Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

[dbuffington]

Hi Folks!

We have a 1957 Whirlwind with a 1955 Mercury Mark 55 motor.

Is it appropriate to pull that rig with a 2005 Ford Explorer?

Of course not!

So I'm looking for a visually appropriate tow vehicle. (More toys for big boys, I know ) Something in the same age range -- say 1955 to 1965 -- would make sense, but anything that just _looks_ right would work too. For example, I've thought about a Jeep Wagoneer. It looked the same -- that is, old -- from the mid 60s to the late 80s.

Other requirements...
- I'd like to keep the total cost (vehicle plus repair work) under $7500. No big bucks Barrett-Jackson cars here.
- A brand where parts are readily available.
- Towing capacity of 1,500 pounds or more.

Any suggestions on a chilly Sunday?

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

An old Bronco would be nice, the little one. An International Scout would be cool too.

 

[dbuffington]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

An old Bronco would be nice, the little one. An International Scout would be cool too.

Hey, I didn't think of the Bronco! Let me do some checking. Thanks!

Also, I see this on eBay today...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1961...3?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item27b5fcab9b#v4-43

 

[spdracr39]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

I can tell you from experience that a Bronco has such a short wheel base it makes a poor tow vehicle unless your trailer is balanced perfectly and the hitch is at the exact right height.

 

[dbuffington]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

I can tell you from experience that a Bronco has such a short wheel base it makes a poor tow vehicle unless your trailer is balanced perfectly and the hitch is at the exact right height.

Good point. Right now, I'm excited about a 1961 Ford Falcon with the "big" 170 ci engine

 

[JimS123]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

A Bronco would be a poor choice, but mostly because it would not be period correct. What you really need is a station wagon. Just pick your model depending upon your likes. If it were me, I'd go for a Pontiac Safari woodie.

That Falcon would be overpowered for sure....LOL. Here's a pic of my first rig, taken circa 1968. That's the Falcon's sister, a 1961 Comet, with a stick shift and a 144 L6 85 HP.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

My father-in-law had an International when my wife was a kid. Bright orange, built like a brick sh$% house - great vehicle for towing their camper and would look good in front of any boat.

Like the vintage woodie wagon idea too.

My vintage towing rig is a 1952 Ferguson. 15 mph in road gear. Wooohooo!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

How about a mid-960s F100 pickup?

 

[Dead Horse]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

1966 ford galaxie -2 door fast back-with a 428-dual 4barrels--4speed trans- and a fox tail on the radio antenna .

[/IMG]

and NO you cant use mine --

 

[Dead Horse]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

BTW - id like to see some pics of the boat and motor--

old boats - old motor cycles- old money and old whiskey- good cigar

 

[JB]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

My 1978 Grand Wagoneer Quadratrac was the best tow vehicle I ever had*. It had dual fuel tanks, Class III hitch and full towing package. It had previously been used to tow demo farm equipment all over the midwest.

My first choice, however, would be a first gen Bronco V8.

* Except my 2 Mercedes MLs.

 

[bostonwhalermontauk1965]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

Im starting to fall in love with the Jeep Cj or Jeep Wrangler as a tow vehicle. Automatic tranny for boat ramp ease. When it is too windy for boating, U take off the Jeep top and you go 4 wheelin on the beach!!! Im heavily considering throwing a small block chevy motor in one!!! Paul

 

[bassman284]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

1958 Pontiac Chieftain. You'll be looking good.

 

[woosterken]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

check out this guys vintage boats and tows.................

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/automobiles/collectibles/16finboat.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&8dpc

woosterken

 

[jfadool]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

Ford F100/small bronco
Chevy c10
Dodge power-wagon(kinda hard to find)
Jeep CJ/wagoner

All would be well below your 7k limit, and all would be more than enough to tow 1500 lbs

But as with any old truck, try to find disk brakes, many of those early ones would only have drums, fortunately conversion kits are out there.


For what its worth, our old bronco was a great tow vehicle, 79 thunder craft with an 86 bronco. Great combo, to bad the truck had 260K on it and got traded in.

 

[road kill]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

Back when I had my first boat I was driving a 56 F100 with a modern power train, a 460ci and a C6. The truck was bone stock otherwise. It towed my old wooden Owens. After that truck, I had an older Fiberglass Starcraft, about a 1960 or so, I towed that with a 1966 F100, bone stock with a 240 straight 6 cylinder and a 3 speed stick trans. After that truck, I picked up a 1957 Plymouth Fury which already had a trailer hitch on it, that thing with it's old 318 pulled and handled better than any of the old trucks I had. Keep in mind that I had these vehicles and boats when they were already pretty old, in the late 70's and early 80's. I didn't drive them because they were classics, they were just what happened to come my way at the time. The best all around tow vehicle I've had was a 1972 Ford LTD wagon with a 429 motor and a C6 trans. The back seat was removed, a plywood deck with a forward stop was added to carry coolers, the rear axle gears were changed to 4.11:1 for towing, and it got all of about 9 mpg on a good day without at trailer, about 5 with the boat in tow. That car came with a 26' boat I bought from a neighbor, he had bought the boat and car both new and I doubt if the car ever was driven without the boat in tow. I drove it till the car was just so rusted out it could no longer be made safe. The last few years of it's life it went around with no tailgate and the back doors welded shut. Saltwater really took a toll on it. The rear brakes never worked right, they'd rust up every few weeks. The good side was that once the inner fenders rotted away, we were able to put on a pair of huge snow tires which made for great traction on slick ramps. I do have to give that car credit, it took all sorts of abuse and just kept on going. The worst thing about that car was that it at one time had a CB antenna mounted in the middle of the roof, it was long gone and the hole which started out about 1" wide, had rusted out to nearly a foot across. We got to the point where we wouldn't even bother to close the windows, it seemed to dry out faster. Duct tape pretty much held the body together in it's last days. Actually, the body was mostly duct tape by the time I pulled the motor out and scrapped it. I replaced it with a slightly newer sedan model but that one only lasted a few years when the smaller motor died and the trans blew a seal soon after. That one is still rotting out back behind a buddies barn covered in vines and tree sap with all it's windows shot out.

 

['96 Charger]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

Early 70's Chevy truck painted to match your boat would be cool. I've seen a couple around here painted with a similar shade of orange and white as your boat and they looked killer.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

A 1957 chevy Apache pick up or a 57 nomad wagon would be sweet.
I am looking for a 65 thru 70 chevy truck for my rig too...painted blue/white

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

vintage tow and vintage boat... Sounds like a really fun project! I know personally if I tried that though, I would NEVER make it on the water. I'd be fixing one or the other, continuously!

 

[Subliminal]

Re: Vintage Boat, Vintage Tow?

Ok, here's the deal...but you're gunna have to do the work yourself:

Pick your favorite vintage of older vehicle. Preferably a truck, but even something like an old Belair would work fine.

Go online and find yourself a Frito Lay delivery truck for sale. Should be about $1700 or so.

Then you rip out the engine and tranny and swap it into the truck. If you can find a delivery truck with the Cummins 4BT, you're golden. It's basically the same engine as in the Dodge Cummins trucks, but with 4 cylinders instead of 6. You'll have plenty of towing power, and if you stick it into an old 1/2 ton truck or something weighing under 5000 lbs, you'll probably get 20+ MPG towing and 30+ on the highway empty.

Then, of course, you can sell the drivetrain out of the classic car to some sucker wanting 6 mpg and then you get yourself a sawzall and you chop of the delivery truck and scrap it...it's basically all aluminum.

Reliable, unique and best of all, double-digit MPG.

That's what I'd do.