I want to bring a project car home soon ( no drivetrain,no front clip,no steering box - it has a straight axle with the tie rod). I've got a tow bar but have never used one. I've had people tell me to lock the wheels straight ahead to tow and other people have told me to leave them free to follow the tow vehicle. Anybody have any input on this? Thanks
When I've used a tow bar the front wheels are free to turn. The problem I see with your situation is that, in my experience, without body and driveline weight on the front suspension the wheels tend to turn to one side all the way and remain there. It seems the front suspension needs substantial weight on it to keep the tires tracking from side to side as the tow vehicle makes turns.
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, FLAT TOW A CAR WITH NO STEERING BOX HOOKED UP. The liability, plus the chances for disaster are just too much! Whatever a trailer rental costs will pale in comparison to the expenses of an accident.
I've got to agree with the above. The "drag" of the steering box helps to dampen sudden oscillations, which you certainly don't want in a towing situation. I, too, don't like the idea of no engine weight on the front tires. Do yoursel a GI-HUGIC favor and use a trailer. DD
I find it hard to believe that someone in this hobby doesn't own a car trailer or at least have a good friend in the hobby that does. V/8
no engine, no steering box, probably no registration (= no insurance) I may have done something like that in the deep dark past but I'd never do it today if I had no choice, like a life or death situation I'd lock the wheels straight no steering box and no engine will have the front wheels flopped to the side before you make it ten feet, at least with the wheels locked you will drag them in a semi control path don't risk it beg, borrow, buy or rent a trailer
NEVER tie off a front end to flat tow a car!!!!! The vehicle HAS to be able to follow the towing vehicle! Stick that car on a dolly, especially with the fact that there is no steering box! Dolly or trailer, either is a damn sight better than going cheap and flat towing that car. You WILL as a minimum lose the car, and at worst, have it all go to hell on you and kill you or come off and kill someone else. And if it's ME you kill, I'll haunt you for all eternity! And that will suck. You won't like that. It's pretty unanimous here - do not flat-tow that car under ANY circumstances!
...some of us are doing the best we can with what we currently have, and what we can afford. I don't own a car trailer. I don't have a buddy that does. Hell, I don't even have a truck to tow one if I did.
In this case a man has to know his limitations..... Obviously, some of us know that we can't do much to our car if we have no access to hand tools, extend logic to this situation.....
My buddy with the car trailer has already hauled this thing over 100 miles, to my storage building. I'm only talking 8 more miles on gravel back roads and I didn't plan to go more than 30 mph. It is titled in my name and I planned to hang the plate on the rear along with a "car in tow" sign. I appreciate the input and will consider other options. Blue
Where in Iowa are you at,maybe someone on here could help you. I've flat towed a bunch of miles years ago,but I wouldn't touch one without a steering box.Post your location someone may be able to help.
You asked for the advice, got the answer from experienced people, but yet you seem to know it all about what and how the vehicle is going to react to all the different elements it will encounter.........hope you don't encounter any "stop" signs on the way home because I got a feeling you will get out and argue with it. Good Luck
Call your local Tow Co,They would probably do it cheap,They always have down time,I did it for 20 yrs.Good Luck,Lucky
Most of these "experts" who are screaming to rent a trailer have never flat towed a car in their lives and don't know anyone who has. If you have a good solid tow bar fastened to the frame rails and take it careful I don't see it as being a big deal. I'd tie the steering off with a couple of rubber tarp straps to give the wheels a bit of movement but still keep them returning to straight. You might have to get out and kick the tires straight on a few tight corners but it isn't going to be the panic deal that some of these guys make it out to be. I flat towed my T bucket chassis back and forth to my boss's shop several times when I built the car with no engine or steering box in it. Some rigs can be towed fine without tying the steering off but I have had to tie just as many off to keep the wheels from wanting to lay over on tight turns. A rubber tarp strap works better than a rope for that.
