Towing a vintage car?

[folivier]

Is anyone towing or has towed a vintage car behind their motorhome?
Thinking of buying an early 60's Chrysler and wondering if it can be towed. This would probably be a 3 speed automatic.
Another option would be a 60's Plymouth with a manual 3 or 4 speed transmission.
Also I would imagine I'd have to have a baseplate welded to the frame.
Anybody done this?

[mountainkowboy]

Grit dog wrote:

mowermech wrote:

rjstractor wrote:

folivier wrote:
Haven't bought yet, not looking for a show car. Probably buy a nice driver condition so dings, etc. won't be a problem for me.
I do use a Readybrake now for my truck and Tahoe. Great towbar.

I nice driver condition vintage car might not cost the $100K plus you see on Barrett Jackson, but will still cost a pretty penny to get one in decent shape. The modifications you will need to do will likely reduce the car's value by more than the cost of a trailer, but it's your money. 🙂

$100K?
I guess it depends on your definition of "vintage car". I have seen "daily driver" capable cars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s around here for less than $10K. In fact, I have a 1966 Chevelle 4 door sedan (needs transmission work, Powerglide) That I don't really want to sell, but if somebody offered 4 or 5K for it, I would just have to let it go (it has the 230CID inline 6).
1950s cars will be in the $15K to $25K range in driveable condition, a great deal more if restored, but never in the $100K range.

But no one wants a 4 door 6 cylinder Chevelle.

someone will want it.....I had no problems selling a 4dr Chevy II with a 6cyl and 3 on the tree. It sold in 1 day for the price I asked.

As for towing vintage, use a driveshaft disconnect or buy a vehicle that is capable to be flat towed.

64 International Harvester Scout 80.

[mowermech]

Grit dog wrote:

mowermech wrote:

rjstractor wrote:

folivier wrote:
Haven't bought yet, not looking for a show car. Probably buy a nice driver condition so dings, etc. won't be a problem for me.
I do use a Readybrake now for my truck and Tahoe. Great towbar.

I nice driver condition vintage car might not cost the $100K plus you see on Barrett Jackson, but will still cost a pretty penny to get one in decent shape. The modifications you will need to do will likely reduce the car's value by more than the cost of a trailer, but it's your money. 🙂

$100K?
I guess it depends on your definition of "vintage car". I have seen "daily driver" capable cars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s around here for less than $10K. In fact, I have a 1966 Chevelle 4 door sedan (needs transmission work, Powerglide) That I don't really want to sell, but if somebody offered 4 or 5K for it, I would just have to let it go (it has the 230CID inline 6).
1950s cars will be in the $15K to $25K range in driveable condition, a great deal more if restored, but never in the $100K range.

But no one wants a 4 door 6 cylinder Chevelle.

There are gear-heads around that would want to build a "resto-rod sleeper"; stuff a 454 crate engine in it, with a four speed tranny and a 4.11 diff (locker, of course).

[Grit_dog]

rjstractor wrote:

I think you misunderstood my reply. My point is that the $100K cars are the rare, perfect cars you see on TV. But having said that, a nice, clean, running and driving vintage car from the early '60s can easily be $15K or more. Hack it up by welding a tow bar on the front would cut the value in half.

On the upside, it probably has a real bumper that you can just clamp one of those old school tow bars to, with no mods to the vehicle itself.

[Grit_dog]

mowermech wrote:

rjstractor wrote:

folivier wrote:
Haven't bought yet, not looking for a show car. Probably buy a nice driver condition so dings, etc. won't be a problem for me.
I do use a Readybrake now for my truck and Tahoe. Great towbar.

I nice driver condition vintage car might not cost the $100K plus you see on Barrett Jackson, but will still cost a pretty penny to get one in decent shape. The modifications you will need to do will likely reduce the car's value by more than the cost of a trailer, but it's your money. 🙂

$100K?
I guess it depends on your definition of "vintage car". I have seen "daily driver" capable cars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s around here for less than $10K. In fact, I have a 1966 Chevelle 4 door sedan (needs transmission work, Powerglide) That I don't really want to sell, but if somebody offered 4 or 5K for it, I would just have to let it go (it has the 230CID inline 6).
1950s cars will be in the $15K to $25K range in driveable condition, a great deal more if restored, but never in the $100K range.

But no one wants a 4 door 6 cylinder Chevelle.

[DFord]

northshore wrote:
Have you gotten any further in your quest for vintage car dinghy?
I put the question on towing a 60's Ranchero 3 Spd to the ford forum I frequent and didn't really get very far. Its about 50-50 yes you can, no you can't. One of the things I never thought about is that with a column shift the shifter could drop into gear by the weight of the shifter??? I never heard of this but seemingly its a fairly common occurrence?? Again I never heard of this ever happening before reading it on the forum.

