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Good evening!

I’m wondering what type of anti-theft device(s) anyone has installed or recommends for their post-war, 3-on-the-tree, power brake-equipped, 6-volt electrical system vehicles!?

Thanks for your input!

A master disconnect is a good start.

A second, concealed keyed ignition lock can help.



A determined thief is hard to stop.

Locking the car whenever you leave it will stop most casual thieves.

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All good ideas.

A second concealed switch cutting power going to the coil would help if someone tried to hotwire at the ign switch but might not help much if someone actually opened the hood and tried to hotwire the coil directly. A locking hood would help in that situation.

Perhaps one of the universal cable operated hood latching kits could be fitted or you could make a custom assy by finding and modifying a stock latch mechanism. Shorten the handle to a point the lack of leverage would make it almost impossible to be worked as normal and fasten a cable to the stub. You would probably also need to change the spring to one slightly weaker so it could be cable operated from inside the car. If that was not feasible a second pin that would extend thru the upper splasher could be added. Some hood anti theft kits have a pin and latch affair that has a key lock portion although that assy might be hard to reach thru the grille. Some are electric and probably only available in 12v but maybe a commercial 6v solenoid could be found and made to fit.

With the extra power cutoff or the hood lock you could also add a concealed switch to the distributor side of the coil. Connect a wire either at the coil or distributor terminal and have the wire disguised as it goes to another concealed switch which would be grounded. Turning that switch on would ground the points so even if the car was hotwired it would not start. If the car has an overdrive, depending on type adding the wire and switch at the OD relay or kickdown switch to parallel the ign cutoff circuit would completely hide it. Unless the thief knew Packard wiring it would not likely be found.

Simple things are pocketing the rotor, is kind of obvious, a less obvious one is a small piece of cardboard between the point contacts!
Bob J

A battery cut-off switch located in a non-visible are is probably your best option short of using something like a modern steering wheel lock bar.

An ignition cut-off switch doesn't stop someone with an alligator clips wire from powering the coil from another source under the hood. That and a screwdriver on the starter solenoid will start most old cars in less than 30 seconds.

I believe this is why Packard had those armored coil wires at one time.

You might make up a dummy coil wire out of vacuum tubing. Put a boot and brass clip on each end of a length of tubing and replace the real coil wire with the non-conductive dummy.

If it's the conv in the picture, then good luck. They'll slit the top just for spite.
The best defense is one the enemy can see at a distance so those steering wheel bar locks or tire clamps are probably the best beside keeping it garaged/out of sight. Eventually, they'll get good at defeating those, if not already. If at first they don't see some deterrent, and it's juicy, they'll plunge right in. U want to stop/deter that initial advance. That's why those protection co. signs in yards work even when not in use. Given a choice, which house - with or without?
Be careful where you go, park, and for how long. If the steering wheel or tire isn't locked, then they can step on the clutch or ease in neutral and push it away/tow without it running, too. More time to defeat your puzzle elsewhere. That's why they came up with the locking ignition, locks the steering and trans too. They learned to defeat those, so it's a moving target. The sophisticated rings will simply winch it on a tow/box truck and whisk away to the chop shop. ie, not a joy rider theft.
I think being a P is a deterrent anyway. What is that? They like things they can flip or turn into parts for cash. Why they're cutting off catalytics now in daylight. May have to wait a long time to sell a P or its parts and they'll be more likely noticed/arrested if they put online/store. In this case rarity is a virtue. But hasn't stopped the theft of valuables through out history. There's an international collector market too. Put in a container and never seen again.
What I don't like about electrical gimmicks is if amateur breaks in and can't get it going, they may cause more damage. Plus more things to go wrong when troubleshooting issues.
Don't leave valuables in the open. I had my tow vehicle vent window pried open w/electric door locks to get less than a bucks worth of change off my custom van dash in a crowded parking lot plus they ransacked the compartments looking for more. All they wanted was money. I could have left some on the bumper taped a buck on the windshield and been better off. Don't bait the trap for the wise mouse. If you have a fancy stereo or other appliance, then concealing them from view is wise. Many options. I had to park out on the street at home once, quiet town, and they stole the safety break away hood ornament overnight when that was popular. Easy to walk/drive by and twist it off put in a pocket. I fished a tournament near a major city and four lower units were heisted at the motel. 4 bolts and it's yours @ $2K apiece. They backed them in so they were secluded from view. Night time is no time. If you go to a show, use an enclosed trailer.
I used to like alarms, but there's so many now, you hear one accidently go off on every Walmart lot, and no one pays them alert. Without a computer like today, these old cars are not easy to harden. Be wise.

If it is a convertible, just leave it unlocked. Better for someone to open the door and rummage around, rather than cut open the convertible top and still rummage around.

With HH56 help I installed a blinking red light when ignition is off using the overdrive indicator as a deterent for overnights at a motel.
For towaway defense, i hid an Apple Airtag in the car. More for my piece of mind.
In the ‘70s my top was slit, but not to break in, but to steal my rear window, prob for a street rod.

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Depending on the distributor location, it could be hard to spot if you were to disconnect the wire going to the distributor base and put a switch in line.

Another idea is to take a spare ballast resistor in series with a switch. Ground one side and connect the other to the "coil" terminal on the starter. This won't help with people hot wiring directly to the coil, but it would if they wire to the switch side of the ballast resistor, hotwire inside the car, or pick the ignition. This would have the curious effect of the engine firing over when started, but immediately dying. Might be more distinctive than a car alarm!