Flat towing 65 Barracuda

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jhdeval

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I have a 65 Barracuda with an Automatic Transmission. I was thinking about trying to flat tow it behind both my SUV and Motorhome. I was going to take either a 1/8 or 1/4 plate and mount where the front bumper mounts then weld some round stock between the 2 pieces to brace it then mount a standard "Y" shaped tow hitch on that. Any problems with that setup? Anything I need to be aware of with the car?
 
Can these cars be flat towed without removing the driveshaft?
 
I may be wrong, but I wouldn't try that
 
Not sure kind of hoping it can be. I know when I put it in neutral it rolls easy but what I read online is that the transmission may not be oiled while flat towing an automatic almost everything I read spoke of newer cars though. With these being mechanical and not electric or electronic I am hoping it will.
 
Never throw any 3-speed transmission into neutral when you cross the finish line, leave the transmission in high gear as you slow down. The internal parts will spin 2 to 2 ½ times faster then the trap RPM and can cause internal parts to explode and exit the transmission, this may cause injury and or death, the exit of the transmission fluid may cause fire or loss of control of the car. Always run a shield and all safety equipment mandated by IHRA ADRL and the NHRA. Safety is no place to cheap out!

The above was "borrowed" from http://www.rosslertrans.com/

So I would say not, you will have to either pull shaft or trailer it....although this may just apply from a going from power to non-power stand point....looks like I will be calling my trans buddy later today...you got me curious....
 
I just checked the service manual and here is what it says.

Transmission Operating Properly: The vehicle may be towed safely in N (neutral) at moderate speeds. For long distance towing (over 100 miles), the propeller shaft should be removed.

Is the propeller shaft the driveshaft then?
 
I just checked the service manual and here is what it says.

Transmission Operating Properly: The vehicle may be towed safely in N (neutral) at moderate speeds. For long distance towing (over 100 miles), the propeller shaft should be removed.

Is the propeller shaft the driveshaft then?

Yes.
 
I just checked the service manual and here is what it says.

Transmission Operating Properly: The vehicle may be towed safely in N (neutral) at moderate speeds. For long distance towing (over 100 miles), the propeller shaft should be removed.

Is the propeller shaft the driveshaft then?

Yes it is.
And they are right about not towing without it being disconnected.
 
Ok so lets talk about disconnecting the driveshaft then. How difficult is it? I would like to tow it to a car show in a couple of weeks. Can I remove it with hand tools? What is the procedure?
 
65 and earlier have a rear pump that will turn with the driveshaft. Short distance towing would be fine, I think. But I'd not take any lengthy trips with all 4 on the ground.
 
Pull the driveshaft before towing!!! To remove is easy - you remove the four bolts that hold the two U-shaped straps to the axle yoke. You'll need to have a box or a combination wrench. I believe they have 3/8" heads on the bolts, crawl under and check. Take them off, pull the driveshaft forward then down, then slide the driveshaft back out of the transmission. Put a baggie over the trans yoke to keep fluid from coming out as you tow the car. Also, bag the four bolts and two u-joint straps in a zip-lock bag so you so not lose them!!!

Installation is reverse.
 
Why not rent a U-haul. Last time I did it was $65 for a full trailer. Much cheaper than screwing it up.


What you are describing is trying to make a home made tow bar. In my experience, tow bars are not that easy to use. Sometimes the car being towed does not want to follow the one in front. You are trying to turn and the car you are towing is trying to go straight, or vice-versa. Lots of potential for something to go wrong.

Spend the money for a U-haul. It's much easier and cheaper than damaging your car with a home made rig.
 
Pull the driveshaft before towing!!! To remove is easy - you remove the four bolts that hold the two U-shaped straps to the axle yoke. You'll need to have a box wrench. I believe they have 3/8" heads on the bolts, crawl under and check. Take them off, pull the driveshaft forward then down, then slide the driveshaft back out of the transmission. Put a baggie over the trans yoke to keep fluid from coming out as you tow the car. Installation is reverse.

If he has the trunion shaft, it has bolts in the front by the transmission also....

The early transmissions did not have the slip yoke at the back of the trans like the later models did.
 
