Inspecting a '47 Deluxe sedan - Tow dolly transporting question

[46Chris]

11 hours ago, Ivan_B said:

Good luck!

 

Just out of curiosity, about your bias ply explosion - how old were the tires, how bad did they look and what was the speed\temperature\load? The reason I ask is that I am using old bias ply on my car right now. They do have a DOT number, but no manufacture date (probably made before that was mandatory). There are no cracks and the rubber is still soft, etc. I did replace the inner tubes because the valve stems were cracked. I've actually done some research about how safe these are, and the overall anecdotal evidence appears to be that bias ply seem to be more durable than radials of the same age ?

For the record, I've used some tires manufactured in the early 80s, on an off-road vehicle, before. But that's a bit of a different story.

Thanks Ivan!  No idea how old the tires were, and there was no manufacture date.  I had just gotten the car a few days before ('54 Lincoln Capri convertible) from an estate collection auction of cars owned by the founder of Chick-fil-A.  They looked fine to me, but because the car had been in the collection for 30-some years they could have been that old or older.  Yes, I've also read that bias plys can be more durable, and inside storage + frequency of use make a difference as well.  I was going 35mph, just down the road to the gas station and back.   Since probably only a small percentage of old tires fail catastrophically, it's of greater concern if it's happened to you or someone you know.  That one experience was enough for me.  It was the right rear, and it blew out the wheel pant.   I had bookmarked this AACA thread awhile ago - lot of different POVs, but helped me to understand more about pressure and heat https://forums.aaca.org/topic/378582-bias-ply-tire-pressure/

[46Chris]

2 hours ago, rallyace said:

I brought my 51 Plymouth Cambridge from Iowa to NY by renting a pickup truck locally from Enterprise Truck Rental (NOT the car rental side of the business) and getting a trailer from U-Haul in Iowa on a one way rental. The last I knew, Enterprise truck rentals were about $100 per day and rentals are about $60 per day. You have to go with a 3/4 ton pickup if you are going to tow with it. When I did it I got a Ford F-250 diesel and we got 17 MPG for the 1900 mile round trip.

Nicely done.  

[Ivan_B]

So, Chris, did you get the car?

[Sniper]

When I got my 1 Cambridge I just used the company truck, 3/4 ton and yes I was allowed to use it for personal use.  Rented a U haul trailer, my advice to you is to double check the trailer.  Air up the tires, grease the ball, check the lights, torque the lug nuts.  All of those items needed addressed on my rental.  Made the 12 hour round trip without issue.

[46Chris]

16 hours ago, Ivan_B said:

So, Chris, did you get the car?

Yes.  Wire transferred the asking price last night - her asking price was very reasonable considering the overall condition of the car, and I did not feel the usual desire to negotiate.  Couldn't drive it yesterday because the battery was dead, but I'm not picking it up until Saturday so they have time to either get the battery charged or buy a new battery.  I've had batteries not take a charge if they were fully drained due to something left on, so I advised them to make sure it was taking a charge.  

 

As to buying without first driving, I've bought lots of cars sight unseen and shipped from long distances.  These are good people, so I have no problem trusting them.

[46Chris]

5 hours ago, Sniper said:

When I got my 1 Cambridge I just used the company truck, 3/4 ton and yes I was allowed to use it for personal use.  Rented a U haul trailer, my advice to you is to double check the trailer.  Air up the tires, grease the ball, check the lights, torque the lug nuts.  All of those items needed addressed on my rental.  Made the 12 hour round trip without issue.

The wisdom of experience.  Thanks, Sniper!  I'm getting the truck and trailer from U Haul, and I'll bring my tire gauge and my 4 way lug wrench. 

[Los_Control]

6 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

As to buying without first driving, I've bought lots of cars sight unseen and shipped from long distances.  These are good people, so I have no problem trusting them.

Sounds like you got a great car. Just knowing the last caretaker of it carries a lot of value. .... Even if they put a new battery in it and it does not start .... probably going to be dirty points or something.

Knowing the condition and any major rust issues etc....  Running & driving with new tires and a brake inspection is all kinda part of the game.

 

Sounds like you will take care of it .... I'm happy the car found a great new home 

[46Chris]

3 hours ago, Los_Control said:

Sounds like you got a great car. Just knowing the last caretaker of it carries a lot of value. .... Even if they put a new battery in it and it does not start .... probably going to be dirty points or something.

Knowing the condition and any major rust issues etc....  Running & driving with new tires and a brake inspection is all kinda part of the game.

 

Sounds like you will take care of it .... I'm happy the car found a great new home 

As soon as they hooked up the charger, the manually-switched ornament light came on.  I had hoped that was the reason for the unexpected battery drain.   They fired it up a couple hours ago.  I just asked that they make sure it starts when not connected to the charger.  Here's the video they sent: https://chrisrewey.widen.net/s/7sx8jx9znm/img_2204   Sounds rough, but it's cold and has old gas.  I don't think I still have a siphon around, and didn't check to see if the tank has a drain plug.  Even if the tank has a drain plug, I don't know if it's wise to disturb it.   Made an appointment for new tires and a brake inspection next Wednesday.  My mechanic liked to say, "make it stop, make it go, and only then make it pretty."  It's already pretty enough for me, so stop & go are the focus.  Hoping the husband had a timing light & dwell meter around, since I got rid of all my equipment when I thought my old car chapter was closed.  Silly me.

[Los_Control]

Todays modern fuel gets old quickly ..... Best advice I've heard of is to add seafoam to the fuel tank ..... then top it off with fresh fuel.

