Towing with a 66 Barracuda with a newer & rebuilt 904

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I towed an 82 Dodge Aries on a tow dolly from Tuscon, AZ to GA with my 69 Dart w/ 225, 904 tranny, & 9" drums, standard tranny cooling. No problems going thru the mountains on I-10 to NM or driving in 105 F heat in west TX. I don't recall any problems stopping, but it was all interstate and I always drive carefully, especially with a trailer.

I had a friend with a 70's or 80's Dodge truck with a slant who pulled a horse trailer (2 horses) and he lived at 4000 ft. Don't know if he had a 904 or 727 tranny. He never mentioned over-heating.

Of course, don't hit the brakes on a sharp turn, especially on a road with sand. My wife did that and jack-knifed when we did a test drive around the block in our desert neighborhood. That setup was the Aries pulling the Dart w/ a tow bar (driveshaft out), which I ended up driving since I didn't trust her understanding of Physics. I had her drive the big car pulling a trailer with electric brakes. I switched to the Dart pulling the Aries when I got to AZ and found more reasonable U-Haul rates. I suggest you allow time to test towing the CRX since I found problems trying to tow 2 early A's with a tow bar. They wouldn't follow on turns (look up my post).
 
Hi Bill -
Thanks. The welding work should be handled this week, leaving me 3 weeks to practice around town. The Barracuda is pulling the CRX, NOT the other way around. The CRX is very well behaved & it much like a go-kart with a roof.
 
66CudaGirl said:
Where to start. First off, Ralph Nader was an idiot.

Really, please offer helpful commentary. Just because I'm new on the forum or because I happen to be female does not mean I am clueless. Your post comes across asextremely condescending.
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My post was MEANT to be helpful, and the comment about Nader was MEANT to be sarcastic. I don't give a damn if you've towed stuff across the country 100 times, talking yourself into the idea that a towbar is safe is fooling yourself.

I only meant to offer some of "wut cun happn' "

Do NOT make assumptions about what I know or do not. I know EXACTLY what a Hondoid See AAAAARRRR ex is, but I do NOT know if it can be safely towed with the transmission in neutral.

Go take a chill pill. If you don't want advise, don't ask for it.
 
Dear 67Dart273,
You come across as insulting, uneducated and overly assuming. By your definition ... towing anything is unsafe. I asked about one thing, transmission issues, I did not need a whole barrage of other non-sense - delivered in a harassing manner. If you want to be helpful, please only address that which is asked, I'm sure many others would appreciate that as well. Otherwise, you tend to look like an a**.

.. And while I shoulda looked before ... I've noticed you're from Idaho. I hear of all the nuclear research facilities in the world (not just the US), the one there is quite the laughing stock & place of last resort for people in the industry. Granted, I've never been to Idaho, but I've certainly not heard overly impressive things about the level of intellect there (see previous sentence). Can't say that I'm surprised in the least at your comentary, once that is taken into consideration.
 
66CudaGirl said:
Dear 67Dart273,
You come across as insulting, uneducated and overly assuming. By your definition ... towing anything is unsafe. I asked about one thing, transmission issues, I did not need a whole barrage of other non-sense - delivered in a harassing manner. If you want to be helpful, please only address that which is asked, I'm sure many others would appreciate that as well. Otherwise, you tend to look like an a**.

.. And while I shoulda looked before ... I've noticed you're from Idaho. I hear of all the nuclear research facilities in the world (not just the US), the one there is quite the laughing stock & place of last resort for people in the industry. Granted, I've never been to Idaho, but I've certainly not heard overly impressive things about the level of intellect there (see previous sentence). Can't say that I'm surprised in the least at your comentary, once that is taken into consideration.
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Chill out or go away.....The member is only sharing his/her knowledge and tryin' to help U :hmph:

:wack:...There are plenty of knowledgable females on this forum and they're NOT singled out :wink:

:newb: :rambo: :rolleyes:
 
66CudaGirl said:
Dear 67Dart273,
You come across as insulting, uneducated and overly assuming. By your definition ... towing anything is unsafe. I asked about one thing, transmission issues, I did not need a whole barrage of other non-sense - delivered in a harassing manner. If you want to be helpful, please only address that which is asked, I'm sure many others would appreciate that as well. Otherwise, you tend to look like an a**.

.. And while I shoulda looked before ... I've noticed you're from Idaho. I hear of all the nuclear research facilities in the world (not just the US), the one there is quite the laughing stock & place of last resort for people in the industry. Granted, I've never been to Idaho, but I've certainly not heard overly impressive things about the level of intellect there (see previous sentence). Can't say that I'm surprised in the least at your comentary, once that is taken into consideration.
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Now you have gone from blissfully ignorant to downright insulting. You have made incorrect assumptions about myself, my knowledge, and my personal life about which you don't have a damn clue. It is VERY possible that I've towed more cars further than you have even driven. I never said a THING about other types of towing issues, but I did explain WHAT CAN HAPPEN with a towbar. If you cannot understand that, then perhaps I should consider "condesending."

And by the way, WTF has all this to do with nuclear research?

I pity some of your clients if you do decide and manage to become a lawyer. Your obvious mental instability, incorrect assessments of people you don't know, and lack of cool thinking instead of wild angry insults will NOT be an asset in your profession.

