MAD282F Traflagar blue 2 door saloon

[dp]

stolen from outside my house Apr 11 or 12 Southend on Sea/Thorpe bay area

Unusual features, dechromed, black grill, fatter tyres. Number plate MAD282F[frame][/frame]

Police already informed, off now to trawl the local streets to see if it's been dumped

[jagnut66]

Hi, Sorry to hear about this.
It brings it closer to home when one as familiar to subscribers to this site, as this one is, gets stolen. Total scum!
I have a secret switch and a steering lock but if these b**st**ds want it they'll find a way!!
I was just reading Practical Classics about an classic Escort that was stolen, the thieves moved the other cars in front of it to get to it!!!
Reading the article in there, it seems that the thefts of classic cars are on the up.
Some must be stolen to order, some are probably on the boat before the owner even realises they are missing, allot may sadly end up on the likes of eBay as spare parts.......
There are other possible reasons but these seem to be the main ones for classics being stolen at present.
Whilst some may rub there hands with glee that classic cars are on the up price wise and that they may get a nice little return when they sell, increasing prices also means our cars are of more interest to the low-lifes in our society.
I for one will be glad when this latest bubble bursts and prices start to drop again, may be this type of scumbag will move onto something else then.....................
In the meantime I hope that you find your car.
Good luck and best wishes,
Mike.

[dp]

There are so many subtle and not-so-subtle changes with my car I think it would be very difficult to sell on as it is. As parts more likely or perhaps it's joyriders. Without going into detail here there were measures in place to prevent thieves.

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Sorry to hear about this, I hope you get it back.

[moggiethouable]

Sorry about this theft.
Was a disklok fitted?
I have yet to see one fitted with a disklok get nicked.
I am of course prepared to be corrected.
http://www.disklokuk.co.uk/

[bmcecosse]

Oh dear -this is terrible news - I do hope you find it soon. As you say - it is a very different Minor. Do you reckon they overcame the anti-theft measures? Or just towed it away.........

[POMMReg]

Chassis/body nos. please, add it to the ST list.

[dp]

The chassis number is MA2S51171539, Engine number 828B1 000 0232649 (Lancia). Police reckon towed straight into a van or truck

[Dean]

I'm very sorry to hear about this.

Fingers firmly crossed for good news.

[Becko]

Sorry about this theft.
Was a disklok fitted?
I have yet to see one fitted with a disklok get nicked.
I am of course prepared to be corrected.
http://www.disklokuk.co.uk/

disloks are great but without a steering lock you can still drive off with one fitted..

i do have extra security switches fitted to my traveller but that wouldnt stop someone towing it away

battery kill switches . fuel pump cut off , ignition cut off will help but if they want it ...it's going to go

hope you get your car back.... gutted for you

[moggiethouable]

Sorry about this theft.
Was a disklok fitted?
I have yet to see one fitted with a disklok get nicked.
I am of course prepared to be corrected.
http://www.disklokuk.co.uk/

disloks are great but without a steering lock you can still drive off with one fitted..

i do have extra security switches fitted to my traveller but that wouldnt stop someone towing it away

battery kill switches . fuel pump cut off , ignition cut off will help but if they want it ...it's going to go

hope you get your car back.... gutted for you

You can drive off with a disklok fitted, in a straight line, for a while.
Fit a disklok, etch the windows, fit electronic switches, the great majority of thefts are prevented with those simple measures.
Trailers and towing are not the preserve of the average Mog tea leaf.
You dont get Thatcham cat 3 rating without the product being at least respectable at theft prevention.I have no axe to grind here, but people take risks with their property that can seem innocuous at first but prove fatal later.

[bmcecosse]

How does a disc-loc prevent the steering being turned?

[moggiethouable]

How does a disc-loc prevent the steering being turned?

Although its called a disklok, it is when "locked" free to spin around the steering wheel.
It has a handle which hits the knees when rotated, but more importantly it has a very broad lip behind the steering wheel,making it nigh on impossible to grip the steering wheel, unless you had alien length digits.
The broad lip also makes it impossible to "peel" off.
I accept there is no definitive answer to theft, but a highly visible pain in the backside deterrent means you save your drivers side door lock, better to put them off in the first place, than a pleb breaking in to find a secret switch has befuddled him, or not as the case may be.

[dp]

Still nothing -

The police take, for what it's worth:

'Unlikely to be joyriders, as 1) it stands out too much and 2) the typical joyrider segment doesn't ride for joy but rather steals money to feed other sources of joy - trainers, drugs etc'.

Also unlikely to ever pop up as parts on Ebay or other sites in his experience - just vanishes never to be seen again.

When pressed as to who would go to the effort of pinching a Minor rather than something prestige, he said, 'they often turn up in UAE where we obviously have no jurisdiction. In a land where there are so many Ferraris & Lambos, status is now having something unique or highly unusual.'

