Another Capri Stolen....

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

andyd wrote:We get about 3 different posties a week :headscratch: What happened to the regulars :?
Once they catch sight of your 2.8, they mysteriously 'disappear' and are never heard from again...... :? :lol:

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by andyd »

Andrew 2.8i wrote:
andyd wrote:We get about 3 different posties a week :headscratch: What happened to the regulars :?
Once they catch sight of your 2.8, they mysteriously 'disappear' and are never heard from again...... :? :lol:

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:lol:
The same guy turned up the following day but as far as I know not been seen here since ..... :whistle:
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Daz-RSK »

It's the sad state of the times when classic Ford models are being stolen. But where there is money, there is theft.

I must admit to not practicing what I am about to preach. Mine is in a locked, alarmed garage with a caravan sort of in the way, with a locked gate and locked post blocking the driveway. But I am conscious that frankly, if anything can be taken, it will be taken. Sad state of affairs.

But there a few very cheap ways of making the car an undesirable theft. Immobilising is one. I don't mean an immobiliser - I mean an IMMOBILISER.

Years ago, when I had my 1st one, back in the early 1990's, it wasn't unusual for me to be in the pub and on the table in front of me, beer, fags, lighter and LT lead. Or rotor arm in daylight.

Obviously electronic immobilisers that can be after fitted are a good way of keeping the car on the ground. But I always went for the removal route because it is unlikely that the thief is going to be carrying around a rotor arm or a fuel pump :lol: or whatever with him. It's quite different but it is effective. Don't add to the car - take stuff off it.

But let's be sensible here please. Don't take the front wings off to immobilise your car. Did that once and the pub landlord wouldn't accept them leant up against the bar in case the customers tripped over them. :lol:

The other simple route, especially if the car is not used as a daily, is to remove the wheels and leave of stands. TBH, it is very difficult to move a non rolling shell without a low loader. And I think that whilst everything is possible, someone turning up with a crane and loader would look a little conspicuous at 3am.
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by andyd »

Just saw the front page of Classic Car weekly, and it states 30 classic cars stolen in one month :!:
Over the last two months, 8 Fast Fords, 2 E Types, 5 VW and 2 Morris Minors have been taken :(
MP's are asking for more Police funding to deal with vehicle crime.....That's the end of that then :roll:
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Peter-S »

Daz-RSK wrote:Years ago, when I had my 1st one, back in the early 1990's, it wasn't unusual for me to be in the pub and on the table in front of me, beer, fags, lighter and LT lead. Or rotor arm in daylight.
When we went away recently I locked one Capri away in the garage. The other one, behind locked gates, is quite difficult to get at and was trusted to the neighbours to keep an eye on. When I got home it wouldn't start. I was quietly swearing at it under my breath and then remembered that the rotor arm was in my tool bag in the shed!
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Oh Dear, Fords are top of the theft list. :x
Of course it's a good idea to do all you can to deter theft, like Peter's rotor arm trick. However, I believe that most old fast Fords are targeted by professional thieves who are unlikely to be defeated for long by a missing rotor arm. They'll most likely use a truck or even a trailer anyway, as starting and driving the Capri will be too noisy and conspicuous.
As said, it's very important to put as many anti-theft methods in place as possible to stop the thieves.

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Jasonmarie »

All that’s not good , you did make me laugh peter with forgetting what you did ... :lol:
Sounds like the 80s all over again where they were nicking fast Fords , yes I did panick when I was followed and now will make sure there’s no one behaving funny behind me .
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Jasonmarie wrote:Sounds like the 80s all over again where they were nicking fast Fords

Yes, but it was mostly joyriders doing the pinching back then, whereas now I believe the cars will be stolen to order by more professional and organised gangs. Due to the cars and parts prices increasing, the cars may even be stolen in order to be stripped for parts.

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Jasonmarie »

Your right Andrew , it’s not something to forget about , yes perhaps I did go over the top of getting CCTV also have the stop lock
immobilizer And I do marks with finger prints from me all over the car .
As we have said on here I think sometime the car May be worth more in parts then the car it’s self .
We can only do our best and enjoy them as much as we can .
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Jasonmarie wrote: perhaps I did go over the top of getting CCTV
No, I don't think so, that sounds sensible to me. It might prove to be that vital deterrent to theft, and if the worse happens it might even be able to provide vital evidence to find the car. I reckon that most people in the theft game are probably known to the Police in one way or another.

