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MG MGA - MGA Security

I am always aware of the vulnerability of the car to theft ..especially in carparks and on the street . Over the years I have fitted a boot lock ( as per Barneys site ) and a keyed battery isolator behind pax seat. I am also always looking for something to scream.. In the house alarm section of Bunnings Hardware ( now in UK?) I found this wee device..Arlec Slim Window alarm ..for the princely sum of $10 . It sticks on the window and has a warning label showing outside....all good.
Bought two and put one forward on each widescreen. Pics attached .to this and next post
A little more at ease now ..also hid a TILE in the car to know where it is .

PS Next step is a lockable wire reinforced cover sheet or maybe I just keep it in the garage??


Neil Ferguson

pic from the outside ...and just to add I have a hardtop...but security increase also good with soft


Neil Ferguson

There are a few other things that can be done. On this side of the pond we have Lo-Jack which is a tracking device put on the car and the police can track the car when notified it is missing. Another is using a inline brake lock which can be a hydraulic lock from a jet plane. Also for cars that are more of a daily driver, an alarm system that will go off if the doors or boot or bonnet are opened. These will slow down a person but if they want it bad enough, they will get the car.

Jeff Becker
JEFF BECKER

Holy cow...there's car theft in Australia?
Gene Gillam

I bought a tracking device from Amazon for about £25 which takes a sim card and has a gps receiver. If the car is moved or started the device rings you mobile and leaves a text and the maps app shows the car's location. It can also do things like disable the engine by sending a code over your phone or call emergency services if you fit an inertia switch and the switch detects an accident.
Graeme Williams

"Holy cow...there's car theft in Australia?"

Gene, you obviously haven't studied the history of Australia! :-)

Im surprised that car theft isnt compulsory! :-)


But they turned out well didnt they:-

They've invented Fosters Lager, Crocodile Dundee, Didgeridoos, boomerangs, songs about someone called Matilda who walzed whilst her billy boiled under the shade of a cooliba tree next to billabong and hats with corks dangling from the brims.

But in spite of beating us all the time at both cricket and rugby and calling us "Pommie Ba**ards", they are the friendliest people on the planet and I love em!!

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Neil,
(if you are still talking to me after my last post :-)

I got a bit carried away and I forgot to ask if you think that the new alarm you have would work under a tonneau cover?

I almost never fit the soft top and I wondered if your alarm needs to be in an enclosed space in still air, to work properly.

It does look ideal for the MGA.

Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Graeme....like. The sound of that device ...more details ? Does it drive the car home ?

Colyn....great oz inventions continued....
The rotary grass mower, the rotary cloths dryer, the stubby holder, Julia Gillard.....

.....and see no reason it would not work under a tonneau....but difficult to see the warning sign!
Neil Ferguson

Graeme....like. The sound of that device ...more details ? Does it drive the car home ?

Colyn....great oz inventions continued....
The rotary grass mower, the rotary cloths dryer, the stubby holder, Julia Gillard.....

.....and see no reason it would not work under a tonneau....but difficult to see the warning sign!
Neil Ferguson

I have been known to take the steering wheel with me to my hotel room when I left the car in the market square in a French village.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Criminals in Australia? Haw, they are all here steeling my stuff. Every time I leave the building, so does my stuff (leave). Trust me, all the good thieves are in France
Ernie Yuck

OK, enough bragging there Ernie. Come back we need you to take care of a little problem with dopie from down under just got called out by someone who actually knows something,

Yes, those lights are great.
S Nott

OK skye remember who got this turd rolling on this. This one gonna cost you big. not sustaneable!!

Right, better lighting at night is therefore preferred, I agree
Rob C

A switch under the dash to cut the fuel pump works quite well at blocking traffic at the nearest intersection. ... easy to locate even without a GPS module.

IIRC, there is a 'normally open' version that must be tripped every time the car is switched back on, so you can't forget to switch it off when parking.
MAndrus

The MGA comes with three standard anti-theft devices. The first is a pull starter, the second is a choke, and the third is a standard transmission. When we lived in NVA, every time I got tires on my MGB (a thoroughly modern car in many respects to an MGA)I had to drive the car in and out of the tire shop as no one who worked there was able to drive a standard transmission. This happened multiple times at several shops. A simple kill switch could be easily installed out of the way if necessary as a deterrent, if one really desires something.
Bill Haglan

Bill,
You forgot the fly-off handbrake, which defeats many.
Shane
Shanerj

And no door handles: "how do I get in?"

Steve: do they steal steering wheels in France?

Neil: this was the device from Amazon- “GPS Car Tracker with GPRS and Vehicle Theft Protection System” (Model:TK103A )
There are lots of similar devices.
A down side is longterm is might flatten your battery.
Graeme Williams

In the old days, I would occasionally remove the distributor rotor arm. I guess a much more effective deterrent now than it was then
Graham V

Seeing as Australia got a mention I thought I would wish everybody a happy Empire Day today.

Funny how the Abbos never get a mention about how great Oz is.Maybe they are all in jail for nicking MGAs( or for anything really).

M Blencowe

M Blencowe...
It is best not to make ill informed comments about issues in Oz. ....but good to see someone from Cymru able to write in English .
Neil Ferguson

I'd never leave my car in a dangerous part of a city, but I can't imagine that an MGA would be much of a (successful) target for car thieves. Several folks have already mentioned design features that make an MGA utterly inscrutable to most modern drivers.

On a related note, I've only ever had anything stolen from an MG once. Around 1979, I attended the Kitsap County (Washington) Fair with a friend. We left my 1968 MGB parked with the tonneau cover deployed. When we returned, some SOB had nicked the bag of pot out of the map pocket.

Must have seen us partaking when we arrived.
David Breneman

This thread was discussed between 22/05/2016 and 25/05/2016

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