towing with a classic Mustang?

[Cosmo]

I'm the proud owner of a '98 , and am very pleased with the boat. The only problem is that my usual tow vehicle just decided to check itself into SUV heaven, or where ever SUV's go when they die.

I have a very stock 1966 Mustang coupe with a 289CI V8 coupled to a 3 speed automatic.

Would it be asking too much of this powerful, but light weight REAR wheel drive vehicle to tow and launch the , or will I have to spring for another vehicle.

Since I love my Mustang almost as much as I love my MacGregor, I dont want to give up the car, but I really don't need 2 cars.

Thanks for your attention.

[Craig LaForce]

Don't even think about doing this to your 'Stang. I had a '67 with the same engine. Tons of power, but I actually broke mine in half just behind the rear wheels doing something stupid. Unibody chassis has no frame and relies simply on some bent thin body metal to support the rear of the vehicle.

I had maybe 80 lbs of stuff in the trunk and was driving my heavy dad to the hospital who thought he was having a 2nd heart attack. I hit the bottom of a hill very fast to make a traffic light and the frickin car broke in half!

Car barely made it to the hospital, Dad was OK, but the car was dead.
AN old crown vic or a big old impala or caprice maybe, but not the tiny underbuilt mustang. Oh, and I toasted the transmission on mine also before it cracked in half. 17 yrs old and loved to bury the throttle.

[Catigale]

I was going to ask how you could get a 5000 # rated hitch on board but I think Craigs post made my question a bit superfluous....

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Two (2002) Mustangs here...and I cant imagine having a 3500+lb. hitch on either...yeppers...theyre just tooooo 'purdy.
Although these 'stangs have enough horses under the hood, I dont think they'll pull the Mac up the ramp unless you have 'snow chains on the rear tires.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

can you imagine???

[eric3a]

..

[pokerrick1]

Cosmo - - - I have two thoughts here - - - first of all if you use the site search engine you are going to get TONS of info. Secondly, the tow vehicle kind of depends upon where you are towing? Locally? For instance, Lake Mead has ALOT of construction to get to Danville etc and the ride is MUCH rougher along the dirt roads there - - - much different towing than on the interstates. Looks to me like you need a vehicle JUST for towing - - - ORRRRRRRRR - - - keep the boat in a slip (Mead or elsewhere) and figure out cost differentials. Of course that doesn't solve the problem of needing a tow vehicle in case you want to go anywhere else, which is ONE of the great features of a Mac, but there are MANY Lake Mead destinations too that could last you for several years before you got bored with them and felt the need to tow elsewhere - - - thus at least delaying the problem. (Is it true one COULD fit the State of Rhode Island into Lake Mead?).

Also, when using the search engine, look up Mead Madness, which happens again early 2007. I think there is a recent post in VENUES

In any event, have fun, be careful and courteous, and welcome aboard

Rick

[Trouts Dream]

If your going to tow with a smaller vehicle at least use a diesel. I try not to get going too fast as I'm not sure the Smart car has enough weight to activate the surge brakes.

[zuma hans 1]

You should see the golf carts that they use to tow the boats at the Channel Islands storage yard.

I saw one out on Victoria Avenue the other day, towing some boat over to the boatyard. Wish I had my camera as it activated the left turn signal.

[Rich Plumb]

I have a classic mustang and I have a trailer hitch on the back but I would not consider towing the boat with it. The hitch is just for a light eight foot utility trailer.

I finished my car last spring. It is a 71 Mach 1 Mustang, with 460 cubic inch engine and toplloader four speed. It has, subframe connectors, 15 X 10 magnum 500's, a Holly 750, headers and flowmasters that rattle windows and set off car alarms. A real beast!



~~~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rich Plumb, "Plumb Crazy"
26X, Covington, WA

[kmclemore]

Very NICE piece of vintage road iron, Rich! I'll bet that trailer gets a nice ride!

[Craig LaForce]

Is that a Ford engine? I didn't know they made anything larger than the 428 Cobra-Jet and the 429 BOSS. I rode in a friend's Mustang with a 428 in it. Good grief did that thing jump when he popped the clutch. Unreal acceleration. My 289 was fast, but nothing compared to that beast.

[pokerrick1]

I never heard of a 460 either. In 1967 just before I got married (for the first time) I bought a new Mustang convertible with a 390 that I had bored and stroked - - - 4 speed with a hurst shifter. Couldn't keep the car on the road - - - it was always in the shop - - - too much engine for the frame. That Ford dealer sponsered me to race it at Lancaster Speedway in Western NY - - - and they tuned it every week. That car REALLY jumped off the line - - - if one was in the back seat (what there was of one) their head would go right through the roof at takeoff AND again into second gear. Ah to be a kid again (or is THAT what I'm doing now) .

Rick

[Rich Plumb]

I replaced the original 351 Cleveland because it was essentially a race engine (11.7 to 1 compression) that needed 100 octane leaded fuel. The new engine is a 460 CI Ford big block out of a 73 Lincoln, bored .030 over with a Comp 268h cam shaft. It runs OK on unleaded regular. I added frame stiffeners, heavier rear springs and traction bars to the car. The new engine is about 150 pounds heaver than the original one. Fuel milage is 8 mpg on a good day, if I keep my foot out of it.

~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~~
Rich Plumb, "Plumb Crazy"
26X, Covington WA

[kmclemore]

I'm pretty much a Chevy guy when it comes to American iron... the only Ford V8 I ever owned was in my Sunbeam Tiger - it was a 302, with a 4-barrel carb... I recall looking down the venturi when I was tuning it, and when I blipped the trottle the amount of gas that shot in looked like a shower! It had a Borg-Warner T-10 4-speed and a 2.88 rear, and with the outrageous power to weight ratio it went like stink. Keeping tires on it was another story.