63 Riv Kill Switch hiding place

[Turbinator]

Gents, I had a devil of a time where I could put the kill switch. I put the switch in the bottom of the ash tray. If I put a coins in the bottom that would help keep the switch out of sight.

Red Riviera Bob

[Schmiddy]

Haha, very cool! ...you're kind of Mr. Q, hm?!  (...the guy who build James Bonds gadgets ) Great idea!

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by Schmiddy (see edit history)

[Turbinator]

1 hour ago, Schmiddy said:

Haha, very cool! ...you're kind of Mr. Q, hm?!  (...the guy who build James Bonds gadgets ) Great idea!

 

Schmiddy, car thieves are every where. It just seems the thieves in central Maryland can steal baking soda out of biscuit without breaking the crust.

thank you

[rodneybeauchamp]

Bob,

just fill it full of butts and dog ends, no one would bother to search in there. Might smell a bit though!

???????

 

BTW, the switch I fitted works very well, fools me a couple of times when it won’t fire cos I forgot to switch it off!

I would tell ya all where mine is fitted, but I’d have to kill ya!

 

But tis in dees photos,  somewheres! The small toggle switch under the dash is for changing AM/FM.

 

[Schmiddy]

15 hours ago, Red Riviera Bob said:

Schmiddy, car thieves are every where. It just seems the thieves in central Maryland can steal baking soda out of biscuit without breaking the crust.

thank you

Oh my gosh... That sounds pretty skillfull! Hoping they will never discover that secret switch!
I know that some of them are looking into ash trays while hoping to find some  remnants of joints or marijuana 

[RivNut]

4 hours ago, rodneybeauchamp said:

Bob,

just fill it full of butts and dog ends, no one would bother to search in there. Might smell a bit though!

???????

 

BTW, the switch I fitted works very well, fools me a couple of times when it won’t fire cos I forgot to switch it off!

I would tell ya all where mine is fitted, but I’d have to kill ya!

 

But tis in dees photos,  somewheres! The small toggle switch under the dash is for changing AM/FM.

 

Do you have a power antenna?  Basic AM radio didn't come with a power antenna but you've got a switch in that position. 

Edited April 17, 2018 by RivNut (see edit history)

[KongaMan]

1 minute ago, RivNut said:

Do you have a power antenna?

 

That's what I was looking at: install a courtesy light switch in that position.  For the 64, you could use the ACC position if you don't have a defroster.  

[telriv]

I've wired kill switches into the cig. liter circuit. Push in the liter kills ign. Pull liter up one notch ign. on.

Have ALSO installed a starter dis-abler. Used a H/Duty push button switch mounted under the rug.using the purple wire from the starter. Crank by depressing switch. When in the up position starter won't crank. Mounted under the rug NO ONE will see or even know it's there.

 

 

Tom T.

[Turbinator]

18 minutes ago, telriv said:

I've wired kill switches into the cig. liter circuit. Push in the liter kills ign. Pull liter up one notch ign. on.

Have ALSO installed a starter dis-abler. Used a H/Duty push button switch mounted under the rug.using the purple wire from the starter. Crank by depressing switch. When in the up position starter won't crank. Mounted under the rug NO ONE will see or even know it's there.

 

 

Tom T.

Tom, outstanding engineering. Only way a thief could get the Riv is if they towed the car away. The cigarette lighter kill switch is technically superior to my installation. I will claim my location in the ash tray is a solid honorable mention.?

[Turbinator]

30 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Do you have a power antenna?  Basic AM radio didn't come with a power antenna but you've got a switch in that position. 

Ed, Well, my 63 Riv has an AM radio with power antenna now. Of course, the radio could have been replaced or the antenna added. I’ll see what codes are on the Trim tag.

RRB

[RivNut]

25 minutes ago, telriv said:

I've wired kill switches into the cig. liter circuit. Push in the liter kills ign. Pull liter up one notch ign. on.

Have ALSO installed a starter dis-abler. Used a H/Duty push button switch mounted under the rug.using the purple wire from the starter. Crank by depressing switch. When in the up position starter won't crank. Mounted under the rug NO ONE will see or even know it's there.

 

 

Tom T.

This would be similar to the signal seeking switch on a Wonder-Bar radio.

[RivNut]

3 minutes ago, Red Riviera Bob said:

Ed, Well, my 63 Riv has an AM radio with power antenna now. Of course, the radio could have been replaced or the antenna added. I’ll see what codes are on the Trim tag.

RRB

Bob,

 

I mis-spoke.  The electric antenna was available with the standard D1 coded AM radio.  Your trim tag will not show this options as it was not installed at the Fisher Body plant but rather during final assembly.  It would only show up on an original build sheet or window sticker.  The D on your trim tag indicates that provisions were made for a radio - installation of the speaker between the seats in the Fisher Body shop. If the trim tag were to show installation of a radio, the trim tag would have to read D1, D2, D3, or D4.  Depending on whether there was the AM, AM w/ power antenna, AM Wonderbar, or AM Wonderbar w? power antenna.  At the time of my reference, apparently AM/FM was not yet an option.

