<VV> Flat Towing a Corvair

[Tony Underwood]

At 01:12 PM 3/24/2011, Vairtec Corporation wrote:
>On 3/24/2011 1:54 PM, Ken Wildman wrote:
>
> > Bob;
> >
> > The real question is with a suitable tow vehicle, can you flat 
> tow, or dolly tow pg or manual w/o damage?
> >
> > Ken
> >
>
>If that's the question, Ken, then the answer is "yes."
>
>Flat towing a manual-transmission Corvair poses no issues other than
>ensuring that the transmission stays in neutral.
>
>Flat towing a Powerglide-equipped Corvair poses no issues other than
>stopping every 100 miles or two hours to start the car and engage the
>transmission, to more fully circulate the trans fluid.


Uh wait...


The Powerglide has a rear pump that lubes everything whenever the 
rear wheels turn.   You can flat-tow a PG and just go until you get 
where you were going.

The manual gearbox's mainshaft turns when the rear wheels turn, but 
the cluster gear and sync hubs do not (hopefully you ARE flat-towing 
in *Neutral*).   You run the risk of cooking the bushings in the sync 
hubs if the cluster gear doesn't spin and sling lube onto the mainshaft.


It's the gearbox car being flat-towed that should be stopped every 
half-hour or so and idled a bit in neutral to spin the cluster gear 
and slop some gear lube onto the mainshaft.

Or... do like I once did (to a 'Vair driveline in a kitcar chassis 
with an inop engine) and overfill the transaxle with cheap motor oil 
so as to actually have the oil level contact the mainshaft (via 
having enough oil in the transaxle to contact the pinion shaft which 
is directly inline with the gearbox mainshaft).   And no it did not 
leak on the way, amazingly enough.   (it did slop a bit out the vent 
on the diff)



>I would not recommend dolly-towing a Corvair.  Dollies were designed to
>accommodate front-wheel-drive vehicles.


Back the 'Vair onto the dolly.  Careful if it's a ragtop...  been 
there done that twice, no disasters 'cuz I was careful and slow.


>Note:  I once flat-towed a Powerglide Corvair without noticing that the
>transmission was in REVERSE!  The result was exciting and included fire.


Yikes.   Don't do that.



tony..