Dutton Kit Cars and their owners

Hibernation in Bristol

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Comment by James Doulton on September 30, 2016 at 22:34: Both of my Duttons have a bike lock through one of the wheels. The Malaga B+ has a bloody great chain and padlock for a motorbike through the front wheel and through the loser wishbone. The Legerra has a push bike armoured wire through a rear wheel and looped through the chassis. I had another motorbike chain somewhere but I can't find it. It is too think for the holes in the 13" wheels that I have got on the Leggie at the moment, so I had taken it off. I think that a visible deterrent like that is probably enough.

These would-be robbers had wire cutters on them because the wires were cleanly cut, so it wasn't done on a whim. But I think that a chain would be a rather different matter. The street lights go off at 2am around here so it is easy for crooks to disappear from an open area.

I think I'll be down at Maplins tomorrow getting CCTV.

Comment by Adrian Southgate on September 30, 2016 at 21:56: Cameras, very visible lights on PIR's both good deterrants if the car is 'on the drive' but not much you can do in a public car park sadly...Maybe connect the HT to the steering lock and see what you catch twitching on the floor?

Comment by James Doulton on September 30, 2016 at 21:46: I've not contacted the police yet. At first I didn't realise what had happened because it was dark. I got in and then I realised that the steering wheel was wobbly. By that point I had probably messed up any evidence. Plus it had been in my local garage for 3 days so probably lots of finger prints.

Instead of contacting the BiB, my neighbour and I pushed the injured Ranger into his yard. That is the neighbour who is going to be building my new garage in a fortnight, so that I can get my Duttons 'indoors'. The new garage will be at 90 degrees to my existing double garage, replacing the shed that is behind the Malaga B+ in that picture. Now I wish I could have got the build moved forward.

Comment by Adrian Southgate on September 30, 2016 at 21:31: Sorry to hear that James. Know that gutting feeling only too well. Any evidence or did the BiB not come out?

Comment by James Doulton on September 30, 2016 at 21:21: I went out to take this picture as soon as I got home from work.

While I was there I happened to notice that my Rickman Ranger, which was parked 50 yards away in a large communal parking area, wasn't where I had left it last night when I got it back from the garage after its MOT (which cost £300). When I looked at it, the driver's window was wound right down and the steering column had been turned 180 degrees, ripping it from the dash so it is just flapping about. The steering lock was stronger than the fixing bracket. The brake switch is broken and the cables from the ignition switch were cut at the switch end and pulled off the connector at the other end and were now nowhere to be found. The plastic steering surround was in pieces on the floor. I suppose that I'm lucky that they bothered to put the handbrake on.

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