 

Ed

[Turbinator]

4 hours ago, Schmiddy said:

Oh my gosh... That sounds pretty skillfull! Hoping they will never discover that secret switch!
I know that some of them are looking into ash trays while hoping to find some  remnants of joints or marijuana 

Maryland passed a law allowing marijuana use for medicinal purpose only. Driving and smoking marijuana I would suppose limit a persons driving skill. I guess I should fill the ash tray with coins hoping the theif would be satisfied with parking meter coins.

RRB

[RivNut]

For you guys with 63's mount it in plain sight where no one would think to look.  Mount a fake rear window defroster switch.  Right between your wiper switch and the headlight switch. You might have to mount a vent on the package tray to complete the illusion.  

 

[kegart]

Is the switch really hidden if there is picture of the location on the internet? Maybe I am just overthinking about it

 

 

[abandg]

Ed try and find a 63 rear defroster switch and let me know. Gene.

[RivNut]

5 minutes ago, abandg said:

Ed try and find a 63 rear defroster switch and let me know. Gene.

?

 

I know, the proverbial hen's tooth.

 

Or you could use any on/off rotary switch and attach a similar knob to it.

[rodneybeauchamp]

5 hours ago, RivNut said:

Do you have a power antenna?  Basic AM radio didn't come with a power antenna but you've got a switch in that position. 

 

Ed, you are sharp!  I didn’t like having the spare space under the dash anyway and filled it with a switch. 

 

A good friend of mine did that on several cars, filled up any holes with a simple switch. He called them his “nothing switches” cos the did nothing! ??????

[Turbinator]

5 hours ago, kegart said:

Is the switch really hidden if there is picture of the location on the internet? Maybe I am just overthinking about it

 

 

Kegart, you are correct the switch is no longer a secret. I did consider who would see the post. The purpose of the switch is to thwart the thief who just walked by and thought at that second this would be a good car to steal. The thieves that would really want it would load it in a van or roll back in no time flat. In addition to the switch I use the old fashion “Club” lock on the steering wheel.

You are correct. The switch is no longer hidden. When I’m away from home the car has a log chain with lock around the chassis and my four post lift in the garage.

[Turbinator]

5 hours ago, RivNut said:

Bob,

 

I mis-spoke.  The electric antenna was available with the standard D1 coded AM radio.  Your trim tag will not show this options as it was not installed at the Fisher Body plant but rather during final assembly.  It would only show up on an original build sheet or window sticker.  The D on your trim tag indicates that provisions were made for a radio - installation of the speaker between the seats in the Fisher Body shop. If the trim tag were to show installation of a radio, the trim tag would have to read D1, D2, D3, or D4.  Depending on whether there was the AM, AM w/ power antenna, AM Wonderbar, or AM Wonderbar w? power antenna.  At the time of my reference, apparently AM/FM was not yet an option.

 

Ed

Ed, did ever hear the 45 rpm record player made for under the dash installation. I saw and heard a car record player in a 1955 or 56 Chevy in the 63-65 time frame in Los Angeles. The record player looked like a chrome bread toaster.The record player worked amazingly well, but it would mess up if you had a lot of bumps in the road.

[RivNut]

Something labeled and so obvious would probably never be looked at twice.  Hidden in plain sight. To see if the car had an electric antenna, you'd need to pull the mounting plate from the inner fender.

[Turbinator]

5 hours ago, RivNut said:

For you guys with 63's mount it in plain sight where no one would think to look.  Mount a fake rear window defroster switch.  Right between your wiper switch and the headlight switch. You might have to mount a vent on the package tray to complete the illusion.  

 

Another great idea.

[RivNut]

8 minutes ago, Red Riviera Bob said:

Ed, did ever hear the 45 rpm record player made for under the dash installation. I saw and heard a car record player in a 1955 or 56 Chevy in the 63-65 time frame in Los Angeles. The record player looked like a chrome bread toaster.The record player worked amazingly well, but it would mess up if you had a lot of bumps in the road.

Yep, a buddy of mine had one in his 56 Ford.   I'm not sure but I think his was made by Phillips. I graduated in 65 and he had this in his car around that time.  It did have a tendency to skip when he would hit a bump. The worst part was the scratch it put into the record.  When we got college, he installed an early 4 track player in his car. Couldn't buy cassettes for it so he'd have to record stuff himself from our collection of LP's.

Edited April 17, 2018 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Turbinator]

10 minutes ago, RivNut said:

Yep, a buddy of mine had one in his 56 Ford.   I'm not sure but I think his was made by Phillips. I graduated in 65 and he had this in his car around that time.  It did have a tendency to skip when he would hit a bump. The worst part was the scratch it put into the record.  When we got college, he installed an early 4 track player in his car. Couldn't buy cassettes for it so he'd have to record stuff himself from our collection of LP's.

Now, an 8 track cassette recorder and blank cassettes were items I never saw. I did see bootleg 8 track cassettes at country fairs and offbeat outlet stores. I would imagine you guys were resourceful to put our hands on a recorder AND record from a 33 1/3 side. Best I could do was record from one reel to reel to another.

