Cheapest Catalytic Theft Device suggestions?

imo , would be a ~170$ cat security shield plate shipped and install it urself. You will likely need to jack the car up on all 4 with jackstands as high as safely possible, to be able install it on your back under the car but if could probably be done just doing the front or from the side. You will need a metal drill bit to make holes for the security screws and rivets, if you dont have the security head or a rivet gun, then just get metal screws (reccomend different types of heads to make removal harder by thieves). If you dont want to do the dirty work, a mechanic will be able to do it in 30 mins or less but will probably charge 50-100$.

 

Motion sensitive car alarm... OR even better you could rig alarm up to a doll head under there with eyes that light up and have it scream really loud if the car gets jacked up... Or for $22 you could buy a 4x8 sheet of plastic coroplast (what election signs are made of) and cover the underside of the car, which may be easy for the thief to cut through if they were determined, but might be enough of a visual deterrent to discourage them.

 

I'm starting to think the best deterrent is just to pull out the stock cat, scrap it for $1,200, put in a generic one for $200.
The car's not registered in a carb state so I couldn't care less about that.

Conversely, maybe a bunch of safety razor blades welded all around the access area, so thieves just get shredded trying to get in there, that could be nice.

 

Problem with booby traps, is it's very hard to explain your intention to unintended victims.

I think'n my strategy is going to be buying an aftermarket cat and then whenever I'm in California visiting family I'll place an ad online to get someone to pay for the swap and pay me a bit for them saving money on a less expensive repair.