WE ARE VULNERABLE:
So I've always loved G-bodies -- as do most people in general -- young and old alike. G-body's get more attention than expensive sports cars, and have very few "haters" -- which is why most of you here are on this board.
These cars are easier to steal than say, and newer model of sports car. Why? Because people with expensive cars have mansions and garages with video surveillance, etc... which goes beyond basic vehicle security measures. This makes people like us vulnerable to theft.
Me personally -- I'm addicted to the G-body Grand Prix's (but I love all G bodies in general). I've owned 5 of them. My first one, I had put in a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears into her. That's the thing about G-body cars. They aren't known as "classics" and are not really valuable in terms of money. They are a loved car, and the value is mostly sentimental, plus the value of all the time, dedication and sacrifice owners like us make to get the car to our liking. We repair them, make them road worthy (many are not in the greatest shape) and customize them, and many times the money and time spent adds up significantly. After the exhaust upgrade (true dual with Flowmaster mufflers and a custom H-pipe) and then spending a night under the car, installing my B&M shifter + cable, greased finger nails and all, I took her for a test drive. Hadn't really had the chance to take her out a lot. The 454 cu. in. BBC barely broken in, running at 180 degrees on the gauge, I monitored it closely for the entire drive. Parked the car for about 5 minutes on a side street. Upon returning, she was gone. Never to be seen again.
I had learned my lesson the hard way, as most of us do.
But don't kid yourself. I've had a lot of time to think about this, and several years of research into this:
IF THEY WANT YOUR CAR, THEY WILL TAKE IT
We've all heard the saying "If they want your car, they're gonna take it" -- meaning, regardless of what kind of anti-theft device or vehicle security you have installed on your classic G ride, if a knowledgeable thief wants your car, he *will* take it -- and it's true.
Here's why:
Say a thief (from either a high profile theft ring, or some young punk who merely wants a joy ride) targets your G-body. He isn't gonna wait till 3:00am when you're sound asleep. In fact, most cars get stolen at mid-week, in the afternoon, right in front of your doorstep from your own driveway. It only takes 60 seconds (yes, just like the movie).
Example: Say you have a vehicle with an expensive alarm system installed. It's got a shock sensor, a motion detector, a two way pager with a 1 mile range. You also have a steering wheel club, and a brake lock device. For additional security, you have installed a GPS vehicle tracking device. Now, even if the ******* does steal your car, you can track it, then have the son-of-a-b*tch arrested, and recover your ride in one piece, right? Wrong.
How he does it:
Thief breaks window with a small stone at the driver's side. Window shatters. He brakes it all around so it just looks like the window is "open" (so as to not look conspicuous). This takes him exactly 1 second. 59 seconds to go.
Thief locates your little alarm antenna mounted at the top of your wind-shield, he and snips the wire to it. Time taken, 1 second. No more pager. 58 seconds to go.
Thief pops hood and cuts power to the alarm, which is blaring. How? He has 2 options:
1. Find the siren, snip wire
2. Find the battery's power wire, and also the backup battery (usually easy to spot) and cut power wire
You don't think so? Please. It's easier than walking into a bank with a gun. Dude, anyone can do either of the two above steps in 10 seconds, and that's being generous. Imagine a trained/experienced car thief.
No more blaring alarm. Time taken 10 seconds (being generous).
Thief pulls out his heavy duty wire cutter and cuts steering wheel, removes the club and tosses it out the window. Time taken: 5 seconds.
Thief uses his wire cutter to cut through your brake lock. It's a lot thicker than the steering wheel, and tempered (hardenned) steel. Doesn't work. So he pulls out his mini blowtorch canister. He lights it, adjusts the flame, heats up the thinnest spot. Hits it with his hammer and breaks it, then tosses it onto the street. Time taken, 20 seconds.
Total time so far: 37 seconds.
Thief uses a tool to pop out your ignition key assembly, uses a simple pair of needle-nose pliers to start your car. OR thief uses a tool to crack open your steering wheel column, exposing the ignition wires, then splices together the ignition to the starter wire. Time taken: 5 seconds.
So less than 45 seconds and the thief is off with your car. And you were taking a piss the whole time. But wait!!