 

The seafoam seems to be the best fuel stabilizer around. I have heard of many snowbirds that add it to the fuel before they go south for the winter.

Same time it is a very good cleaner .... If the car is running off the fuel in it .... adding seafoam and topping the tank off with fresh fuel will only help it.

 

I'm only suggesting to just run the old fuel out of it with some seafoam added to it. ..... Or let it sit over the winter with the seafoam and will stabilize what is already there.

I'm talking people with 5 or more classic cars adding seafoam to the fuel before they go south. .... Been doing it for over 10 years with no problems starting their cars when they return.

 

I'm only suggesting, if you get to run out a tank of fuel or not .... seafoam will be your friend and help you next spring if you add it this fall.

[46Chris]

Thanks Los!  I've always used non-ethanol in the old cars, and I have used Seafoam but hadn't realized it's a stabilizer.  I imagine there's not much fuel in the tank, so I'll add a can when I pick the Plymouth up on Saturday.  I'll top off the tank on the way home while it's on the trailer.  All I have at home is a 1 gal can (I foolishly got rid of my old plastic gas cans when we moved) and just priced a 5 gal can at $26 on Amazon that still offer a semblance of a spout - what I see at Walmart and Ace have odd-looking spigots at $35 a pop for a 5 gal can.  

 

Sounds like you're saying Seafoam instead of Stabil over winter, and it has some carb cleaning properties as well.  Yes?

[Sniper]

9 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

5 gal can at $26 on Amazon that still offer a semblance of a spout - what I see at Walmart and Ace have odd-looking spigots at $35 a pop for a 5 gal can.  

 

The local Army surplus store still has old school jerry cans with old school spouts on them. 

[Los_Control]

Will redirect you to a recent post last week about seafoam.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tell-me-about-seafoam.1303438/

 

A lot of people use it with good results. .... And they use it for the winter which is some use I never thought about.

I'm just saying many think stabil is junk for a fuel stabilizer, while seafoam performs great.

 

 

To me seafoam is not snake oil in a can, I've used it with good results .... read the thread and see how others use it.

[46Chris]

Great places to go if you have one nearby, definitely.  

[46Chris]

5 minutes ago, Los_Control said:

Will redirect you to a recent post last week about seafoam.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tell-me-about-seafoam.1303438/

 

A lot of people use it with good results. .... And they use it for the winter which is some use I never thought about.

I'm just saying many think stabil is junk for a fuel stabilizer, while seafoam performs great.

 

 

To me seafoam is not snake oil in a can, I've used it with good results .... read the thread and see how others use it.

I'm sold.  Wow, Jalopy Journal is just a cascade of overlay ads that you can't get rid of.  Too bad.

[Los_Control]

35 minutes ago, 46Chris said:

I'm sold.  Wow, Jalopy Journal is just a cascade of overlay ads that you can't get rid of.  Too bad.

Yeah I believe you .... these ads are the new TV 0r Radio ads we grew up with. ..... I have not watched tv in years.

So the ads are important to a small site like this.

 

To be honest I use ublock-origon in my browser and never seen a add in years.

 

So when you say the site is a overlay of ads, I've never seen them ..... I just assume me on the channel gets the same count of views If I see the adds or not?

I'm there, I see all the content, I simply never see a add.

[46Chris]

Thanks for the tip, L.  I just added Ublock-Origin as a Chrome extension and when I returned to your Jalopy.com link there was no profusion of overlaying ads.  Not a one. I checked Ublock for the site, and it had blocked 9 ads.  Much appreciated!

[blue p15]

I'm curious.  Could you back the car on to the dolly and secure the front wheels so they don't steer?  I saw a tow truck driver take off is belt and strap it around the steering wheel and the door post.  He towed the car several miles that way without incident.   That would eliminate the need to remove the driveshaft.

[DonaldSmith]

Images of the steering getting loose and the car swinging out behind the tow car.  You would want to have a very strong belt.  

And  it's probably illegal some places. 

[46Chris]

1 hour ago, blue p15 said:

I'm curious.  Could you back the car on to the dolly and secure the front wheels so they don't steer?  I saw a tow truck driver take off is belt and strap it around the steering wheel and the door post.  He towed the car several miles that way without incident.   That would eliminate the need to remove the driveshaft.

What I immediately pictured was a UHaul exec waking up at 2am imagining someone doing this, and deciding that their "how to load a car onto a dolly" video needed one more instruction - do not back the car onto the dolly.

[46Chris]

59 minutes ago, DonaldSmith said:

Images of the steering getting loose and the car swinging out behind the tow car.  You would want to have a very strong belt.  

And  it's probably illegal some places. 

Beautiful Suburban, Donald!  Glad I opted for the trailer, even after discovering that I wouldn't need to remove the driveshaft since the '47 is a stick.  One tire explosion was enough for me. 

[oldodge41]

That video is music to my ears. And no visible smoke!

[46Chris]

Our kind of music, Old.  Should be arriving around 10:30 tomorrow to dump a can of SeaFoam in the tank, take it for a quick spin and get it loaded.

[soth122003]

On 10/19/2023 at 7:08 PM, 46Chris said:

just priced a 5 gal can at $26 on Amazon that still offer a semblance of a spout

A gas cans best friend,

https://www.amazon.com/JSP-Manufacturing-Yellow-Fuel-Vent/dp/B00SEK6XN6/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1J0J8FDBU5873&keywords=plastic+gas+can+vents&qid=1697864350&sprefix=plastic+gas+can+v%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-7

 

Joe Lee