Rookie with a Towing question

[Oldschool34]

Hi everyone.
New guy here. My name is Ernie D. I live in Orlando Fla. Let me begin by saying AWESOME WEB SITE!

My Forward look journey began last December with the purchase of a 59 Belvedere. The addiction took hold quickly and I now have a 59 Sport Fury parked next to her.

I'm wondering what the towing capacity of these cars is? I'm hoping it's plausable to tow a 2,200 Lb. 34 Ford on a lightweight car trailer 1200 miles to Detroit and back for the Woodward Dream cruise? I have the 318 Poly. I don't know what the differential ratio is.
Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Ernie

[rogerh]

wow, excellent question!
I don't see why a 318 couldn't tow the weight. The car weighs ~3500 lbs.
I would be most concerned with the driveline connections.
Of course I would insist on trailer-mounted brakes.
The Dodge Class C motorhomes thruout the 70s were available with 318s. They were generally under-powered, but got those 21-ft motorhomes up the hills, albeit slowly.
(most preferfed the 383/413)

[rogerh]

By the way, thanks for joining us! You are the fellow who bought my Belvedere from WA State.
Now you have a Sport Fury as well! Send us pictures!!

[Dick Koch]

Ernie - A couple of things you should consider is Rear Air Shocks and if you have an automatic an auxillary oil cooler and an auxillary electric fan. I agree with Roger, four wheel drum brakes ever power brakes is asking a lot, the trailer should have brakes also. The 318 should have enought power to pull your load.
Dick.

[big m]

Good points, everyone.

When I started my wrecking yard some years back, I was pulling a single car trailer with a '58 Mercury 2-door hardtop wagon that I had. I fabricated a custom receiver hitch that I then bolted to the frame, rather than welding it. I built up a 390 engine to meet the pulling needs, as this is a mountainous area, and also installed an auxilliary trans cooler. The brakes, which are the most important aspest of any towing vehicle, I neglected to modify. On long downhill grades, even downshifting, the brakes would get hot and I would experience them fading. The trailer I had then was not equipped with electric brakes.

I towed in over 200 cars in this manner, before retiring the old Merc and using a heavier truck more suited to this usage. I did learn to be a cautious driver during this time, though. Farthest I towed this way was to the east coast to pick up a convertible that I bought in eastern Virginia.

---John

[Oldschool34]

Thanks for the feedback!
Trailer brakes, trans cooler, air shocks, roadside assistance all good advice. RickyMopar added that a club roster would be a good idea as well (I had posted this same question in the Announcements section by mistake.) How do I go about getting one of those? I'll be sure to document the trip on film if I decide to go for it.....

Are there any other Woodward Dream Cruisers out there?

Regards,
Ernie D.

[Denver 59 Fin Convert]

Old School 34, No Woodward this year, my Belvedere Convert still not done yet. Next year for sure! I used to cruise the Wooodward in the late 60's and 70's before moving out west in 78. It was not the big deal and event it is now. But still a lot of fun. There was may different sections that were good and some you avoided back in the day...

Do you live in the Detroit area? Your Old School sign on does not show where you are out of.

John Q.

[big m]

John,
I used to cruise Woodward with some high school buddies in the mid seventies. I also left the area when I graduated from high school in the late seventies.

Small world indeed!! ---John

[Denver 59 Fin Convert]

John, I had no idea you were from Michigan. I don't want to highjack this thread with our old stories. I grew up in Grosse Pointe Woods, went to WMU in Kalamazoo, graduated in 78 moved to Colorado, worked at the Denver Chrysler Zone office.
Best continue this via email, Katiejack@aol.com

see ya soon!

John Q.

[rogerh]

If I may answer for OldSchool34, Ernie D is in Florida. He posted a pic of his red Belv, (formerly owned by me)...I wonder where he got the Sport Fury...black w/ red interior...could that once have been (name gone out of my head) the 80-something guy in Indiana/Ohio who had 2 1959 Plymouths..one ws a "Fury" convertible...
I know Dan M will know whose name I am trying to recall...

[Faulkner]

If I may answer for OldSchool34, Ernie D is in Florida. He posted a pic of his red Belv, (formerly owned by me)...I wonder where he got the Sport Fury...black w/ red interior...could that once have been (name gone out of my head) the 80-something guy in Indiana/Ohio who had 2 1959 Plymouths..one ws a "Fury" convertible...
I know Dan M will know whose name I am trying to recall...

You're thinking of George Dalinas (sp?), Roger -- and if I'm not mistaken, he was the tech advisor for the Plymouth Owner's Club for '59's before Bob Hinds took over.

But let's ask Ernie himself -- Ernie, how did you come to own the Sport Fury?

Dan

[Dick Koch]

Ernie D - Where in Florida are you from. I'm blessed with living in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. (West Palm Area). We also have Frank Lamp that lives on the West Coast of Fl. I think the Naples, Port Charlotte area. Used to have a member in Miami with a convertible but he sold it.
Dick.

[Oldschool34]

I have lived in Orlando Fla since 1986 but I grew up on the East side of Detroit. 12 mile and Gratiot area.

I bought the Sport Fury from a gentleman in Memphis who ownd the car since 2004. He said he bought it from the second owner who lived near Chicago who he said was "president of a 59 plymouth club." I wonder if he was referring to this George Dalinas? Iwould love to trace the cars history if anyone has any suggestions on how to do so....

Gratiot ave & Woodward ave back in the seventies was like a scene from American Graffitti. They definately didn't call it the Motor City for nothin'.
For anyone not familar, Woodward ave is the oldest paved road in America. This year will be the 15th anniversary of the official "Woodward Dream Cruise." Billed as the largest car cruise in the world with over 40,000 cars and 1.5 million spectators along an 18 mile stretch. I took my 34 Ford there last year and it was awesome!
http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/news.php

Ernie D.

[rogerh]

George Dalinis sold his SF to John Mahaffey, who, IMHO, is into adding MUSCLE to cars...I am sure George did not have that tach while he owned it. John would have added that. If I ;am not mistaken, your SF has some major engine swap...maybe a Viper engine?
George lives (lived? he is advanced in years) in Wilmington, Il, and was for many years Tech Advisor for '59 Plymouths for the Plymouth Owners Club (which puts out a fine magazine, BTW). George got a write-up in that mag some...10? 15? years ago. I have that issue somewhere. In the article it is explained how George restored that SF. He then came across a Belv cvt in a junkyard. His friends challenged him to restore that one. He took on that challenge, but took it one step further, for the fun of it..since he had extra Fury trim laying around, he decided to create a "Fury" convertible, something Chrysler never produced.
In recent years, George's eyesight was fading, forcing him to sell his cars.
....I hope I have told this story correctly....

[Oldschool34]

Must not be the same car.
Mine still looks original under the hood, with the 318 poly. The only things that don't appear to be standard equipment is the tach (which will be removed this weekend by the way) and a power antenna mounted near one of the rear duals.

The car also came with an RCA 45 record player mounted under the dash. The guts are in a box in the trunk. Is anyone out there familiar with thier repair or know where I could find a manual or parts breakdown for this?

Thanks,

Ernie D.