You have a GPS tracking unit installed, so you can track your car, right?
Wrong.
Thief is carrying a GPS Interrupter (which he purchased, mind you, from ebay for $10 + shipping from China). He simply plugs it into your cigarette lighter and presto, he vanishes off the map. Now he can't be tracked by anyone, and you wasted your money (I've written more about this device here, page 4 of this thread).
Thief takes your car for a joy ride, then brings it to a chop shop for cash, where they chop it up and resells all the parts.
Insurance company only offers you 1% of the true value of your car.
Note: The above is only one example of a 60 second car theft. There are many other variations.
YOU CAN TAKE PRECAUTIONS
So yes, if a thief wants your car, it *WILL* get stolen, BUT NOT if you take some extra precautions!!!!! What are they? These are my recommendations:
Your anti-theft is only as good as how YOU MODIFY IT.
NEVER let your installer just install your anti-theft device with default practices and default locations! Instead, ask for custom work:
- get 2 alarm antenna's (instead of one), mount one at the front windshield, the other one at the rear window, and wire them SEPARETELY. This way if the thief cuts your antenna, it's possible he won't realize there is another one in the back. You will hear your alarm pager beeping, grab a crow bar and run to your car (you know what to do).
- have the installer hide the siren where it's not easily visible, then, have him install another one (if possible near the back of the car) wired separately (different circuit). This way if the thief cuts the wire to your first siren, he will still have to waste valuable time trying to find the second one.
- same as above for the backup battery -- have two of them installed. Hide one in the engine bay, and if possible, hide the second one in the trunk or rear of the car, wired up separately. The thief will be pulling his hair out trying to get the alarm to stop blaring even after he cuts power to your main battery.
- use a fake hood latch: replace your standard hood latch with another one, leaving your factory one in place. You can purchase a hood latch cable (manual choke cable) at any auto parts store. Place your new hood latch somewhere not clearly visible (ie. locked in the glove box). Thief will get into your car and try to open the hood, to look for the above componenets, but he can't if he can't open the hood in the first place. After he pulls the latch and and thinks that the hood is now open, he will waste valuable time trying to figure out why it isn't working, while the alarm is still blaring.
- replace your standard trunk latch with another one, leaving your factory one in place. Using the same type of cable as for your hood latch (manual choke cable) place your trunk release somewhere hidden and not easy to find. If the theif does get in your engine bay and disables the siren or backup siren battery, he will still have to get into the trunk (this method is only effective if your rear seats don't fold down)
- have the installer install the alarm brain somewhere ELSE other than under the dash -- it's the firsg place the thief will look. The second place is in the center console or glove box. If you can avoid it, have it installed somewhere else.
- If you do use a steering wheel club, replace your steering wheel with one that has a heavy-duty tempered steel core -- they are not easy to cut with the theif's huge wire cutters (they are only good for factory or cheap steering wheels).
- No steering wheel -- use a steering wheel hub that allows you to pop your wheel off -- and take it with you. Theif can't drive it if he can't steer it.
- Use a brake pedal lock. If the theif tries to drive the vehicle away (assuming he's found both your antennas, both your backup batteries or both your sirens) he won't be able to use the brakes.
- install a starter and/or fuel pump kill switch, hidden. Shut it off when you park your car.
- when you park, pull the ebrake all the way up, leave it in gear (assuming its manual), and pitch the wheels all the way right or left, this way if a tow truck (traditional wrecker) tries to tow it from the front the back wheels will drag locked up since the ebrake is on, and if he tries to hook from the back, the wheels will lock up because its in gear (assuming front wheel drive), and it will be a b*tch to tow because it will be all over the road because the tires are turned, the only way they could get around that is breaking the ignition column (which takes a little time) and taking the ebrake and trans out of gear
- assuming the thief gets both your alarm antennas, gets into your engine bay and trunk, clips either your alarm brain or both sirens or both backup batteries and main battery to the alarm and gets your steering wheel club off and the brake lock or attaches a metal bar to your steering column to steer your car and drives it away, there is one more trick you can use...
- Forced Ignition anti-car jack system: Even if said thief jacks your ride at gunpoint with your keys and all and drives off, he won't get far before your fuel pump shuts off and renders the car undriveable (even if he realizes what is going on, there is no way he can get your car started).
