5 Attachment(s)
Wheel Mounted "MINI-CLUB"
We all know that a car thief that decides he wants our car will likely get it at some point, but we take steps to slow them down or surprise them in their attempts, and hopefully to attract attention or generate some noise. Some time back I saw an article in one of the street rod magazines about an assembly that locked onto the front axle components to keep the steering at a fully turned position. The idea is that if you're parked at a normal motel spot, perpendicular to the curb with cars on both sides having the front wheels cranked will tend to pull your car into the adjacent vehicle if they try to hook the back and winch it out onto a flatbed or just roll it away to a more secluded area. For some reason the concept stuck in my head, and the other day I started playing around with some 1/4" plate.
Looking at my front end it made most sense to crank the wheels right, which put the spindle steering arm about parallel to the hairpin, and the hairpin has a slotted hole to fit to the batwing - an ideal place for a 3/8"shank padlock without having to weld anything onto the frame. Here's what I ended up with. The top piece sits atop the steering arm and hairpin, and the bottom piece fits into a slot on the end of the top part, aligning with the hairpin end above.
The steering arm is captured by the angle end and a builtup section of plate (my arm is 5/8" thick, so I used a piece of 3/8 topped with a piece of 1/4", all welded solid) that is positioned to fit the arm snugly. That builtup section is critical - the arm is going to try to compress this device to straighten the wheels, so it and the lock take all the force. The angle on the end only holds the top & bottom together, keeping the unit from being lifted off of the arm, and the bottom plate extends 1/2" which makes it all but impossible to bend things apart - too many constraints. Here's a few shots showing the pieces/parts I came up with for my "mini-club":
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Attachment 52845
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And here's one with the bright, attention grabbing red finish with a few coats of PlastiCote in the channel to keep from scratching the chrome steering arm:
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And one showing it locked in place, holding the steering captive:
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It takes a minute or two to lock in place, quicker if you have another set of hands to adjust the steering wheel while the lock is inserted. There is virtually no play in the steering, so it has to be aligned close to fit. Sure, a cutoff wheel or hacksaw can slice through the 1/4" plate or the lock can be cut, but it's going to take some time, and more important will make some noise. If forced I expect that the hairpin clevis would be the weak point, but it's pretty substantial. May not be ideal, but it may help me rest a little more worry free than simply leaving the car where it can be rolled away....;)
