A couple of years ago, I would have just said hide a switch that cuts the power to the points.

However, in view of some of the money being spent on peoples minis and the value of the coopers and the like, I have changed my mind.

I have also heard about the couple of Cooper S that have been stolen from locked garages.

Whilst its true that a dedicated thief will take the car regardless, its the mindless amateurs and joy riders that do the most damage and these types usually wont persist with a non starting car. The risk of getting caught increases exponentially the longer they fiddle with it.

Lifting the bonnet and simply taking out the rotor button each time you leave the car is almost as good as anything else.

Hi anton,

A physical kill switch such as the battery isolators are good. I have 3 devices on my car including the visual deterant of a clublock.

There are lots of little things you can do like remove the the fuses, or for longer term perhaps removing 2 spark plugs, remove the trottle return spring or something like that.

More importantly don't park it somewhere dumb overnight. If you have to go out at night to a shady area, drive the other car if you can. Don't park in the same locations every time because thieves or joyriders won't steal your car on a whim, they spot it often and will do it when there is a good opportunity(avoiding the "Dude I know where there is a mini parked in such and such street every day" mentality). If you are not spotted in the same place twice then odds are they won't look for opportunities.

I heard someone talk about a motorbike wheel lock. Surely there is some device like this that can fit onto mini contessas or something??

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

I guess added to whats already been said - everyone knows a Cooper S is a rare and valuable car - even people who are not especially mini orientated, But for rest of the marque they are just minis.

So in most cases it would be just joy riders who try to steal mini's and trash them. I also feel that its really only the mini enthusiasts who have an appreciation of exactly what a clubman GT is. A lot of other cars had GT badges stuck on them back them and the term GT lost its value. So in most cases theft attempts would be by the unknowing.

However, a mini enthusiast thief would spot that car in an instant and you could be fairly sure it would never surface again.

rules:

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00' Forester GT

I used to run a kill switch on mine but ran it to the electric fuel pump only, not the ignition or anything. You could start it and drive it till the float bowl ran out, then it stalled. The way I saw it, potential thieves would think it had no kill switch, and would figure that the car had just broken down after a km, being British! That way when my car goes missing I just go for a short walk to find it
I have since replaced it with a proper touch key immobiliser (originality and a flashing red light are of no concern to me) which was pretty cheap and far more effective. But if somebody wants the car then it isn't going to stop them.

I challenge you to find where I have said anything is ugly or anything of the sort

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Click here for the Turbo Conversion Thread!

being a clubby its still got the mini name whether we roundie owners like it or not

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busier than a 0ne legged man in a butt kicking competion

Bugger 'em, make it as hard as possible, a couple of switches here and there can be bought in to make it a challenge. You can have as many isolators as you want, but if they are all controlled from the one little box or switch, then you aren't presenting a challenge at all to a thief with a little experience.

I used to have one next to the fuel pump under the back, one grounding the negative side of the coil inside the cabin and maybe even still pull off a wire or two physically as a red herring.

If it takes 5 minutes to find the first problem, try and start it and it won't, then 20 minutes to crawl about and find the second and then another fault finding session 2 kilometers down the road to get the car away, then good luck to them.

It will give me time to select my favourite clubbing iron anyway. Layering faults can really give them a headache and cuts into the attention span they are willing to devote to your car.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I used to just take two of the dizzy leads with me.

I wouldnt have thought it was worth installing an alarm in an old skool mini. Cant imagine it would be too hard to disable ?

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No more Minis!......For now.

and which cooper s would that be mick the one i robbed all the parts off today

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busier than a 0ne legged man in a butt kicking competion

What Thief or Joy rider carries a Hightention lead

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

However, a mini enthusiast thief would spot that car in an instant and you could be fairly sure it would never surface again.[/quote]
Now there's a statement..".Mini enthusiast thief"
Its a real worry when you stay o/night at some Events.
Make sure you keep this in mine at National Mini Events!

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naw - thieves dont go to national events - what are they going to do - drive for ten hours along the flat open Hay plains.

I was once told that, when doing a transaction (like selling a car) you need to watch for the person who doesn't trust you. It mostly means that they are not trust worthy themselves.

There is a trueism there. Most people look you straight in the eye and are enthusiastic at simply communicating with you.

However, psycologists decribe theft as intent waiting for opportunity.

Mick is not here, he his striking out accross Bass Straight clinging to a spare mini wheel for flotation. Should be there by morning.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Any one care to PM me on where to put a switch on a Mini Deluxe (of Mini K).

Cheers.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...