- Ok this is a no brainer: put your car in a garage active home security (motion detector, etc)
- Add security cameras, motion activated.
- Shave your doors and trunk, leaving no lock cylinders in them.
- install an air-ride suspension (if you have the money) and drop it to the ground when you park it. This way the thief cannot get under the car to tow or lift it in the first place, even if he has a flatbed tow truck.
Edit: Additional security devices:
Steering Wheel Lock: Get it at your local Canadian Tire or Autozone type store. Here is a nice "dual hook" one you can get online that's also priced reasonably well:
http://unbrakeable.com/Unbreakable_Auto_SWL.htm
Brake Lock:
http://unbrakeable.com/Unbreakable_Auto_BL.htm
Steering Column Lock. Works well,
One kind: http://www.steadfastautosecurity.com/index.htm
Another kind: https://www.kirbanperformance.com/produ ... e+GNX.html
Another Tip (This is also a really cool MOD!):
VIN Etching: Deter car thieves by having your VIN number etched on your windows and windshield. Here is a video from John Walsh (the guy from the "America's Most Wanted" TV Show):
http://safety.amw.com/family/deter-car-thieves-with-vin-etching/
Here is the cheapest VIN etching kit I came up with (I will be getting this kit myself):
http://www.etch-o-matic.biz/vin-etching/
Edit: the VIN ETCHING idea is actually a GREAT idea. Read this story (shift/click) about a guy who tracked down his stolen Pontiac Parisienne, and the only reason he was able to find the car, was because he had the VIN number etched on all the windows. The thieves were having a hard time dropping the car off at a chop shop, and were driving it around with a new VIN tag, which was obviously different than the one etched on the windows!
Wheel Lock (like a parking control wheel boot):
http://www.mcgard.com/Home/AutomotiveProducts/CarLock
EDIT (July 1, 2010): A Contribution from papa_wolf -- a former vehicle retreival expert who has worked with law enforcement gives some of his experiences and very helpful advice in this same thread several pages down, or just click on this link to view it: http://www.gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 69#p151355 (shift/click).
EDIT (December 7, 2010): A member contribution -- if you're located in Florida, head over to a guy named "Steel Willy" for some custom made security devices that have not ever been defeated yet, from an all-steel steering column lock to a steering columng locking pin with key which locks the steering wheel in place. See this thread: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=16536&p=184012#p183904
EDIT (April 24, 2011): Contributed by Regal_Nut_84 on page 10 of this thread:
EDIT (December 28, 2011) contributed by shortydoowop138 on page 11: Add another loud siren INSIDE your vehicle along with your alarm system, so as to deafen the thief before he's able to mess around in there.
EDIT (December 28, 2011) Contributed by lildhix on page 11 of this thread: Locking Hood Pins -- makes it harder for would-be thieves to access your engine bay/under the hood:
Locking hood pins
Carbon fiber ones, as far as I know, all the other types will eventually rust (I heard that even stainless steel or chrome hod pins rust, within a year)
Another style carbon fiber type hood pin.
EDIT (May 17, 2012):
Here's a NEW video from Stacy David -- he walks you through several ways to foil those who are looking to steal your ride. They range from simple free ways to some that are a little more in depth. Either way, they work great to stop people from making off with your car. I like the cutoff "dizzy" switch idea, very easy and simple!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/-zbC6T6sfZM?rel=0
[youtube]-zbC6T6sfZM[/youtube]
EDIT (Oct. 22, 2012):
A suggestion made by TC1959 in another thread:
EDIT (Jan. 17, 2013), A Suggestion by Onyxxtreme:
The Ravelco anti theft system. A customized vehicle kill system. If you don't want to do it yourself, See their website @
http://www.ravelco.com/product.html
Conclusion:
The above suggestions are just a GUIDE and following even some of them will help. Let's face it, if you do what everybody else does, it's like handing the keys over to your would-be thief. Think outside the box! Your ride will at least be a *little* more secure if you follow one or more of my suggestions. I hope some of you will find this information helpful in securing your beloved G ride! Peace/out
So I've always loved G-bodies -- as do most people in general -- young and old alike. G-body's get more attention than expensive sports cars, and have very few "haters" -- which is why most of you here are on this board.
