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Car transportation/dolly question

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sorry i can't help but wonder if maybe it should go on backwards. no experience here.
but while on the subject what about using a simple bumper mounted tow bar for the day mine won't make it home?
 
sail said:
sorry i can't help but wonder if maybe it should go on backwards. no experience here.
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Friend of mine insisted that we try it that way when I dollied my Sports 6 home. Worked great to exactly 52 mph. At 53 mph it would start fishtailing wildly /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

After trying it a few times (he was hard to convince), we did it right, put it on forwards and dropped the driveshaft ... towed beautifully after that. Fortunately the nice CHP that saw me pulling out to pass at 70 mph just gave me a warning /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Backwards would probably be OK if you are willing to keep your speed under 45 mph or so. With only 400 mi to go, that might be an option.
 
Bugeye58 said:
Does the trans have a rear pump in it?
I think I'd disconnect the prop shaft to be on the safe side.
Jeff
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I'm pretty sure you're right about there being a pump...and that you do need to either disconnect the propshaft or flat-bed (or trailer) the car. Frankly, that makes sense regardless for a tow of any great distance, i.e., further than around the block. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Uhm, it's the other way around. A rear pump means (generally) that it's safe to tow with wheels on the ground, since the pump is turned by the output shaft and hence the oil/fluid circulates while towing. But there are relatively few automatics that have a rear pump, so I'd be surprised if the TR8 is one of them.

A quick Google seems to indicate that an original TR8 would have come with a BW66; which I don't believe had a rear pump. Easy enough to find out if the car is driveable ... at roughly 50 mph, shift to neutral & shut the engine off. Wait a few seconds for the pressure to drop and then shift back to drive. If the transmission turns the engine (giving sharp engine braking) then it has a rear pump. But if you just keep coasting, it doesn't.
 
I'd turn it around and tow it backwards. The TR-7/8 folks get downright adament about this, so that's what I do with them. I also tow backwards when I'm going to be pulling for a while, or the vehicle has been sitting for a long time (and the transmission bearings would be dry).

Lash the steering wheel tightly! Do not simply count on the ignition switch lock.

Personally, I usually use two ratchet straps, one on each side of the car, going from the steering wheel out the windows and down to the frame. Lock the hooks of the straps on opposite sides of a steering wheel spoke down at the 6:00 position. You may well be towing slightly crabbed this way, but the steering will not be wiggling.
 
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