An auto car on a tow dolly?
Awesome! And congratulations! You have a very nice car, and a nice journey and tale to go along with it. Glad it was uneventful trouble free trip.
Besides having to stop a couple times for the engine to cool off, yeah it was uneventful. The temps dropping like mad helped cool it off quick, long enough for a quick pee-and-refuel break. The trans sure took it like a champ and nothing broke or came loose from the bumper or frame (although I already knew that it wouldn't, a few days before the trip I took a look and found out "tow haul package" for that year meant a class 3 support welded into the bumper). Nothing eventful with the dolly either, straps held tight the whole way even with how bumpy it got in parts (which is good because in our haste to load the car we forgot to hook the dolly's safety chains to it).
Only issue was for my brother. Even though he's my roadtrip copilot, his wife gets overprotective and panicks if he's away on a trip too long (doesn't help when she expects constant phone updates yet half the trip is outta cell range let alone any sign of civilization). He somehow thought the trip back was gonna be as fast as getting there. Even though I can drive a good pace, he definitely has a lead foot, so I let him drive the way there. I'm more cautious and actually did the towing research, so I sure as hell wasn't gonna let him drive the way back. The return trip taking longer made him pretty grumpy, and the "engine cool-off" breaks didn't help. I sure as hell wasn't gonna risk my project car (or our lives) and haul *** doing 75 the whole way back just to shave off an hour or two of travel.
Note: with how good it's done me, my Dakota's 318 could use a rebuild. Never had one, and after this trip it could sure use some work. Radiator for one has gunk in it that needs to be cleaned out, and some fresh engine work would put it in a much better way. May also consider an electric fan. Whenever the truck itself finally goes, I may save the engine and trans for a project truck (but that'll be saved for AFTER the Screamin' Demon project).