Why not rent a U-haul. Last time I did it was $65 for a full trailer. Much cheaper than screwing it up.


What you are describing is trying to make a home made tow bar. In my experience, tow bars are not that easy to use. Sometimes the car being towed does not want to follow the one in front. You are trying to turn and the car you are towing is trying to go straight, or vice-versa. Lots of potential for something to go wrong.

Spend the money for a U-haul. It's much easier and cheaper than damaging your car with a home made rig.

I am going to be gone for 4 days on this trip and with my motor home I am expecting to be away for as long as a few weeks. At 65.00 a day that becomes impractical pretty quick. A tow dolly would make it easier but I don't have one and I don't at this time have the 800 bucks to buy one. I have towed a uhaul full trailer a few times and they put a pretty good strain on my Jeep so I would like to avoid that.

I am all ears if there is another suggestion for towing. Flat towing is a good option for me because it allows me to easily connect and disconnect the car.
 
If he has the trunion shaft, it has bolts in the front by the transmission also....

The early transmissions did not have the slip yoke at the back of the trans like the later models did.

So just remove those 4 bolts pull back and drop the driveshaft then pull it from the diff? Do I need to worry about the flange or the diff?
 
If he has the trunion shaft, it has bolts in the front by the transmission also....

The early transmissions did not have the slip yoke at the back of the trans like the later models did.

Exactly, and it's a lot easier to undo the rear of the driveline and tie it up leaving the front connected to the trans even if it has the slip style yoke.
You don't have to mess with fluid this way either.
 
I had a piece of light chain,, wrapped it around the back of the shaft, slide it all the way forward, and suspended it by the exhaust pipes,, saved taking the shaft out and leaking fluid, and with the chain double wrapped around the shaft,, didn't slip back..

Those heavy black shock cords would likely works as well..

Black tape around the u-joint caps,, so they didn't fall off..

hope it helps
 
Exactly, and it's a lot easier to undo the rear of the driveline and tie it up leaving the front connected to the trans even if it has the slip style yoke.
You don't have to mess with fluid this way either.

So should I be able to just pull the driveshaft forward to slip it out of the differential and tie it up?
 
I would be more concerned with how the car will track behind the tow vehicle. We had problems using a tow bar before. The car being towed did not want to follow the car pulling it and we were dragging against the front tires of the car we were trying to tow.

Test drive your set up once you get it figured out before leaving on the trip to make sure that you don't have any problems.

I've seen people use tow bars before with success, but we had problems when we tried it.
 
I would be more concerned with how the car will track behind the tow vehicle. We had problems using a tow bar before. The car being towed did not want to follow the car pulling it and we were dragging against the front tires of the car we were trying to tow.

Test drive your set up once you get it figured out before leaving on the trip to make sure that you don't have any problems.

I've seen people use tow bars before with success, but we had problems when we tried it.

I was going to run it around town first and check. I have a wonderful 5 mile "around" the block track that I use for testing. I think as long as the tow bar is dead straight on the tow vehicle I should be ok but I will test it.

I also have a 64 valiant so if this work guess who else will be towed lol.
 
So should I be able to just pull the driveshaft forward to slip it out of the differential and tie it up?

I don't think that you have to worry about any fluid coming out of the trans because of the trunion fitting.


Just remove the four bolts from the front and rear of the drive shaft. I would also put a mark on the mating parts in the front and back to line them up exactly as they were when you took them apart. Put a paint mark on both mating parts, that you can use to line them back up later.
 
I don't think that you have to worry about any fluid coming out of the trans because of the trunion fitting.


Just remove the four bolts from the front and rear of the drive shaft. I would also put a mark on the mating parts in the front and back to line them up exactly as they were when you took them apart. Put a paint mark on both mating parts, that you can use to line them back up later.


Aye aye
 
I was going to run it around town first and check. I have a wonderful 5 mile "around" the block track that I use for testing. I think as long as the tow bar is dead straight on the tow vehicle I should be ok but I will test it.

I also have a 64 valiant so if this work guess who else will be towed lol.


Yep, that would be a good idea.


Don't wait until the day that you are going to leave in case you have any problems.
 
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