That said there was a possible sighting in Barwell, Leics which I forwarded to the police but they haven't acknowledged. Actually I should ask here to possibily eliminate a line of enquiry, has anyone in Leics with a trafalgar blue Minor sent it to/from the painters without windows and numberplate?

As for disclocs, anyone with a passing understanding of Minors who wanted to target a Minor would easily be able to remove it.

To overcome trackers they typically pinch the car and leave it somewhere else for a few days to see if someone tracks it down. If not, probably clear of devices - unless it's a sting operation. Though I knew someone with a Nissan Skyline GTR with a tracker that still disappeared into the abyss -

There are mobile phone based trackers you can install yourself for £50-£100 plus whatever mobile phone standing charge you get. They can be hooked up to hidden cameras, fuel pump isolators and so on. Whether mobile phones worked in gausian caged van backs I don't know.

[bmcecosse]

Thanks for the explanation of the disc-loc. Sounds like a major 'discouragement' then. And indeed I doubt tracker or phone will work if the car is stored inside a container. Such a sad business - the answer I suppose is to keep a car with any value locked away in a garage when not in use - away from prying eyes. I hope your insurers are taking a realistic view of your car's value DP ! Ask Jono at JLH Minors to give you a quote to build you a replacement to the same condition and specification. And what really disturbs me is that although your car looks slightly unusual externally - only people on this forum are likely to know just how 'special' it is........I sincerely hope that it's not anyone using the forum who has 'taken a fancy' to your car..

[dp]

I'm sure it's not anyone on this forum. They'ed be taking quite a risk ringing it as so much is unique & would give it away. Also a lot of its parts won't just bolt on to another Minor.

Sad thing is I can't imagine getting another Minor as I would always be comparing with what I had built. With a baby daughter now I don't have the time or inclination to build another, it was tough enough finding time and motivation after it caught fire a few years' ago. And all those tricky painful jobs, new headlining with sound-deadening stuck above, wiring and windscreen rubbers. On the other hand, I kind of know my way around Minors a bit now having had this one since 1987 and my first as my first car in 1983. So regardless of (lack of) ownership I'll stick around on the forums like an embarrassing old uncle at christmas parties

[jagnut66]

Something else I read was a suggestion that any classics spotted either on or being put on / taken off a low loader should be reported to the police (having noted the reg if poss), in case it has been reported stolen.
Whilst some are bound to laugh at this idea, I think it's a good one, we need to get proactive on this, it could be our cars next!

[moggiethouable]

[quote="dp"]Still nothing -

As for disclocs, anyone with a passing understanding of Minors who wanted to target a Minor would easily be able to remove it.

I dont want anyone dissuaded though from using anything in our armoury to prevent rather than cure.
The disklok discourages the amateur tea leaf, the majority of tea leafs nicking Minors are just that,amateurs.
I have a passing understanding of Minors, but would be devastated at the amount of work ahead if I lost my disklok keys.
They are an absolute swine to get off without a key and together with all the other anti-theft options open to us are useful, though not an antidote to theft.
Thieves want to get in the vehicle and have it mobile quickly,the steering wheel disklok slows the whole process down dramatically.
This missive isnt intended to criticise anyone who does not have one, simply to suggest that the fitment of said is a good idea.
Not only is the Thatcham rating of cat C indicative of their usefulness, but also insurers will lower your premium if you fit one and inform them,there is no better seal of approval than insurers giving you money, surely.

[Becko]

Still nothing -

As for disclocs, anyone with a passing understanding of Minors who wanted to target a Minor would easily be able to remove it.

I dont want anyone dissuaded though from using anything in our armoury to prevent rather than cure.
The disklok discourages the amateur tea leaf, the majority of tea leafs nicking Minors are just that,amateurs.
I have a passing understanding of Minors, but would be devastated at the amount of work ahead if I lost my disklok keys.
They are an absolute swine to get off without a key and together with all the other anti-theft options open to us are useful, though not an antidote to theft.
Thieves want to get in the vehicle and have it mobile quickly,the steering wheel disklok slows the whole process down dramatically.
This missive isnt intended to criticise anyone who does not have one, simply to suggest that the fitment of said is a good idea.
Not only is the Thatcham rating of cat C indicative of their usefulness, but also insurers will lower your premium if you fit one and inform them,there is no better seal of approval than insurers giving you money, surely.

disloks are good but if your are going to use one ... get the early type with the padlock... these are not 'Thatcham' approved
but are alot harder to remove than the later type ...

but as i said before without a steering lock as in built into the ign barrel you can still steer the car with one fitted
yes it a big yellow thing in the way but it can be done

[jagnut66]

Any news on the car?
Best wishes,
Mike.