These cars are easier to steal than say, and newer model of sports car. Why? Because people with expensive cars have mansions and garages with video surveillance, etc... which goes beyond basic vehicle security measures. This makes people like us vulnerable to theft.
Me personally -- I'm addicted to the G-body Grand Prix's (but I love all G bodies in general). I've owned 5 of them. My first one, I had put in a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears into her. That's the thing about G-body cars. They aren't known as "classics" and are not really valuable in terms of money. They are a loved car, and the value is mostly sentimental, plus the value of all the time, dedication and sacrifice owners like us make to get the car to our liking. We repair them, make them road worthy (many are not in the greatest shape) and customize them, and many times the money and time spent adds up significantly. After the exhaust upgrade (true dual with Flowmaster mufflers and a custom H-pipe) and then spending a night under the car, installing my B&M shifter + cable, greased finger nails and all, I took her for a test drive. Hadn't really had the chance to take her out a lot. The 454 cu. in. BBC barely broken in, running at 180 degrees on the gauge, I monitored it closely for the entire drive. Parked the car for about 5 minutes on a side street. Upon returning, she was gone. Never to be seen again.
I had learned my lesson the hard way, as most of us do.
But don't kid yourself. I've had a lot of time to think about this, and several years of research into this:
IF THEY WANT YOUR CAR, THEY WILL TAKE IT
We've all heard the saying "If they want your car, they're gonna take it" -- meaning, regardless of what kind of anti-theft device or vehicle security you have installed on your classic G ride, if a knowledgeable thief wants your car, he *will* take it -- and it's true.
Here's why:
Say a thief (from either a high profile theft ring, or some young punk who merely wants a joy ride) targets your G-body. He isn't gonna wait till 3:00am when you're sound asleep. In fact, most cars get stolen at mid-week, in the afternoon, right in front of your doorstep from your own driveway. It only takes 60 seconds (yes, just like the movie).
Example: Say you have a vehicle with an expensive alarm system installed. It's got a shock sensor, a motion detector, a two way pager with a 1 mile range. You also have a steering wheel club, and a brake lock device. For additional security, you have installed a GPS vehicle tracking device. Now, even if the ******* does steal your car, you can track it, then have the son-of-a-b*tch arrested, and recover your ride in one piece, right? Wrong.
How he does it:
Thief breaks window with a small stone at the driver's side. Window shatters. He brakes it all around so it just looks like the window is "open" (so as to not look conspicuous). This takes him exactly 1 second. 59 seconds to go.
Thief locates your little alarm antenna mounted at the top of your wind-shield, he and snips the wire to it. Time taken, 1 second. No more pager. 58 seconds to go.
Thief pops hood and cuts power to the alarm, which is blaring. How? He has 2 options:
1. Find the siren, snip wire
2. Find the battery's power wire, and also the backup battery (usually easy to spot) and cut power wire
You don't think so? Please. It's easier than walking into a bank with a gun. Dude, anyone can do either of the two above steps in 10 seconds, and that's being generous. Imagine a trained/experienced car thief.
No more blaring alarm. Time taken 10 seconds (being generous).
Thief pulls out his heavy duty wire cutter and cuts steering wheel, removes the club and tosses it out the window. Time taken: 5 seconds.
Thief uses his wire cutter to cut through your brake lock. It's a lot thicker than the steering wheel, and tempered (hardenned) steel. Doesn't work. So he pulls out his mini blowtorch canister. He lights it, adjusts the flame, heats up the thinnest spot. Hits it with his hammer and breaks it, then tosses it onto the street. Time taken, 20 seconds.
Total time so far: 37 seconds.
Thief uses a tool to pop out your ignition key assembly, uses a simple pair of needle-nose pliers to start your car. OR thief uses a tool to crack open your steering wheel column, exposing the ignition wires, then splices together the ignition to the starter wire. Time taken: 5 seconds.
So less than 45 seconds and the thief is off with your car. And you were taking a piss the whole time. But wait!!
You have a GPS tracking unit installed, so you can track your car, right?
