Greetings!
--- In AirstreamList@yahoogroups.com, "NANCY NELSON" <njnelson@...> wrote:
>
> I am finally ready to purchase a vehicle to pull my airstream. Can anyone suggest a vintage car capable of pulling it? I think the weight is listed as 5500 pounds in the manual. I really don't want to purchase a 3/4 ton truck, but I will if there isn't a reliable car that can to the job. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.
>
There are any number of possibilities when it comes to Vintage automobiles that would be capable of towing your Overlander. The one caution that I would add is that preparation cost increases significantly if the car was produced in the pre-low-lead gasoline era. Starting in 1970 and later, the motors in new cars were equipped with hardened steel inserts to prevent valve recission. It is possible to "convert" an earlier motor by having a machine shop install hardened valve seats, but the process can become quite expensive. Beyond that, the primary factor to look for is the full-size family automobile with the largest V8, such as: GM -- 454, 500, 472; Chrysler Corporation -- 440, 426, 383, 361; Ford Motor Company -- 460, 390, 400. Some vehicles in this class would include:
General Motors:
1971--1975: Caprice Classic/Impala; Grandville/Bonneville; Electra/LeSabre, 98/88; DeVille/Brougham
1991-1996: Caprice (5.7 Liter); Roadmaster (5.7 Liter); Custom Cruiser (5.7 Liter); Brougham deElegance (5.7 Liter)
Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge
1971--1975: Grand Fury; Monaco/Monaco Brougham; New Port/New Yorker
I am not aware of any automobiles in the Chrysler line-up after 1975 that would make good tow vehicle candidates for your Overlander.
Ford Motor Company
1971-1978: LTD/Crown Victoria/Galaxie 500/Custom 500; Monterey/Colony Park; Continental/Continental Mark/ Towncar
I am not aware of any Ford Motor Company automobiles beyond 1978 that would make good candidates to tow your Overlander . . . Lincoln may have a few candidates beyond 1978 . . . you would be looking for the 460 V8 equipped models.
Ideally, you would like to find a carefully maintained example of one of the above cars with the trailer towing package, but this is not a high probability so you may be faced with one or more of the following:
Upgrading Cooling: Larger Radiator/Transmission Fluid Cooler/Motor Oil Cooler
Upgrading Suspension: Heavy Duty Shock Absorber/Heavy Duty Springs (Cargo Coil makes the ones that I have used with my '75 Eldorado and 1975 Grandville Brougham)/Larger Tires (greater weight capacity, stiffer sidewalls)/Rebuilding Front End with Heavy Duty Components).
Upgrading Drive Train: Four Barrell Carbueretor and Intake Manifold/Increased Capacity Fuel Pump and Water Pump; Rebuilding Brakes with Heavy Duty Components; New Differential Gears (3.70 to 4.50)
With the above, most would have had rather restrictive single exhausts. It is possible to convert to duals (with catalytic converters for both sides), but it can be rather expensive depending upon the automobile involved. I had this done on my 1975 Cadillac Eldorado, and the final cost was a little over $750. It was the least expensive of two possibilities with that particular car as changing the differential required nearly $2,000 in parts due to the fact that it is a front wheel drive automobile . . . I don't think that I would have been satisfied with the performance of this car in my trip to the WBCCI International Rally in Wyoming (2008) without one of these modifications as the car struggled on grades with the light weight of my Minuet (3,000 pounds).
When you get to most of the Big Three full-size cars earlier than 1970 (or 1972 for some models), you are also looking at a high potential of valve recission if new hardened valve seats aren't installed (the added stress of towing will expedite valve seat recission as well as burning of the valves). My 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 (383 c.i. V8) received this conversion in 1980, and it was rather expensive even at that time (the heads had special large valves that had only one source for replacement) . . . the 1980 cost for that modification was just short of $2,000. Part of my increased cost was the fact that I had used it for one season towing my 3,600 pound Nomad travel trailer which had resulted in severe valve seat recission as well as burned valves).
The older the vehicle that you decide to consider, the likelihood of large expenditures for repairs/modifications/upgrades becomes. My choice of the 1975 Eldorado (purchased before the Airstream bug struck) destined me for much higher expenses as most of the changes required cutom work or the parts were quite expensive/unobtanium. I would not recommend choosing either the Oldsmobile Tornonado or the Cadillac Eldorado due to the difficulties in upgrading. My expense for upgrading my 1975 Eldorado exceeded $4,000, and my car didn't require any serious motor or transmission work. . . two of my most memorable expenses were the new custom high capacity radiator ($700.00) and five restored stock wheels ($600.00) . . . the wheels on the 1966 through 1978 Toronado and Eldorados were a design that permitted significant damage to occur just from scrubbing a curb or pothole . . . I searched for six years for good used stock wheels (only found 1 NOS wheel during my search), and never found one single wheel that could pass the test for trueness and runout . . . finally found a rebuilder and had five of the best used wheels that I could find. During the interim, I tried to find aftermarket wheels that would work with the specifications for these cars and found that the only possibility there was to have them custom manufactured at a cost in excess of $3,000 (and then the wheel wells and suspension required modification to accommodate the wheels.
With any of these older vehicles, you will also be facing issues with finding parts in the event of a breakdown. I have always enjoyed taking long trips in my 20-plus year-old vehicles, and one of the lessons that I have learned is to take a good supply of the parts that are known for short life or that are known to be difficult to find. For my 1975 Eldorado these parts included speedometer/cruise control cables, HEI Ignition Modules, front wheel bearings, lower ball joints, valve stems for OEM wheels (the valve stem is no logner utilized and most shops do not stock the angled metal stems), Level Ride shock absorbers (2), water pump, fuel pump, headlight dimmer switch, heavy duty turn signal flasher, and several other specialized parts. I have also learned to add a couple of days in my itinerary as a cushion should the vehicle be disabled and require a wait for parts.
My most recent cross-country towing trip with my 1975 Eldorado was to the WBCCI International Rally in Bozeman, Montana. The trip was quite successful, but I did wind up marooned for two days following a prat failure . . . the new alternator that had been installed prior to my departure failed 200 miles from home on a Sunday near Arcola, Illinois. There weren't any shops open within 50 miles of where I broke down so my rig was towed to Arcola where the first replacement alternator arrived Monday afternoon . . . it was a standard rather than heavy duty Delcotron so another day was required to order in the heavy duty part. That breakdown was the only issue that I exprience during the trip that left the car inoperable . . . but I lost three of the four plastic fender extensions while underway (these are available as reproductions but the parts are going to be an expense).
I don't want to discourage you from considering an older tow vehicle; rather, I am encouraging you to be realistis in your expectations of a vintage tow vehicle.
Good luck with your investigation!
Kevin
Kevin D. Allen
WBCCI (Lifetime Member)/Vintage Airstream Club -- 6359
1964 Airstream Overlander Land Yacht International/1999 GMC K2500 Suburban (7400 VORTEC/4.10 Differential Gears)
1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre/1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (500 cubic inch V8/2.70 Final Drive)
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