Most of us have very little need of a car trailer. It's really not that often that we buy a project and need to get it home, the rest of the time, the trailer sits taking up space and deteriorating, along with the tow vehicle. As for friends with car trailers, I have several, and they've got tons of "buddys" who need cars hauled. I don't want to be among those kinds of "buddys".
baknthday we used to flat tow all the time, my Model a and duece, all over town most didnt have arc welders, or torches so it was necessary.. The catch was 'in town" and "carefully". I used an old tow bar [still have it] made from an 'Abone' , wishbone, worked just fine but yea it didnt work well trying to tow just a chassis. One thing I had to learn the hard way was towing with a trailer, weight of load and proper tongue weight. I was asked to tow a car, already loaded on a trailer. When I got there I found I was looking at a big 54 Caddy fleetwood loaded on a heavy equipment trailer. I had a shortbed 61 Ford unibody PU at the time, with a 428 TBird eng, no problem, ha. Well I found out what proper load was all about when I got that rig up to about 50 mph, and it started weaving back an forth so bad I could see the car and trailer out the side of my window! I finally finessed it to a stop, and creeped along at 15mph.
If it's 1 or 2 miles away then you can try and drag it home to save a few $$$$ but take my word for it , just pay someone to tow it home for you on a flatbed ! It doesn't take much for the old bearings or rear to overheat from old age or sitting and then maybe have a wheel fall off causing a accident ! Then you have to consider the law man pulling you over for dragging a car home like that . Make sure you have a NOTARIZED bill of sale/title in hand ! If you do the tow yourself , make sure you have working lights on the rear of the car in tow . Also put a "car in tow" sign on the back of the car too ! Leave the steering wheel LOOSE ! Never tie it down ! NEVER try to toe a car like that on the highway either ! Make sure you have 5 good tires for the trip . The 5th is for a spare ! Also have someone drive behind the car you are towing also . Good Luck BUT just pay for a tow ! Just my opinion ! Retro Jim
With very little weight on the front end, what's going to happen if the wheels do lock over? Throw some gravel out in the ditch? As long as your tow rig is a full-size vehicle, 8 miles will be a snap. Just go slow and easy. The rubber straps centering the steering sounds like a good idea,too.
From someone who flat tows all the time - if you can bolt a steering box in there you'll be a lot happier. I've towed plenty of no-engine cars - I once towed a '48 Hudson with no engine, trans or even a nose or bumper on it over 100 miles with no problems - but they all had a box in them. I almost would even consider in this one case tying the wheels down so they don't turn or can only turn a little bit - when you make sharp corners you'll have to go slow, but your tow vehicle should be able to just drag it over. Beyond that, as long as your tires have tubes and aren't inflated too much (25 psi is plenty) and everything spins good as far as the wheels go, you should be fine. I've towed cars that have been sitting for 20, 30 years and never had an issue with a bearing, and only one flat tire - in fact I had a flat tire on the vehicle I was using to tow once and had to change that on the side of the road. Every car flat tows a little different - some of them want to accordian when you get up to speed and you can only go so fast, and others I've gone 65 MPH down the interstate without a problem. I'm working on getting an early 30s chassis from a guy that has no body on it, just the motor/trans, and I'm thinking I may flat tow that down the road since it has some modern wheels stuck on it. Everythng turns okay. You can get magnetic tow lights from Harbor Freight with a coupon for all of $10, they're really nice to have too.
"Leave the steering wheel LOOSE ! Never tie it down !" Obviously has never flat towed very many cars especially one without an engine. First corner, you will find out why you need to tie the steering wheel so it can only make a quarter turn either way.
Paul, the problem with your logic will cause even more damage. Locking the front wheels will have him dragging them sideways on every turn. That will lead to a blow out on the towed vehicle and possibly an out of control turn from the towing vehicle if it doesn't quite have the horsepower to drag that frontend on the tires.... I totally agree on the trailer idea, that way the towing vehicles insurance will cover everything being towed.
A long time ago, I used a tow bar, made from galvenized water pipe, to tow my '37 Plymouth from San Francisco to Dallas. Tow vehicle was a 1 year old Road Runner with a bolt-on bumper hitch. Only issue was when the 37 Plymouth transmission was accidently shifted into 2nd at a gas stop. Drive shaft was still connected and the flathead 6 threw a rod.
I've towed several without an engine, in fact the one someone torched off the whole top of the column, too. No problems with one...the other, you had to turn the wheels yourself when backing it up and trying to make tight turns. Have never tied the steering wheel down. The only reason I suggest it for this car is if the wheels want to wander you may need to keep them straight somehow, and for 8 miles on gravel roads if you have to drag it sideways on some tight corners it's not going to hurt much as long as you slow down.
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