In reply to Cotton :
Your truck looks vaguely familiar to me, but I'll be darned if I know why.
This is mine:
In reply to Cotton :
Your truck looks vaguely familiar to me, but I'll be darned if I know why.
This is mine:
Jaynen said:Reliability I think would be decent with 350, or 454, or 460's etc I dont recall hearing much engine wise bad about them or the old c6 transmissions etc.
uncomfortable seats would seem like something somewhat easy to swap in from a later model truck?
disc brake upgrade seems like it would do a lot for brakes.
They definitely won't ride like a Sequoia or be as quiet tho
Not disagreeing - upgrades are always available if you want to put work/money into it. When I talk about reliability, maybe I'm talking more about other stuff, not so much drivetrain. i.e. 1980s power window motors, or gauges, or other electrics, for instance. Not things that will necessarily stop you from going, but things that will just be generally annoying to fix.
stuart in mn said:Back in the day, a buddy and I drove his new 1974 F-100 from Minnesota to Yellowstone Park, and I don't remember it being uncomfortable. The seats in most older trucks were probably pretty comfortable when they were new, but the foam and/or springs have broken down over time. Replacing the foam and fixing the springs would probably get them back to where they should be.
I think we all have rose-colored memories of good times in cars "back in the day." In high school (early 90s) I had a buddy with a late-80s XJ and we drove everyplace in it, and I always thought it was awesome in every way. Fast forward to about 2005 and I bought basically the exact same XJ, refreshed everything on it......and found that I really didn't like driving around in it all that much, even off-road. Then my wife got a new (2008) 4Runner and after driving that I literally never wanted to drive the XJ at all, and soon sold it.
I think old sportscars and stuff are a bit different, as they still give you the "raw" experience that new sportscars dont' really give you (that you WANT in a sportscar). But not so sure the "raw" experience is as desirable in a tow rig.
irish44j said:stuart in mn said:Back in the day, a buddy and I drove his new 1974 F-100 from Minnesota to Yellowstone Park, and I don't remember it being uncomfortable. The seats in most older trucks were probably pretty comfortable when they were new, but the foam and/or springs have broken down over time. Replacing the foam and fixing the springs would probably get them back to where they should be.
I think we all have rose-colored memories of good times in cars "back in the day." In high school (early 90s) I had a buddy with a late-80s XJ and we drove everyplace in it, and I always thought it was awesome in every way. Fast forward to about 2005 and I bought basically the exact same XJ, refreshed everything on it......and found that I really didn't like driving around in it all that much, even off-road. Then my wife got a new (2008) 4Runner and after driving that I literally never wanted to drive the XJ at all, and soon sold it.
My exwife really wanted an XJ. After about the second family trip in it, I found a rusty old Volvo 760 so I wouldn't have to drive that hateful thing ever again.
However- I have found that well maintained American cars...Well, in all fairness, well maintained GM cars from the late 60's and 70's drive very nicely once they have sensible radial tires on them. Note: 50 series tires are not sensible in this application.
Trying and not finding the image of a 504 Diesel flat-towing a 504 rally car.
They had about 20 feet of Flex-haust on the tow car to route the exhaust behind the rally car.
Was a black and white pic, probably from the 1970s.
Here Is my perspective.
I have the brown and gold 88 C2500 that's shown pulling the Miata on page one of this post. Bought new by my friend's ex father in-law in east California, who then moved to west Texas. After he died, it was brought to Florida, so zero rust.
It's a TBI 350, 700r4, semi floating 14 bolt. Pulled the trailer and Miata at 70 with no drama. Brakes are adequate for the job. Very comfortable to drive. Only mods are an enormous transmission cooler, and some time in it's life it got a clutch type limited slip. Original engine. Burns a half quart between oil changes, probably all due to the leaky valve guides.
Milage is unknown. Odometer quit sometime in the early 2000s with 243,000 miles. I was told when I was given the truck in 2009 that it had about 350,000 miles. I've probably put another 30,000 on it. Longest road trip for me was about 1800 miles, over two days.
Would I rather have 5-10 year old truck? Of course, but this truck has been reliable, relaxing to drive, gets decent milage, and costs very little to own. I can't justify replacing it.
Besides, it's fun to post photos of it to get the positive responses from the forum members in the road salt States.
Shut up and post pics of your truck!
Let me know when you're selling
this showed up on Facebook today
^^ you win this thread.
Buy that orange truck, convert to ramp truck = profit?
"
This 1974 Dodge D300 Crew Cab Truck was CONVERTED WHEN NEW to an Enclosed Drag Race Car hauler by OLEYNIK Corp. in Pennsylvania for famed Drag Racer Eddie Smith and his West Virginia Hemi Cars.
This was a high dollar conversion back in 1974. The enclosed 20 Foot box is aluminum construction with a real hardwood floor, Warn Winch, Front Cabinets, Separate Water and Fuel Tank Systems on both sides of the truck and exterior storage boxes.
Options on the truck include a 440 V8 Engine, 727 Automatic Transmission, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Air Conditioning, Gauges, and more.