Wrong.
Thief is carrying a GPS Interrupter (which he purchased, mind you, from ebay for $10 + shipping from China). He simply plugs it into your cigarette lighter and presto, he vanishes off the map. Now he can't be tracked by anyone, and you wasted your money (I've written more about this device here, page 4 of this thread).
Thief takes your car for a joy ride, then brings it to a chop shop for cash, where they chop it up and resells all the parts.
Insurance company only offers you 1% of the true value of your car.
Note: The above is only one example of a 60 second car theft. There are many other variations.
YOU CAN TAKE PRECAUTIONS
So yes, if a thief wants your car, it *WILL* get stolen, BUT NOT if you take some extra precautions!!!!! What are they? These are my recommendations:
Your anti-theft is only as good as how YOU MODIFY IT.
NEVER let your installer just install your anti-theft device with default practices and default locations! Instead, ask for custom work:
- get 2 alarm antenna's (instead of one), mount one at the front windshield, the other one at the rear window, and wire them SEPARETELY. This way if the thief cuts your antenna, it's possible he won't realize there is another one in the back. You will hear your alarm pager beeping, grab a crow bar and run to your car (you know what to do).
- have the installer hide the siren where it's not easily visible, then, have him install another one (if possible near the back of the car) wired separately (different circuit). This way if the thief cuts the wire to your first siren, he will still have to waste valuable time trying to find the second one.
- same as above for the backup battery -- have two of them installed. Hide one in the engine bay, and if possible, hide the second one in the trunk or rear of the car, wired up separately. The thief will be pulling his hair out trying to get the alarm to stop blaring even after he cuts power to your main battery.
- use a fake hood latch: replace your standard hood latch with another one, leaving your factory one in place. You can purchase a hood latch cable (manual choke cable) at any auto parts store. Place your new hood latch somewhere not clearly visible (ie. locked in the glove box). Thief will get into your car and try to open the hood, to look for the above componenets, but he can't if he can't open the hood in the first place. After he pulls the latch and and thinks that the hood is now open, he will waste valuable time trying to figure out why it isn't working, while the alarm is still blaring.
- replace your standard trunk latch with another one, leaving your factory one in place. Using the same type of cable as for your hood latch (manual choke cable) place your trunk release somewhere hidden and not easy to find. If the theif does get in your engine bay and disables the siren or backup siren battery, he will still have to get into the trunk (this method is only effective if your rear seats don't fold down)
- have the installer install the alarm brain somewhere ELSE other than under the dash -- it's the firsg place the thief will look. The second place is in the center console or glove box. If you can avoid it, have it installed somewhere else.
- If you do use a steering wheel club, replace your steering wheel with one that has a heavy-duty tempered steel core -- they are not easy to cut with the theif's huge wire cutters (they are only good for factory or cheap steering wheels).
- No steering wheel -- use a steering wheel hub that allows you to pop your wheel off -- and take it with you. Theif can't drive it if he can't steer it.
- Use a brake pedal lock. If the theif tries to drive the vehicle away (assuming he's found both your antennas, both your backup batteries or both your sirens) he won't be able to use the brakes.
- install a starter and/or fuel pump kill switch, hidden. Shut it off when you park your car.
- when you park, pull the ebrake all the way up, leave it in gear (assuming its manual), and pitch the wheels all the way right or left, this way if a tow truck (traditional wrecker) tries to tow it from the front the back wheels will drag locked up since the ebrake is on, and if he tries to hook from the back, the wheels will lock up because its in gear (assuming front wheel drive), and it will be a b*tch to tow because it will be all over the road because the tires are turned, the only way they could get around that is breaking the ignition column (which takes a little time) and taking the ebrake and trans out of gear
- assuming the thief gets both your alarm antennas, gets into your engine bay and trunk, clips either your alarm brain or both sirens or both backup batteries and main battery to the alarm and gets your steering wheel club off and the brake lock or attaches a metal bar to your steering column to steer your car and drives it away, there is one more trick you can use...
- Forced Ignition anti-car jack system: Even if said thief jacks your ride at gunpoint with your keys and all and drives off, he won't get far before your fuel pump shuts off and renders the car undriveable (even if he realizes what is going on, there is no way he can get your car started).