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Jasonmarie »

Yes I am sure your right , I did notice the other day a delivery driver knock on the door and he looked right up at the camera so it did the job there that if he was up to know good you can see them .
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Fordoholic Nick »

andyd wrote:Just saw the front page of Classic Car weekly, and it states 30 classic cars stolen in one month :!:
Over the last two months, 8 Fast Fords, 2 E Types, 5 VW and 2 Morris Minors have been taken :(
MP's are asking for more Police funding to deal with vehicle crime.....That's the end of that then :roll:
Yep, I have this copy too and just been reading this worrying article. Here is the list of the 30 cars stolen in as many days. Escort XR3i stolen from Enfield :shock: but check out the three Morris Minors all stolen from the London area....wonder if these three thefts are linked as seems very odd why three Minors would be stolen a matter of days apart ??? One Capri from London too ! Anyway here is the list...

Image2018-11-04_02-20-37 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr

Yep as Andy said the funding for vehicle related crime is just not there. The forces are completely overstretched and more needs to be done as this sort of crime is in the ascent and is very very worrying :(
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Daz-RSK »

Andrew 2.8i wrote:Oh Dear, Fords are top of the theft list. :x
Of course it's a good idea to do all you can to deter theft, like Peter's rotor arm trick. However, I believe that most old fast Fords are targeted by professional thieves who are unlikely to be defeated for long by a missing rotor arm. They'll most likely use a truck or even a trailer anyway, as starting and driving the Capri will be too noisy and conspicuous.
As said, it's very important to put as many anti-theft methods in place as possible to stop the thieves.

Andrew.
Agreed that a rotor arm or some missing ignition piece is unlikely to deter thieves. They'll get your car in the end.

Very few thieves can shift an immovable car though. You would not believe how hard it is to shift a car that has no wheels on it. Also, if it is parked in a way that it is obstructed by something else, a non rolling chassis is a problem. Very few thieves turn up with Hiabs. I think the truck in the street with a Hiab lifting a motor over the garden fence might look a little conspicuous to the neighbours. :lol:
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Daz-RSK »

Fordoholic Nick wrote:
andyd wrote:Just saw the front page of Classic Car weekly, and it states 30 classic cars stolen in one month :!:
Over the last two months, 8 Fast Fords, 2 E Types, 5 VW and 2 Morris Minors have been taken :(
MP's are asking for more Police funding to deal with vehicle crime.....That's the end of that then :roll:
Yep, I have this copy too and just been reading this worrying article. Here is the list of the 30 cars stolen in as many days. Escort XR3i stolen from Enfield :shock: but check out the three Morris Minors all stolen from the London area....wonder if these three thefts are linked as seems very odd why three Minors would be stolen a matter of days apart ??? One Capri from London too ! Anyway here is the list...

Image2018-11-04_02-20-37 by nicholas bowler, on Flickr

Yep as Andy said the funding for vehicle related crime is just not there. The forces are completely overstretched and more needs to be done as this sort of crime is in the ascent and is very very worrying :(
But what I always maintain are 2 things:-

1) You can only lock down your vehicle as much as you think it is necessary to lock down. In the end, if a thief wants it, given time on their hands, they'll get it. But if you are satisfied that you have done everything you can to make it's theft a little more awkward than average, if it goes, it probably was going to be taken anyway. That's life.

2) These types of articles tend to sensationalise. No disrespect to either the editor of it or for you guys who have read this and think this is concerning - it is a worrying article. It is also true. But it is to create a reaction. Let's place this in perspective. I always call these the hospital syndrome - just because many people are in hospital or went to the hospital today, that doesn't mean the whole country is sick. 30 cars is enlightening. That's also 30 owners whose lives have been temporarily upset, disrupted etc. And that is serious. There are probably over 500,000 registered classic cars in the UK. So 30 stolen in one month would take 18,000 months to steal all of them - or 1500 years. It's just a bit of perspective, that's all.

