How do you retrieve a parts car?
 

You plan a great day, rent a tow dolly, pack a cooler and go get it like this (boost gauge action shots here and here careful, the movies are almost 2m!!):

History In the Making
 

:) Good photos. Was the driveshaft still connected during the transit? Like your boost gauge/speedo footage. Flat terrain or what? Is that your Gulf signage?

Left the driveshaft in...put it in neutral, this one is a manny-tranny.

The boost movies were taken in SE texas between Houston and Austin. Mainly level but some gently rolling terrain. I could easily maintain 65mph on the level ground but some of the hills I would have to downshift to 3rd to keep the revs above 2200. On the long pulls, you could definitely see the temp gauge start to rise if you dogged the throttle with the engine lugging <2200rpm. Otherwise, it was no problem, you just cannot get in a rush.

I wasn't man enough to brave the IH10 traffic west of Houston with 3500# of towed vehicle so I took the backroads (called Farm to Market roads here in Texas) until I was closer to home and the traffic was a little less congested.That GULF signage is an antique store that's was an old service station (Area 51 is nowhere near that sexy!!). Those pics were taken in Fayetteville, TX...about 70 mile from Austin on Texas Hwy 159...they had a couple of fake gas pumps out front. But, they also had a gin-yoo-wine grease rack beside the building. Man, I'd like to have one of those!

Well, if you are as bad about buying "projects" as I am, you buy a 16 foot car trailer, and haul 'em home that way, using a 3/4 ton diesel powered truck. :D

What's the manual tranny going into? Your wagon looks great by the way!
Jimmy

Thanx! I think she 'liked' doing the work too ;) ...The transmission in the 'new' parts car is going into the wagon to replace the buzzing and rattling one with a chipped tooth that's in there now.

Randy -

Other than that dinged right front corner, that looks more like a candidate for restoration than a parts car. Got other issues?

Wes

Hard to tell at this point. There's a wrinkle at the rear of the LF fender, about where the cowl and fender join. It's almost like the entire front of the car may be moved over 1/4 inch. Mike also pulled a lot of the interior out to have parts for his wife's car. NBD to me since I was originally buying this one only for the drive train.

Don't forget that "manny trannys" don't spin the main shaft and throw oil around when in neutural. You can burn out the output shaft bearings on a long ride.

Of course if you can turn the engine over even just a little every so often it would have to splash some oil around.

The guy I rent from charges almost as much for a dolly as a flatbed trailer, so I just go for the car hauler. My 240D barely has enough power to get itself around anyway.

Well, I probably trashed it then. The trip was 150+ miles and I wasn't going slow.

With a get-up like this you can load one that doesn't even roll.

Maybe not.

There was a thread that somebody posted that they towed nearly 500 miles and ruined the bearings.

I suspect that there are a lot of factors.

If it had been setting a long time without the input shaft being turned, what lube is in the box, among others.

We will be curious to find out.

This weekend, I'm going to fire it off and drive it around to see what I did to it.

Ok....got some questions....

Where's the hat?

What's with the shave????

Who is riding shotgun and why isn't she in a picture????????

Looks like a great trip! Hope to view the car soon....

Oh...and I'm speaking that you didn't do any damage to the manny tranny...it's gonna be just fine.....just keep saying that...

Yeah, in looking at the manual, I don't think I have done anything to that tranny. Properly filled, the case is about 1/2 full of fluid which, with the front of the car in the air, definitely submerges the rotating backend (output side) of the mainshaft. They are open ball bearings on those shafts...plenty of lubricant flying around in there to find it's way into those races.

SWMBO's narrow tolerance for road trips of this nature is well documented; her Highness remained at Area 51, educating herself on the nuances of royalites and income producing mineral overrides. Hat, shave? You really shuldn't talk about my bride in that fashion....

I originally had planned to bring one of the dogs along but, at the last minute, got distracted while packing and forgot all about it. :(