Classic Chevy Killswitch

I just recently managed to get my 1954 Chevy 210 running again after
throwing a rod three years ago, and one of the things I spent allot of
time working on was wiring for the starter and ignitions system.

Having worked on the wiring, I can now see that it would be mindlessly
easy to hotwire the engine. I also remember something a friend had once
told me about putting a killswitch onto the wire to the solenoid. The
Idea was that if someone tried to start the car without knowing about
the killswitch, the starter would just spin away, but never engage the
motor, creating a lot of noise and making the would be car-thief think
the car is a non-runner.

Unfortunately, The solenoid and starter motor are wired differently in
my car. The wire to the solenoid also serves to power the starter
motor, so installing a killswitch on the solenoid also stops the
starter from kicking in.

As an alternative, I have considered installing a killswitch on the
ignition wire (the wire that connects the battery to the ignition coil
and distributor when the car is running). With the Ignition wire cut by
a killswitch, the solenoid and starter would both engage properly, and
would attempt to crank the engine over, but with no power to the
distributor the motor would never turn over.

Unfortunately I do not know enough to tell if this is really a good
idea. I am worried that while the distributor would be off line, the
fuel pump might still work and would continue to put fuel in the
cylinders, possibly flooding them.

Does anyone know if this type of kill switch would work and/or be a
good idea? Otherwise, does anyone else know of another clever theft
deterrent system for classic cars?

-SunWatch

wrote:

> Does anyone know if this type of kill switch would work and/or be a
> good idea? Otherwise, does anyone else know of another clever theft
> deterrent system for classic cars?

Yeah, it would work; in fact, a typical anti-theft device in the 40s was to pull
the coil wire out and take it with you. The main disadvantage of this is that a
potential thief can run the battery down trying to start the car. As for
flooding the cylinders; yes, this will happen. It's not a problem unless you try
to start the car yourself within a few minutes.

One anti-theft device that will do exactly what you want is a fuel shutoff
valve. These are installed under the floor on the driver's side and can be
turned on or off from inside the car. They turn off the fuel flow from the tank.
A thief may be able to start the car with the gas that's in the carb fuel bowl,
but it will die pretty soon. J.C. Whitney used to sell them. They were popular
during the 70s.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.