If car theft is the concern, I have more concern about the theft of modern keyless entry motors which, after 25yrs of falling car thefts, suddenly have become to issue behind the recent increase. 89000 thefts in 2017 vs 56000 in 2016 and it is marching upwards. When you consider the car park in the UK is 35 million motors and most don't have keyless, that means one in 400 motors were stolen in 2017, if my maths is correct. Now that is a little concerning because, probably in your neighbourhood, someone has lost their motor.
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Jasonmarie »

I do belive the police and this government have lost the plot , as they don’t deal with crime any more it’s all paper work .
Just feel for these guys that have had there cars stolen my mum and dad had there xr3i stolen in the early 90s and it was found the following day with no wheels in a field . It’s upseting and causes people a lot of stress .

I would love the paper to report what systems or security these cars had . Because they did not work . So at least if we spend £500 on Something that works . I use a stop lock but you guys have the full disk lock .
Question should I bin mine and get a disk lock or mine is ok ? Who knows ?
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Jasonmarie wrote: Question should I bin mine and get a disk lock or mine is ok ? Who knows ?
Hi Jason,
There's a review of the Stoplock and Disklok on the Direct Line website:
https://www.directline.com/car-cover/an ... ng-devices

In tests, it took a thief 5 minutes to defeat the Stoplock, but the Disklok was the top rated device.

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Jasonmarie »

Yes very interesting Andrew so what size should I be looking at gentleman?
As I notice on Amazon they come in a few different sizes .
Cheers Jason
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Jasonmarie wrote:what size should I be looking at
Small.

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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Daz-RSK »

Jasonmarie wrote:I do belive the police and this government have lost the plot , as they don’t deal with crime any more it’s all paper work .
Just feel for these guys that have had there cars stolen my mum and dad had there xr3i stolen in the early 90s and it was found the following day with no wheels in a field . It’s upseting and causes people a lot of stress .

I would love the paper to report what systems or security these cars had . Because they did not work . So at least if we spend £500 on Something that works . I use a stop lock but you guys have the full disk lock .
Question should I bin mine and get a disk lock or mine is ok ? Who knows ?
You would really need to look at the whole set up Jason. You mention £500 on something. It could be £500 in the wrong direction.

What I mean by the whole set up is not just the car. So a car with a disc-lock on sat somewhere where car theft is rife or above average will be taken. if it is in the open. Sat with all the lock downs you can get on the car, it is still a target, out in the open.

A guy I was speaking to recently has bought a Sapphire Cossie for quite cheap money and uses it each weekend - doesn't place it in the garage. It sits on the driveway. He knew the risk that he is taking with that and someone could come along and drive it away.

Treat the car as a move-able object - if it can move, it will move.

You have to start from where the car is positioned at home. I guess in a garage ? Is the garage secure ? Is it alarmed ? Do you have other deterrents that just make your Capri a little more safe that someone else's motor. Then look towards your car and see what can be done.

It's not about throwing money in one direction. It is about looking at the whole set up. As said above, removing the wheels makes the car immovable and is probably one of the best deterrents you'll find, for free - with the disc-lock on as well just to add to the nightmare for the would-be thief. But a car being used frequently, where the first job is to place the wheels on is not so appetising. It is easier on a motor that's just a summer runner for dry days only. And they state that if the car is stored, you should really remove the wheels to prevent flat spots on the tyres and other things. But whether you buy into that or not - wheel removal is useful, but only to some.

It's the whole scene you need to look at.

I had a trailer stolen off my driveway 15 years ago. Hitch lock, wheel locks on the wheels and it still went. The issue with trailers is that you can't bolt them down as firmly as a motor, in many respects. So it needed to have a little lateral thinking. The trailer that replaced it is now placed out of sight and only a tractor - like a ride on mower - can get it out. That trailer is now secure as it has been for 15 years.
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Re: Another Capri Stolen....

Post by Jasonmarie »

Yes I have a alarm and immobiliser with a stop lock also if in garage it’s well and truly blocked ..
I might skip the dislock and go for a wheel clamp as another device . To put them off and also CCTV so I don’t think there is much more I can do .

I did see in the USA a device called the wrap it’s like the dislock but with a built in alarm system so that would be going with the capris alarm .

And also on the window a picture of my mother in law what must be the best deterrent :beer:

Ps cheers Andrew :cool:
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