in a motel, your car will still be there in the morning.    In a case like this, having something like the "Denver boot" is one sure way to prevent a thief from moving your car.  The company that makes the club also makes a wheel lock:

http://store.winner-intl.com/the-wheel-club-p18.aspx

If you take Dusty to work, try to avoid making a habit out of it.  A classic car that shows up to the same place at around the same time could get noticed by a thief.  If you make a point of using Dusty randomly, thieves won't start hatching "plans" given a regular appearance of a classic car.

Something else to consider.  Do you have collector's car insurance for Dusty?  Lot of folks on this forum use Hagerty's:

https://www.hagerty.com/

That way if something did happen to Dusty you wouldn't have to pay the repairs out of pocket.

Sorry, car security does get complicated!

Cheers, Edouard

Thanks for all the information.  I'm only taking Dusty on weekends.  Daytime hours.  GPS sounds like a great idea.

kicking Dust.

[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security seekers,

I did a little more web searching I came across a new immobilizer system from the Swiss that uses your smart-phone as the "key" to unlock your car.  The company is called iBlue and here is a link to their product.

http://iblue.eu/immobilizer/

It uses Bluetooth to communicate with the phone and has software for iOS and Android.  It uses 128-bit encryption like credit cards.  This is more important than I first realized because there is a system installed on modern cars that researchers have already hacked!

https://www.engadget.com/2015/08/14/car-immobilizer-easily-hacked/

It has a "valet mode" so that when you leave your car at a repair shop you can turn off the system and the car will start without your phone.

It seems to have two downsides.  Like my old system from San Diego, I suspect that if your car loses power while at the repair shop, the valet mode will be turned off.   In that case, you would have to return to the shop to turn it back on.  The other is that it is vulnerable to your phone being lost or stolen.  If you can bring another smart-device that has the software, you could start the car because it has a pin code that can be typed in.  However, without another device, not only would you have lost your phone, but you couldn't start your car!

They don't explain very clearly how to install the device, but it appears to have the ability to control up to two electrical lines.  One way to wire such a thing in an older GM vehicle is to wire the device in between the transmission neutral safety switch and the ignition switch.  That's how I did it in San Diego.  You'll find information on doing that on page 10-48 and on the wiring diagrams on page 10-108 and 10-109 in the 1965 Service manual.  I don't remember how I originally did this, but I think now I would insert a small relay into the purple wire in between the neutral safety switch and the ignition switch instead of completely rerouting it through the immobilizer.

I'm not ready to take on a device like this but once I get my trusty wagon back on road I will be very tempted!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Barb69]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick security seekers,

I did a little more web searching I came across a new immobilizer system from the Swiss that uses your smart-phone as the "key" to unlock your car.  The company is called iBlue and here is a link to their product.

http://iblue.eu/immobilizer/

It uses Bluetooth to communicate with the phone and has software for iOS and Android.  It uses 128-bit encryption like credit cards.  This is more important than I first realized because there is a system installed on modern cars that researchers have already hacked!

https://www.engadget.com/2015/08/14/car-immobilizer-easily-hacked/

It has a "valet mode" so that when you leave your car at a repair shop you can turn off the system and the car will start without your phone.

It seems to have two downsides.  Like my old system from San Diego, I suspect that if your car loses power while at the repair shop, the valet mode will be turned off.   In that case, you would have to return to the shop to turn it back on.  The other is that it is vulnerable to your phone being lost or stolen.  If you can bring another smart-device that has the software, you could start the car because it has a pin code that can be typed in.  However, without another device, not only would you have lost your phone, but you couldn't start your car!

They don't explain very clearly how to install the device, but it appears to have the ability to control up to two electrical lines.  One way to wire such a thing in an older GM vehicle is to wire the device in between the transmission neutral safety switch and the ignition switch.  That's how I did it in San Diego.  You'll find information on doing that on page 10-48 and on the wiring diagrams on page 10-108 and 10-109 in the 1965 Service manual.  I don't remember how I originally did this, but I think now I would insert a small relay into the purple wire in between the neutral safety switch and the ignition switch instead of completely rerouting it through the immobilizer.

I'm not ready to take on a device like this but once I get my trusty wagon back on road I will be very tempted!

Cheers, Edouard 

I will research it. [emoji1]

kicking Dust.