Master Switch lockout

[Private_collector]

In the mid 70s my father bought a new Ford Falcon. For the first few weeks he relied solely on one of the devices that locks into the steering wheel and expands from one end to form a physical barrier to stop the steering wheel from turning until the device was unlocked with its key and removed. This worked well, but dad had seen a demonstration of how similar devices could be broken sufficiently that the vehicle could be driven away. Dad came up with a simple method of his design, that would outsmart any but the most determined of thieves.

The fuel line, which by good fortune, ran down beneath the driver side floor, was cut and rerouted through a simple on-off tap. The tap was hidden beneath the carpet, aft of the place where the front and rear carpet sections overlap. The tap was entirely hidden, and once turned to 'off' position, the vehicle would only move about ten feet once started. If you took too long getting ready, you wouldn't move any distance at all!

That tap worked well, too bloody well. I rarely drove dads car, but on the occasions that I did, you could be sure that I forgot about the damn tap more often than not. Dad sold that car in 1990. When the new owner went to drive it away,..........yep you guessed it, dad had forgotten to tell him about the tap, so it died as it was leaving the driveway. Once enlightened, the buyer saw the funny side. If that old car is still on the road (and that's doubtful) I expect you would still need a tow truck to nick it!!

Something similarly hidden would work equally well on any vehicle.

[super dave]

I installed a Master disconnect from an iltis and installed it in the mutt in front of the battery box area .

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

...
The fuel line, which by good fortune, ran down beneath the driver side floor, was cut and rerouted through a simple on-off tap.

...

Something similarly hidden would work equally well on any vehicle.

Come to think of it, there is a cut off valve on the main fuel line of the M38A1. It sits low near or on the frame rail under the hood.

[Casey B]

Yes there is a fuel shut off there in the fuel line. I often thought of shutting it off to stop a would be thief but alas as Rob says only the honest ones would be stopped. Plus it is so old and in need of replacement it would probably break on me in the closed position! So I too put a switch in under the hood that looks like well a plug for a hole or a tap for coolant flow. It does what I assumt the switch on the Iltis does dissconect the power from the batteries? That's what mine does and when it's raining hard yep you guessed it I forget hop in and nothing...Time to get wet. That's the least of my worries here on the coast!