To enter into the above discussion, all of the Rancheros Ive seen on Craigslist that would fit the bill for me have been well under $10k, Ive also checked a couple of VW bugs well below $10k. There are "vintage"= 60's cars below the $10k

Using a driveshaft disconnect, the driveshaft never turns. I tow my 23 year old Aerostar leaving it in PARK. The rearend turns - the driveshaft doesn't. Tow anything with rear wheel drive using a driveshaft disconnect. I had a link to the Remco website in my previous post.

[northshore]

Have you gotten any further in your quest for vintage car dinghy?
I put the question on towing a 60's Ranchero 3 Spd to the ford forum I frequent and didn't really get very far. Its about 50-50 yes you can, no you can't. One of the things I never thought about is that with a column shift the shifter could drop into gear by the weight of the shifter??? I never heard of this but seemingly its a fairly common occurrence?? Again I never heard of this ever happening before reading it on the forum.

To enter into the above discussion, all of the Rancheros Ive seen on Craigslist that would fit the bill for me have been well under $10k, Ive also checked a couple of VW bugs well below $10k. There are "vintage"= 60's cars below the $10k

[rjstractor]

mowermech wrote:

rjstractor wrote:

folivier wrote:
Haven't bought yet, not looking for a show car. Probably buy a nice driver condition so dings, etc. won't be a problem for me.
I do use a Readybrake now for my truck and Tahoe. Great towbar.

I nice driver condition vintage car might not cost the $100K plus you see on Barrett Jackson, but will still cost a pretty penny to get one in decent shape. The modifications you will need to do will likely reduce the car's value by more than the cost of a trailer, but it's your money. 🙂

$100K?
I guess it depends on your definition of "vintage car". I have seen "daily driver" capable cars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s around here for less than $10K. In fact, I have a 1966 Chevelle 4 door sedan (needs transmission work, Powerglide) That I don't really want to sell, but if somebody offered 4 or 5K for it, I would just have to let it go (it has the 230CID inline 6).
1950s cars will be in the $15K to $25K range in driveable condition, a great deal more if restored, but never in the $100K range.

I think you misunderstood my reply. My point is that the $100K cars are the rare, perfect cars you see on TV. But having said that, a nice, clean, running and driving vintage car from the early '60s can easily be $15K or more. Hack it up by welding a tow bar on the front would cut the value in half.

[mowermech]

rjstractor wrote:

folivier wrote:
Haven't bought yet, not looking for a show car. Probably buy a nice driver condition so dings, etc. won't be a problem for me.
I do use a Readybrake now for my truck and Tahoe. Great towbar.

I nice driver condition vintage car might not cost the $100K plus you see on Barrett Jackson, but will still cost a pretty penny to get one in decent shape. The modifications you will need to do will likely reduce the car's value by more than the cost of a trailer, but it's your money. 🙂

$100K?
I guess it depends on your definition of "vintage car". I have seen "daily driver" capable cars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s around here for less than $10K. In fact, I have a 1966 Chevelle 4 door sedan (needs transmission work, Powerglide) That I don't really want to sell, but if somebody offered 4 or 5K for it, I would just have to let it go (it has the 230CID inline 6).
1950s cars will be in the $15K to $25K range in driveable condition, a great deal more if restored, but never in the $100K range.

[rjstractor]

folivier wrote:
Haven't bought yet, not looking for a show car. Probably buy a nice driver condition so dings, etc. won't be a problem for me.
I do use a Readybrake now for my truck and Tahoe. Great towbar.

I nice driver condition vintage car might not cost the $100K plus you see on Barrett Jackson, but will still cost a pretty penny to get one in decent shape. The modifications you will need to do will likely reduce the car's value by more than the cost of a trailer, but it's your money. 🙂

[northshore]

I have thought about an older car and was leaning toward early 60's Ranchero, based on the falcon. The ones Ive looked at have been 3spds. I haven't gotten very far with it yet, but I do know they do not make a base plate for one.

[gbopp]

I don't know if it would be practical but, an early 60's Chrysler would be a cool toad.

[Chris_Bryant]

Add me to the trailer recognition.

[BarabooBob]

I would put it on a trailer and let the trailer hubs take the miles. It is easier on the very old drive train.

[mowermech]

Manual transmissions are NOT necessarily towable. More often than not, the lube is distributed by the rotating cluster gear which is powered by the input shaft. When the engine is not running, the input shaft is stationary and no lube is distributed. The center mainshaft needle bearings and output shaft ball bearings will eventually run dry and self-destruct. Be sure you know how the transmission is lubricated before setting the vehicle up for towing four down!
SOME older automatic transmissions may have a rear pump driven by the output shaft. That pump MIGHT provide lubrication to the bearings. Such vehicles often can be push started by getting it up to 35 MPH in Neutral, then putting the transmission in drive. The rear pump will supply sufficient hydraulic pressure to engage the clutches or bands.
A driveshaft disconnect may be the best bet for towing four down. It is likely that a good fabrication shop will have to custom design and install the baseplates to match the towbar.
A trailer to load the vehicle might be an option, depending on the likes/desires of the operator