RRB

[Schmiddy]

14 hours ago, Red Riviera Bob said:

Maryland passed a law allowing marijuana use for medicinal purpose only. Driving and smoking marijuana I would suppose limit a persons driving skill. I guess I should fill the ash tray with coins hoping the theif would be satisfied with parking meter coins.

RRB

Right, we have this law in Switzerland too (medicinal purpose only). But they say never drive while medication! Of course it limit the driving skills, no question! You can say goodbye to your license for few months if the police test you on positive THC in your blood (mostly they test your urine, 'cos its less invasive).

But the coin-strategy sounds very ingenious!   

Edited April 18, 2018 by Schmiddy (see edit history)

[Turbinator]

2 hours ago, Schmiddy said:

Right, we have this law in Switzerland too (medicinal purpose only). But they say never drive while medication! Of course it limit the driving skills, no question! You can say goodbye to your license for few months if the police test you on positive THC in your blood (mostly they test your urine, 'cos its less invasive).

But the coin-strategy sounds very ingenious!   

Schmiddy, did you see the other kill switch solutions? For example, other labeled switches in the car could be substituted for the kill switch? 

 

Regarding impaired driving a friend was stopped by police for impeding traffic. My friend was driving 12 mph in a 40 mph zone. My friend told police he had a flat tire. All tires on the vehicle were fine, no flat tire. The officer told my friend to increase vehicle speed because all his tires were fine. True story that happened while I was in school in 1970 something.

[Schmiddy]

No I don't know these other kill switch solutions. I've no such switch at all in my Riv... I guess I've to think about it. I'm sure, with a little imagination, there are a lot of possibilities to hide such a switch. And what a story by the way 

 

[Turbinator]

Schmiddy, Americans love to talk about the Swiss and their marvelous culture. I’ve heard, “ The Swiss are never on time...they are too early.” Another one.....” In Switzerland everything is forbidden, unless it is strictly allowed.” We stayed at the Swiss Hotel in Basil and to this day I’m still impressed with the hotel front desk guest service. Also, I tell everyone about the outstanding Der Winerschnitzel I had in Basil. Stories of the Swiss Army and their use of arms for national defense are the most civilized I’ve heard. The last thing... the Swiss had such an outstanding defense/offense during World War II the Nazi’s dare not attack.

 

Now, kill switch in Switzerland. Check car theft statistics and make an informed decision with facts. As a boy, our neighborhood had many older boys that would repossess cars for finance companies  by hot wiring peoples cars for non payment. Hot wiring is starting the car without the keys. I knew a lot of people in the zAutomobile sales and service business in Maryland. I went on vacation with friends for a week. I parked my car in a solid residential neighborhood in Baltimore City Maryland. When I parked my car I knew the location was not as secure as other streets. The street I parked my new Acura Legend had one street light, it was a dead end, and it was a side street with only houses on one side of the street. I said to my friend as we were approaching the parked car location, “ Would it not be something if my car was stolen?” Yes, Sir the car was stolen. Oh, all,payments were up to date for certain. I was very calm and just went about the business of reporting . Etc. I got the car back from the City of Baltimore, where it was abandoned after the joy ride by the thieves.

 

ill show you how I hide the toggle switch in a pic.

Red Riviera Bob

[60FlatTop]

"Baltimore!.... Slowly I turned, step by step...."

 

A few years ago I attended a conference on the Harbor and stayed at the Holiday Inn. At the desk was a form that you could fill out telling about a memorable event during your stay. I didn't fill it out.

 

My room was on an upper floor looking across the inner harbor and out across a long, lighted street. Being adventurous, I figured I would drive out that street and find a restaurant for  late dinner. I traveled a few miles out, deciding there was nowhere I wanted to park or eat. One place looked possible, but not quite. I headed back to the harbor around 9 or 19 PM.

Getting close to the hotel I decided to try a parallel street. I made a 90 degree turn and the a second. "WHOA!"

 

For a couple of years I had been having a recurring dream about a dangerous city situation where another car had stopped me on a dark street with all kinds of threatening feelings, The dream scene was quite vivid, and still is. A vacant area, lit in fuzzy yellow, sodium lights, one one around but my car and the other, and the dense feeling of impending disaster, a modern H. P. Lovecraft situation. THAT was what I found on the second 90. It was the exact place from my dream and took my breath away. Creepy.

 

I wasted no time in getting back to the tourist area and had a nervous and chilling dinner.

 

Imagine passing that story on the the Baltimore tourism board.

 

To the kill switch topic, I lost the ignition key to my Riviera in the early 1990's, but it was unlocked. Maybe I will get one this year.

Bernie

[RivNut]

"I headed back to the harbor around 9 or 19 PM."

 

19 PM, is that military time for 7 AM?

[Turbinator]

10 minutes ago, RivNut said:

"I headed back to the harbor around 9 or 19 PM."

 

19 PM, is that military time for 7 AM?

Baltimore time zone.

[60FlatTop]

[Turbinator]

1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said:

Won’t be the first nor the last time. Generally, I’m on target regarding items I have measurable input.