Note to self: Put this whatever it is on your sh$$ list
 
While some people here have been very polite and helpful, others have been just the opposite. Clearly some of you (and you know exactly who you are) have put no thought into why someone would even consider this towing set-up, how much knowledge and research may have already been done, nor the experience level of the person.

As I've stated, some of these comments are have been neither humerous nor helpful. The issues the worst offender has pointed out can happen with ANY towing set-up, if any number of things aren't handled correctly. All of which someone experienced in towing would be aware of.

Clearly, if I am ONLY asking about transmission concerns with the set-up I am looking at, either I must have put an aweful lot of thought and/or research into this (and very probably have very limited options) or I'm a total idiot. Chances are MUCH higher that the 1st scenario would be the correct one.

Personally, I must say that as someone that doesn't tolerate B/S well & that can smell a bully from a mile away, I'm very disappointed in this site in that I am the one being penalized for standing up for myself, rather than the guy(s) causing the trouble. Really? Rewarding the bully? Come on ... you guys should be better than that.
 
i would install the largest tranny cooler I could find.....and maybe add a deep tranny pan...

Dont know what route you are taking but there are some pretty steep grades on I-40 and I-15/I-70.....I would be worried about the brakes on the barracuda being able to hold on some of the downhill grades.
 
Hi Tony -
Yep, a heavy duty tranny cooler goes in this weekend. Once I have all the welding of brackets done this week, I'll be able to test out the setup. I'll not only practice in the city here, but I'll be heading down I-15 to test it out on the climb to 4000 feet elev.
I still have a month to work out any bugs. I've also done the I-40 trek more times than I really care to think about (with some sort of towing set up every time)... I'm so looking forward to the washboard section in Oklahoma, can't imagine it's been fixed <chuckle>.
 
Just came back from Ohio about a month ago...that section of I-40 is under construction...also sections of I-40 from Kingman to Siegeman, Az are terrible...in fact if I had to drive that again..I would take the old Route 66 from kingman to siegeman...

Good luck and have a safe trip...
 
Oh Tony - That's excellant news (for the locals)! I'm thinking I'll be hitting those sections at night, simply because it'll be cooler out in the desert than during the day. Plus, there's the added bonus of less traffic. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!
 
For anyone looking for a laugh (or that prefer to shudder in horror), this is a photo of a really, really bad towing idea ... everything else seems tame next to this (and no, I wasn't the one that performed this alledged cross-country excursion).
:sign6::sign6:
:wack:
 

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Your going though Oklahoma Like that ? The roads up here will kick your butt doing what your trying to do .. Now that let me get some thing strat you been here a few days right ? And your talking **** on members . Look around to see what the site is about . matter of fact follow the link in my sig to see what we do around here we help are own . I think that this whole thread has went *** back words You ask what we think then you get pissed when some one tells you some thing you dont want to hear . Now im not makin fun of you or any one here .. But really get a grip girl what yyou asked for is what u got .To tell the truth I hope IF you do ,do what you are saying your going to do .. That you make it there and safe but Im still saying its a bad ideal As for the com that got you in an upheave . i READ IT looks to me as he was trying to help you as im doing now ! Damn its a bad day when im One of the smart ones in a thread lmao
 
Everyone please take a step back and stop bickering. I dotn want to close this thread...



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Personally I would NT risk messing up a nice classic car.

But if you are determined to do it I would consider sub frame connectors.
All of that extra weight, stopping and starting, is going to stress the body of the car and you may end up with ripples on the pillars and other places.
My advice
Sell it by another when you get there, its just A Honda not like it is a real car. :)
 
trapster said:
Personally I would NT risk messing up a nice classic car.

But if you are determined to do it I would consider sub frame connectors.
All of that extra weight, stopping and starting, is going to stress the body of the car and you may end up with ripples on the pillars and other places.
My advice
Sell it by another when you get there, its just A Honda not like it is a real car. :)
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If shes going though here thats not a bad ideal .. Why didnt i think of that .. But the last line would be the best of the best lol Who needs a Rice burner anyway lol
 
Please reconsider your thoughts on 67Dart273. He provides excellent resources and experience on electrical and other issues, and helps a great number of forum members.

While you have prepared, there are many unexpected happening that include weather, other drivers. An experience driver can only do so much, after that it is pure physics of the situation. Everyone wishes you, and your car well.

If I was making the trip, I would store the Barracuda, make the trip with the Honda. Get setup in GA, then fly back, and drive the Barracuda.
 
Hi Kit - If my situation were different, I'd get a moving truck, put the Barracuda on a car hauler & have someone drive the Honda. That simply is NOT an option. Taking only one car is also, simply, NOT an option. I've done some many cross country treks than I can count over the years. Most often towing, sometimes not. Even did one on a motorcycle - SOLO (gee, picture how many people told me that was a bad idea). There are reasons why people make the choices they do.
 
Hi trapster - since the Barracuda is unibody, the mounting brackets for the towing assy will be welded on, rather than relying on a bumber mount or something stupid. If any structural re-inforcements are needed, they'll be done at the time of welding. I do appreciate the concern, but that had already crossed my mind.
 
Mr. Dart_Doctor,
If you would go back and re-read my original post that created the thread ... I'm sure you'll find that I was not asking if anyone thought this was a good idea. I was asking about transmissions. Period.
 
It sounds like you have the situation well in hand. Good luck on your trip.
 
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