Towing car with tow dolly

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Oldschoolcuda

Oldschoolcuda

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Hey guys. Anyone tow their car to the track or farther away shows with a dolly. I would like to take my cuda to the track more & maybe to Carlisle but with my electric waterpump setup driving it more than 50 or 60 miles at a time once the weather gets warm without a break is its limit & I don't want to change it because thats part of its oldschool charm . Don't have room for a trailer & would only need to tow 5 or so times a year.Disconnecting driveshaft would be a pain but I could live with it. Just wondering if anyone here uses a dolly instead of a trailer. Thanks

Oldschoolcuda
 
Oldschoolcuda said:
Hey guys. Anyone tow their car to the track or farther away shows with a dolly. I would like to take my cuda to the track more & maybe to Carlisle but with my electric waterpump setup driving it more than 50 or 60 miles at a time once the weather gets warm without a break is its limit & I don't want to change it because thats part of its oldschool charm . Don't have room for a trailer & would only need to tow 5 or so times a year.Disconnecting driveshaft would be a pain but I could live with it. Just wondering if anyone here uses a dolly instead of a trailer. Thanks

Oldschoolcuda
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If you tow it from the rear you will have on problem. I wouldn't tow with drive shaft in you will probly do damage to the trans. Unless you have a manuel trans then it wouldn't be problem.
 
But if you tow it from the rear, you HAVE to lock the steering on the front wheels,which is hard to do on these older cars, or you could end up in a serious fishtail or worse...tow it from the front and take the driveshaft out, or loop it up and out of the way, so you won't lose any trans fluid. But thats just me, i have a rollback, trailer and dolley.
 
The problem with a tow dolly is that you cannot back up with it. I think that would be the biggest problem at the strip.
 
Another possible issue - the fenders on a car dolly can rub against the car, probably not a problem with an A-body, but I saw a '73 Charger that was towed with a car dolly and both fenders were rubbed to bare steel. Needless to say, the guy selling the car wasn't the brightest bulb in the GE warehouse, so it didn't surprise me he wouldn't test the "fit" of the car on the dolly...
 
electric water pump, old school charm? somehow that don't work, but i undersand. i'm kinda of the premise where if it wont go 60 miles then it aint worth the effort. the drive shaft has to go to dolly an automatic, unless you let it run in neutral, and thats not an option. the trans will dump the fluid if you remove the shaft, unless you have a front yoke to put back. and you will still have a mess. because the front end is in the air.i'd have to replace the w/p with a mechanical and drive it to carlisle, and the track. much more fun. if it breaks at the track you can dolly home,only in case you break. imho. of course i have a trailer and trailer only when i have no choice. but i'm not racing either. those days are over. get an old yoke, and winch it on to the dolly. it won't be easy, but you won't loose as much trans fluid.good luck man. and have fun at carlisle. i always did. oh and tie the yoke in with something so it don't slip out.
 
Thanks for the info. guys. I've sratched the tow dolly idea. Found a cheap trailer contact. Will worry about storing & telling wife later. 68postcar it has an old direct connection(repackaged moroso) electric water pump drive from the early 80's so it fits my theme,but it is a pain it the a$$. Will probably bite the bullet & just change back to stock. Thanks again for the info.

Oldschoolcuda
 
Another problem with the dolly is a total lack of brakes. Ever see a semi jacknife when the tractor brakes work faster than the trailer brakes??

Big mess..on the road and in your pants. Glad you are using a trailer, hopefully with brakes.
 
me too. it's just not worth the head/heart ache if something got tore up. you'll be a whole lot happier.good luck.
 
I've towed a 79-300 700 miles with a tow dolly. Wouldn't do thet again. Would prefer to use a trailer. The dolly didn't damage the car as it was wide enough but never felt comfortable with the dolly. As for storage of a trailer. How tall is your garage. You could park the Cuda on the trailer.
 
you should take out the shaft on a auto. however, without the pump working you probably will not loose any or very little trans fluid. to be safe and take out the dirt issue, you can get a plastic yoke at (i think autozone) that will slide in the hole over the shaft. remember keep the drive yoke clean before reinstall. :)
 
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