This truck RUNS, Drives, Shifts and Barely Stops as the brakes are NOT GOOD. The tires are in good condition with stainless steel simulators. The interior is mostly original including the original dash, seats, door panels, seat belts and more. The front fenders have some rust at the bottom. The right front door is rusty at the bottom. The right rear door also has some rust. The driver's front floor has as small amount of rust with the rest of the floors in good condition.
All the glass in the truck is good.
Under the hood the truck is complete with a built 440. The transmission shifts properly and the brakes are POOR. The exhaust is complete along with the complete hang on air conditioning system.
This is the PERFECT VINTAGE DRAG RACE or Vintage Road Race CAR HAULER for your Vintage race cars. The truck is located in Nashville TN.
$4000
Detailed pictures available via email
Telephone Calls ONLY PLEASE to 615 347 7459."
irish44j said:As someone who basically only tows old 1980s racecars all the time, the thought of having a "period correct" to rig constantly crosses my mind, simply for cool factor. But then I remember that 1) Tow Rig must be reliable, 2) Tow rig must have good brakes, 3) most importatnly, tow rig must be easy to drive, comfortable, and safe. Because after a race weekend, I don't want to have to think about the rig, fix the rig, or be uncomfortable towing home with lousy A/C or sub-par brakes, or flat uncomfortable bench seats. I towed with a friend's early 90s F250 diesel (with manual!), and while it was a cool truck with good power, in all other ways it sucked to tow with, even compared to my 4Runner at the time. Modern trucks are just so much better in every way, and the coolness of an old truck isn't worth the tradeoff.
I've got to echo this comment above. While I love the idea of turning up to race pulling my car behind some vintage iron actually doing it and dealing with the pitfalls has a lot of potential to ruin the day. Especially on the ride back when you're already beat and just want some A/C to relax and get home.
My AC works great, although it seems like my compressors only last a couple of years.
I have my second replacement, a two and a half year old AC Delco, not rebuilt, and it's starting to light up with the UV flashlight. Previous one lasted 13 months.
I don't expect this'll last the summer. They don't blow, they just leak around the clamshell. Been planning to start a discussion about this.
Since the first one lasted for 27 years, I'm not going to blame the truck, that's more of a comment on the quality of contemporary replacement parts.
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Very similar! I got a lot of compliments on that truck and it always got the job done.
Cotton said:In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Very similar! I got a lot of compliments on that truck and it always got the job done.
Yes indeed, those are really good looking trucks.
This is in the neighbor's yard, same year as mine. 88 TBI 350, should be a Turbo 400 though instead of a 700r4. I've been living here for over 5 years, he has moved it twice.
Looks a lot worse in person. 
The lack of creature comforts and A.C. is a plus for me. My 76 f100 was a factory non A.C. truck and my zephyr is also factory non A.C.. I don't miss it all, but I live in Ohio and don't spend alot of time in traffic jams.
When will a 2004 suburban be classic? That's the one I want.
Knurled. said:Trying and not finding the image of a 504 Diesel flat-towing a 504 rally car.
They had about 20 feet of Flex-haust on the tow car to route the exhaust behind the rally car.
Was a black and white pic, probably from the 1970s.
I give you Randy Zimmer towing a Subaru Rally Car with a Legacy
I've been doing this for autocrosses and track days:
But, the truck *is* only a 302, so it's less than happy in the Western Pennsylvania hills. It is the lightest-duty suspension you could get in an F150, so I installed some helper bags and a compressor.
I've always wanted to tow with a wagon, though, so I got this recently.
It's got a 400/c6/9", and with proper improvements, I have high hopes for it.
Floating Doc said:My AC works great, although it seems like my compressors only last a couple of years.
Since the first one lasted for 27 years, I'm not going to blame the truck, that's more of a comment on the quality of contemporary replacement parts.
My experience is similar. I'm pretty sure they engineer them to last just a few minutes longer than the warranty period.
In reply to snailmont5oh :
My favorite fox body, behind my favorite body style of F series truck. Really nice, but being a big fan of full size wagons, that's going to be even better. The 400 in the wagon will have plenty of torque and the C6/nine inch drive train is indestructible. I'll be curious to see how you address the brakes. Some rear disks on that nine inch might be an option.
Jaynen said:Reliability I think would be decent with 350, or 454, or 460's etc I dont recall hearing much engine wise bad about them or the old c6 transmissions etc.
uncomfortable seats would seem like something somewhat easy to swap in from a later model truck?
disc brake upgrade seems like it would do a lot for brakes.
They definitely won't ride like a Sequoia or be as quiet tho
Yes and no. I think something folks forget with older cars and trucks is the far greater amount of regular maintenance that is required compared to modern examples. Just simple things like tune-ups that had to be done with some frequency, usually once a year at least if driven an average amount. Compare that to my 2008 minivan that just now at nearly 206K miles is showing signs the spark plugs Chrysler installed 10 years ago may need changing.
In reply to Jaynen :
Heavy Breathing Activated.
Here is an MGC towing an MGA race car.....
We also had a guy with a Jaguar Mk 7 used as a tow car.
chada75 said:In reply to Jaynen :
Heavy Breathing Activated.
That is a lot of tow rig for 4k, I'd be all over it but SWMBO doesn't like these crazier options
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