Towing the 39 Buick

JimShelly

JimShelly

Member
So I have a question. Has anyone dolly towed a 39 Buick? I have a 700 mile trip to make and I'd rather not drive the car all the way so I was wondering if a front wheel dolly would work? Rear wheels on the ground, obviously with the torque tube nothing gets disconnected, so the main shaft in the transmission will be spinning but it is pretty well lubricated. What can go wrong? Any thoughts?
My thought is a full trailer is safer, but so much heavier...
 
There should be NO problem with a dolly tow as the rear & trans. are lubricated as normal.
Just got to make sure the brakes don't drag.
Just for shits & giggles you could remove the rear drums.
Now you KNOW they don't drag.

Tom T.
 
tom telesco said:
There should be NO problem with a dolly tow as the rear & trans. are lubricated as normal.
Just got to make sure the brakes don't drag.
Just for shits & giggles you could remove the rear drums.
Now you KNOW they don't drag.

Tom T.
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That's my thought but I've never tried it. My Alfa has a tranny that lubricates the mainsheet when it shifts, so if you tow is flat that dries out. Just wondering if anyone had experience with this. AND wouldn't if be easier to back off the brake shoes if one were really worried about brake drag?
jns
 
Just gave you your answer.
The lube inside both units will be sufficient for the lube purposes.
It's almost easier to remove the drums on a '39 Buick.

Tom T.
 
I have a good friend who used to towbar prewar Buicks back from California to North Dakota on an annual basis... this was in the mid 1960s, and he never reported any problems with the concept. I cannot imagine why it would be any different today.
 
mgaugustine said:
I should probably mention, the Buicks he used to bring back were his favorite years, 1939 to 1941. So, applicable.
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Many thanks! The consensus of opinion seems to be no harm to the transmission, so I'll get a dolly rather than a trailer. I appreciate the thought.
 
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