<VV> Adventures in towing (was: 69 In Tow)

[Robert Marlow]

Harry Yarnell wrote:

> This is assuming the shifter is in Neutral, or all bets are off. <

I have had excellent success in flat-towing Powerglide Corvairs reasonable
distances at moderate speeds, with periodic stops to start the engine and
circulate the PG fluid (gotta stetch the legs anyway).

However, a decade ago I was called by a guy in NYC who had a '65
convertible to give away, free, just come get it.  I threw the towbar and
four spare wheels/tires in the van and went over there on a nice Saturday
morning.

It turned out to be a '64 (!) convertible.  The car was first registered in
1965 and all his paper work said '65 and so he thought it was a '65.  It
had four flat tires and none of my spares were going to fit.

Miraculously, all four tires held air when inflated and off I went.  No
Corvair has even been as difficult to tow!  My poor van was straining like
it was tied to a tree.  But, as the route home put me on the Throggs Neck
Bridge almost immediately, there was no stopping.

On the other side of the bridge I paid the toll and found a wide spot to
pull over and examine everything, a smart think to do regardless but
certainly worthwhile given the drag imposed by this car.  I walked back to
it and discovered that the transmission was ON FIRE!

Having no extinguisher I quickly disconnected my van from this
disaster-in-the-making and pulled it away by about 50 feet.  Then I watched
as the fire slowly burned itself out without spreading.

Once the flames subsided I began to inspect things.  The PG lever was in
reverse!  Stooo-pid!  THAT's why it was so hard to tow, and that's where
all the heat came from!  I moved the lever to neutral and had smooth
sailing the rest of the way home.

--Bob

Robert W. Marlow
nortechcorp@optonline.net