Definitely true. I'd have to find something in my price range that isn't rusty which may be difficult, unless I can find one of those "Florida", "California", or "Arizona" cars
Old school towing vehicle revisited!
Recently I made a thread about a cheap, reliable, and capable vehicle to tow my 19' Bayliner with a grand total weight of no more than 3k lbs.
I got talking to my dad about it earlier, and being that he was and always was a fan of Vista Cruisers, suggested I get something like from the '70s that can be found as a fixer upper pretty cheap (below $2k) and that would actually increase in value.
The classic picture of a Vista Cruiser or Electra Estate or full size Caddy towing a 30' Airstream Land Yacht in my head makes sense. A 445 or 500 CI would move things easily
What do you guys think? As mentioned I had in mind a Vista or Custom Cruiser, Electra Estate, maybe a Ford Country Squire or whatever the Mercury version was.
I suppose an Electra 225, Fleetwood, Deville, etc would do fine too. Would a boattail Riviera or a flippin Eldorado convertible be okay? Or Mark IV? Toronado? I mean hell they've definitely got the engine and trans to do it. Wheelbase? Heck aren't they the same as modern 3/4 ton trucks these days? I don't know the factory towing capacities of these things but I figure as long as they have front discs they should be just fine, right?
I got talking to my dad about it earlier, and being that he was and always was a fan of Vista Cruisers, suggested I get something like from the '70s that can be found as a fixer upper pretty cheap (below $2k) and that would actually increase in value.
The classic picture of a Vista Cruiser or Electra Estate or full size Caddy towing a 30' Airstream Land Yacht in my head makes sense. A 445 or 500 CI would move things easily
What do you guys think? As mentioned I had in mind a Vista or Custom Cruiser, Electra Estate, maybe a Ford Country Squire or whatever the Mercury version was.I suppose an Electra 225, Fleetwood, Deville, etc would do fine too. Would a boattail Riviera or a flippin Eldorado convertible be okay? Or Mark IV? Toronado? I mean hell they've definitely got the engine and trans to do it. Wheelbase? Heck aren't they the same as modern 3/4 ton trucks these days? I don't know the factory towing capacities of these things but I figure as long as they have front discs they should be just fine, right?
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Aren't you willing to part with that Duh-vee-uh? I can see how a limited-slip could come in handy.
At least in Michigan our boat ramps usually have a bunch of little holes with a piece of re-bar across them so one can connect a winch or come along (took me a long while to figure out what those were for) but I'm hoping I won't have to use them.
As in my other thread, a few good things are that it will probably be kept in the garage at our cottage most of the time so it won't be subject to the elements and it won't see many miles, so mileage won't be a factor.
I'm liking the idea of an Eldo convertible. I don't know what year it lost its power but I guess for '70 the 500 CI V8 was rated for 400 hp gross and 550 ft/lbs
I can see how a limited-slip could come in handy. At least in Michigan our boat ramps usually have a bunch of little holes with a piece of re-bar across them so one can connect a winch or come along (took me a long while to figure out what those were for) but I'm hoping I won't have to use them.
As in my other thread, a few good things are that it will probably be kept in the garage at our cottage most of the time so it won't be subject to the elements and it won't see many miles, so mileage won't be a factor.
I'm liking the idea of an Eldo convertible. I don't know what year it lost its power but I guess for '70 the 500 CI V8 was rated for 400 hp gross and 550 ft/lbs
yeah but I've already owned a 4.6L...my Mountaineer couldn't hold overdrive on level ground towing a 4'x4' trailer with a 300 lbs Jet Ski on it.
My Forester can hold overdrive towing a flippin 19' Bayliner . Yea, no more Ford Modular V8s for me.
And technically those Vics are only rated for 1k lbs though in reality it would seem like it would be safe...BOF, RWD, heavy duty brakes, cooling system...
I know the '70s Eldorado's had 4 wheel discs standard
I've done some searching though and found that a Mark IV IMO looks a lot better than the Eldo
My Forester can hold overdrive towing a flippin 19' Bayliner
. Yea, no more Ford Modular V8s for me.And technically those Vics are only rated for 1k lbs though in reality it would seem like it would be safe...BOF, RWD, heavy duty brakes, cooling system...
I know the '70s Eldorado's had 4 wheel discs standard
I've done some searching though and found that a Mark IV IMO looks a lot better than the Eldo
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