- Ok this is a no brainer: put your car in a garage active home security (motion detector, etc)
- Add security cameras, motion activated.
- Shave your doors and trunk, leaving no lock cylinders in them.
- install an air-ride suspension (if you have the money) and drop it to the ground when you park it. This way the thief cannot get under the car to tow or lift it in the first place, even if he has a flatbed tow truck.
Edit: Additional security devices:
Steering Wheel Lock: Get it at your local Canadian Tire or Autozone type store. Here is a nice "dual hook" one you can get online that's also priced reasonably well:
http://unbrakeable.com/Unbreakable_Auto_SWL.htm
Brake Lock:
http://unbrakeable.com/Unbreakable_Auto_BL.htm
Steering Column Lock. Works well,
One kind: http://www.steadfastautosecurity.com/index.htm
Another kind: https://www.kirbanperformance.com/produ ... e+GNX.html
Another Tip (This is also a really cool MOD!):
VIN Etching: Deter car thieves by having your VIN number etched on your windows and windshield. Here is a video from John Walsh (the guy from the "America's Most Wanted" TV Show):
http://safety.amw.com/family/deter-car-thieves-with-vin-etching/
Here is the cheapest VIN etching kit I came up with (I will be getting this kit myself):
http://www.etch-o-matic.biz/vin-etching/
Edit: the VIN ETCHING idea is actually a GREAT idea. Read this story (shift/click) about a guy who tracked down his stolen Pontiac Parisienne, and the only reason he was able to find the car, was because he had the VIN number etched on all the windows. The thieves were having a hard time dropping the car off at a chop shop, and were driving it around with a new VIN tag, which was obviously different than the one etched on the windows!
Wheel Lock (like a parking control wheel boot):
http://www.mcgard.com/Home/AutomotiveProducts/CarLock
EDIT (July 1, 2010): A Contribution from papa_wolf -- a former vehicle retreival expert who has worked with law enforcement gives some of his experiences and very helpful advice in this same thread several pages down, or just click on this link to view it: http://www.gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 69#p151355 (shift/click).
EDIT (December 7, 2010): A member contribution -- if you're located in Florida, head over to a guy named "Steel Willy" for some custom made security devices that have not ever been defeated yet, from an all-steel steering column lock to a steering columng locking pin with key which locks the steering wheel in place. See this thread: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=16536&p=184012#p183904
EDIT (April 24, 2011): Contributed by Regal_Nut_84 on page 10 of this thread:
Regal_Nut_84 said:
EDIT (December 28, 2011) contributed by shortydoowop138 on page 11: Add another loud siren INSIDE your vehicle along with your alarm system, so as to deafen the thief before he's able to mess around in there.
EDIT (December 28, 2011) Contributed by lildhix on page 11 of this thread: Locking Hood Pins -- makes it harder for would-be thieves to access your engine bay/under the hood:
Locking hood pins
Carbon fiber ones, as far as I know, all the other types will eventually rust (I heard that even stainless steel or chrome hod pins rust, within a year)
Another style carbon fiber type hood pin.
EDIT (May 17, 2012):
Here's a NEW video from Stacy David -- he walks you through several ways to foil those who are looking to steal your ride. They range from simple free ways to some that are a little more in depth. Either way, they work great to stop people from making off with your car. I like the cutoff "dizzy" switch idea, very easy and simple!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/-zbC6T6sfZM?rel=0
[youtube]-zbC6T6sfZM[/youtube]
EDIT (Oct. 22, 2012):
A suggestion made by TC1959 in another thread:
tc1959 said:
EDIT (Jan. 17, 2013), A Suggestion by Onyxxtreme:
The Ravelco anti theft system. A customized vehicle kill system. If you don't want to do it yourself, See their website @
http://www.ravelco.com/product.html
Conclusion:
The above suggestions are just a GUIDE and following even some of them will help. Let's face it, if you do what everybody else does, it's like handing the keys over to your would-be thief. Think outside the box! Your ride will at least be a *little* more secure if you follow one or more of my suggestions. I hope some of you will find this information helpful in securing your beloved G ride! Peace/out
