Hot Rods At least 7 hot rods stolen in Mn

Not a pleasant thing to bring up but being aware is so important At out Mn State Fairgrounds was a big car show last weekend, during the week at least 9 cars were stolen mostly at motels surrounding the fairgrounds.We have talked about this before, the dangers of having your classic taken while at (a motel )maybe to prevent it , use a car cover ,have a kill switch or a alarm,none of which are good if they are maybe picked up by a wrecker

My heart goes out to these car owners. Most of which spent years of work and money for something to be proud of. I don't know what I would do.I would never live it down.

Gene in Mn

 

Ryan is there a way we can keep this at the top of all the forums for awhile so important....

 

Descriptions and/or pics would be a plus, here.

Roger

 

http://kstp.com/news/stolen-hot-rods-car-show-minnesota-fairgrounds/4208652/

 

That sucks. I'm surprised that that doesn't happen more often here in Louisville because there are always a lot of street rods and other old classics parked in practically every hotel and motel parking lot in town during the Street Rod Nats....

 

Don't know if this is possible but can our adminstrator for this websight keep this topic for awhile at the top to keep it from getting buried??????

 

btt

 

Sounds like they were street machines including a 69 Chevelle and a 76 Firebird. It sucks at any rate. You build the car of your dreams and someone decides to steal it for what ever reason.

 

"Someone" = scumbag thieves!!

 

They need a small .44 size vent to let the thievery escape rapidly.

 

I know no one here on the HAMB would be guilty but some reason I thought insurance scam on one or two of the cars .

 

That scares me, I have 3 kill switches and I take my steering off and take it with me. So I can probably stop them from driving off but how do I stop them from a wrecker hauling it off?

 

^ There are several good posts on here concerning Hotel theft protection, unfortunately I just had a tough time trying to find one(can't remember the title).
These Hotel thefts are getting out of hand. How about the Promoters of some of these big events hiring a half dozen car guys to patrol the Hotels in the area. Shouldn't cost too much and if they catch just one dirt bag it would be worth it. I know it would not work in big cities like Detroit but worth a try at some of the less populated venues.

 

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Explosives and a remote detonator?

Roger

 

LoJac or some other tracking device. Leave a spare iPhone in your car and use the "Find my phone" app. That app works nation wide and only takes minutes to locate and it's very accurate. Plus you can use your iPhone to watch its movement as it goes down the road. You could also install a hidden USB port so the phone's battery would not die on you. I'm sure there is a similar app for Android phones.

 

GPS trackers are inexpensive and if you add a backup battery, they work even if they disconnect your battery. Controlled by your smartphone.
Directed Electronics DSM350 or VSM350 is $299ish installed and a backup battery can be as low as $75 installed. The annual fee is $100 or you can get 3 years of service for $240 ($6.67/mo).
https://www.mysmartstart.com/get/

 

Sorry but True ...
Send prospective thieves to your neighbor ...
Then you don't have to worry about recovering it ...

If you are driving your ride just around town or on a trip ,
you need to disable it every time you stop so it cannot be easily stolen.

If you are trailering your ride on a trip:

Most thefts of tow vehicles & trailers are random - there is no target other than the tow vehicle and/or the trailer which are primarily used to manufacture/transport drugs - cash - contraband.

Thieves will want to get in & out as quick as possible - that is why a tow vehicle is often taken just to get a trailer.

Make things difficult.

Flash = Cash

If you have a high dollar tow vehicle and/or an expensive looking enclosed trailer - chances are what is inside is a nice bonus.

Staying at a motel ?

Park where you can see your tow vehicle & trailer from your room.

Park in a manner that the rear door is blocked - you can back up to another vehicle or an obstruction.





Disable your tow vehicle - alarms are great but if you can install an ignition kill switch and/or pull a fuse that kills power to your ignition switch - that is better.

Block your tow vehicle in the front with another vehicle & disable it as well.

Traveling in a group ?

Circle the wagons ...

Park so your trailers are back to back - park so your rigs are side by side going in opposite directions - then angle the tow vehicle towards your buddys' trailer to block the rear door.

A lot of groups designate a zone - then members take shifts throughout the motel stay to stand guard with the tow rig & trailer.

A warning sticker helps ...





Storing your trailer ?

A removable coupler helps ...







Putting the tongue jack inside the trailer helps ...

Removing one or more wheels or booting them with a wheel lock helps.

Most effective:

Back your trailer up against an obstruction like a wall or perpendicular vehicle - then place another perpendicular vehicle in front & disable it.

Most important thing - make your tow vehicle & trailer difficult to steal - send the potential thief to an easier target.



Jim

 

that sucks

the hotel where i stay during Back to the 50's had a Roseville police officer on duty from 10 pm to 6 am this year...i wonder if they did the same thing for the street machine event?

i did have a GPS tracking device in my `30 coupe just in case

 

Could someone give us a list and description of the vehicles involved? Would help to know what we should be looking for.

 

Years ago I sold a 1965 Corvette Coupe to a guy. 2 Months latter it was stolen from him while it was parked unattended .It was picked up by probably by a wrecker There were tracks from dual tires backed up to the rear of the car where it was sitting.It was never seen again or recovered..

I,m sorry to have posted this.Maybe taking ,for some of you, the pleasure out of owning your classics car or making you perinoid.It's always been a fear of mine to have one of my fine cars stolen that I have put so much time into building.They are my pride and joy... Gene

 

How fast can a wrecker snatch a car?

 

I've only seen the descriptions of the two thatI mentioned earlier. Even though the cars are not Hamb friendly getting a car thief off the streets is good for all of us.
You kind of wonder if it's a theft ring with a shopping list or possibly a shop in the area deciding to get no cost parts to use on projects in the shop. Or just 7 individual thieves who decided that the pickings were too easy to pass up.
A search shows no more info so it's possible that car theft in that area is so common that it isn't considered newsworthy after the first splash on TV.

 

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OK, that's quick, but not a fair comparison. That was a front wheel drive econobox, and hardly compares with "our" rear drive cars.
I do recall seeing a video somewhere of a tow truck yanking a car sideways out of a parallel spot and hooking up conventionally to get it gone.

Roger

 

Surely these Motels/Hotels would have a security camera system that would show some strange movement. JW

 

If you have $50-$100k car why not have gps tracking?units are so cheap and offer real time tracking with your cell phone.

 

When I hear stories like this it really takes a lot of the fun out of owning a car that you know some people who love to steal.
I know some guys that go to certain car shows and then sleep in their cars or trailers with the the car that is how paranoid they are over their cars being stolen.

I have also had friends who went to car shows in Atlanta and parked in hotel parking lots that had security gates and a guard house where no one was allowed to enter if they were not staying there and they still had their car stolen while the guard was on duty!!

If you want to have a car that other want to steal start thinking about staying and sleeping with the car and never let the your car out of you sight even for a few minutes.

Another idea one of my customers told me that he uses is hiding a old cell phone some where in the car so that you can call it and then track the signal to help find the car.

Jimbo

 

I really hate a thief!!! I hope these cars are found but it's doubtfull

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/overnight-parking-safety.1016686/


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Maybe that video wasn't representative. But a friend of mine had his '32 Roadster stolen from behind his business, in broad daylight, right next to a roll up door where people were walking by occasionally. They figured it took about 30 seconds to pop it in neutral, hook it and go.

 

If the car has a locking steering column and the wrecker grabbed it from the rear it would be just as fast. Fwd or Rwd makes the wrecker's action different? No it makes the direction of the hook up different.