Classic/Vintage Tow Vehicles

[racer93]

Lets see your classic or vintage tow vehicle. Mine is a 89 R 3500. Purchased this truck for lower insurance, inspections, and taxes. Plus its a cool restore project.

[bmupton]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I didn't know they put the diesels in a van. That would be a good tow vehicle.

My father-in-law had an '84 with the 6.2 in it as well. We scavenge parts from it for mine these days.

My new TT might be a bit much for this old girl though, even with the 3/4 ton and Chevy's towing package (From 1986). The 6.2 only has 155hp and 278lb ft of torque. The new TT is 8400lb dry, that's about 2000lb heavier than my '96 Mallard 31T. (Which the van has absolutely no trouble hauling).

[CavemanCharlie]

bmupton wrote:


There's "the beast".

She's a little rough, but it hauls pretty much anything.

373 rear end, 6.2 Diesel, 3/4 ton.

I didn't know they put the diesels in a van. That would be a good tow vehicle.

[CavemanCharlie]

Winged One wrote:
Up until last year we were using this combo. 1969 Thunderbird and a Keystone Express Superlite 199ML


Then we decided to travel further, and wanted larger, so....

gcloss - I had a 1967 Ford Country Sedan (full size) with a 289 before the T-bird. After discussing on this forum, decided it just wasn't going to be able to pull more than pop up and we wanted a TT at the time. Sold the CS and bought the T-bird.

Now I am selling the T-bird and bought another 1967 CS. LOL

Now, that's cool. :C

[bmupton]

There's "the beast".

She's a little rough, but it hauls pretty much anything.

373 rear end, 6.2 Diesel, 3/4 ton.

[dodge_guy]

I will always want an early to mid 70's Ford or Chrysler wagon with a big block towing an Airstream!

Love to see older cars/trailers on the road.

[Winged_One]

Up until last year we were using this combo. 1969 Thunderbird and a Keystone Express Superlite 199ML


Then we decided to travel further, and wanted larger, so....

gcloss - I had a 1967 Ford Country Sedan (full size) with a 289 before the T-bird. After discussing on this forum, decided it just wasn't going to be able to pull more than pop up and we wanted a TT at the time. Sold the CS and bought the T-bird.

Now I am selling the T-bird and bought another 1967 CS. LOL

[gcloss]

This reminds me of my first tow-vehicle. It was a 1967 Ford Fairlane Station Wagon. It had a 289 v-8, three on the tree, manual steering and manual brakes. No power anything, no A/C. The only factory options were an AM radio and heater. We pulled a Coleman PUP all over the Northeast. It was super easy to fix if anything went wrong.

[SprinklerMan]

at least with the older trucks , repairs on the road arent as difficult as with a computer controlled new vehicle . I still remember camping in the 1980s on guy blew a transmission in his chevy truck , we towed him to the campground with a chain , went to the junkyard grabbed a turbo 350 for $200.00 and installed it in 3 hours .

[avoidcrowds]

I have to be aware of years, and how old I am. My initial thought when I saw '89 was, "How much older than I think that is, is it?"

Around here, 25 is a "classic", so I am more than willing to grant the OP the leeway of '89 being a classic. If it was built in '88, as many '89 vehicles were, it will be 25 this year. Who am I to quibble, when parts of my body feel older than I think they are?

Glad to see some can keep old cars longer. I put 325,000 on my '88 Jeep Cherokee, and got rid of it in '03. I put 43,000 on my current Jeep this year. I can't keep vehicles long enough to be "vintage".

[racer93]

Well... It is 24 years old....when I realized that I realized I wasnt 16 anymore. LOL. I always thought classics were 20yrs old...could be wrong though.

[gbopp]

I agree, a 1989 truck is not an 'old' vehicle. But, next year it will be considered an antique vehicle in pennsylvania.
I'm sure a lot of trucks of that age got scrapped during the Cash for Clunkers program.
I'm glad the OP is going to restore and use it as a tow vehicle. I think it will be cool. YMMV

[K_Charles]

I agree, there's nothing old about an '89, the grand kids are older then that

[CavemanCharlie]

I may be giving away mt age here but, I would not consider a 1989 to be a classic or vintage. But, true it's not yesterday either. I agree with the lower insurance and taxes part for sure. No inspections around here though.

[gbopp]

Nice truck. Good move. I like to see the older RV's and vehicles restored and maintained.
I hope it works out well for you.