This topic first appeared as part of a thread in the Catalina 22 forum. It seems to have attracted enough interest to start its own thread.
It started with a comment I made to Jim Eller's question regarding an older tow vehicle. I said that I once had another vehicle stand ready with a tow strap to help get my 1977 Volare wagon with 318v8 and 4 speed stick in gear so I would not burn the clutch on a long ramp at Manset Town Dock on Mount Desert Island, Maine.
The car was a special order by the original owner for power and economy. It was a lot of fun to drive and towed like it owned the trailer but its demise came earlier than its natural death because of what happened on the ride home from Maine. I ran into stand still traffic on the Maine Turnpike and had to clutch in and out of first gear. After about 3 miles of that, I had to find the next exit and reroute. My left knee was on fire from the effort and I still had over 500 miles to get home. My knee has never recovered from that event 24 years ago and to this day I cannot clutch for long in any vehicle with significant spring pressure. The vehicle that I replaced the 318v8 4spd Volare with was just as rare.
I found another (second hand) '77 Volare SE with 360v8, 4 barrel carburetor and locking differential. It had leather interior, AC and electric windows. The promise of power was too great so I added headers, dual exhaust and turbo mufflers. I kept it as a sleeper (looked completely stock) but it could out-accelerate anything and got some incredulous looks from Corvette drivers at times. It also out-accelerated everything while towing my Catalina 22. So after taking my time on the on-ramp (to make sure nothing was disturbed inside the sailboat), I would floor it, put on my indicator, join the traffic flow and never again see the cars that piled up behind me on the ramp. I can still remember the torque lifting the drivers side when it delivered horsepower to the back wheels.
It was an awesome tow vehicle, a solid dependable everyday car, and never broke traction probably because of all the glass on the rear end holding the back end down. It gave enough years of service to bring the original purchase price down to miles per penny. It succumbed when the 727 TorqueFlite transmission disintegrated internally while running under light load heading home from work on a winter night. Living in the rust belt, no vehicle makes it past 12 without significant rust and sometimes the frame and body make an otherwise acceptable repair job just too expensive for a 15 yo car with 221,000 miles on the clock.
Trucks and vans have done a great job since then but that '77 Volare 360v8 4bbl will always be my dream tow monster.
The thread is open for comments and stories about your favorite tow vehicles.
It started with a comment I made to Jim Eller's question regarding an older tow vehicle. I said that I once had another vehicle stand ready with a tow strap to help get my 1977 Volare wagon with 318v8 and 4 speed stick in gear so I would not burn the clutch on a long ramp at Manset Town Dock on Mount Desert Island, Maine.
The car was a special order by the original owner for power and economy. It was a lot of fun to drive and towed like it owned the trailer but its demise came earlier than its natural death because of what happened on the ride home from Maine. I ran into stand still traffic on the Maine Turnpike and had to clutch in and out of first gear. After about 3 miles of that, I had to find the next exit and reroute. My left knee was on fire from the effort and I still had over 500 miles to get home. My knee has never recovered from that event 24 years ago and to this day I cannot clutch for long in any vehicle with significant spring pressure. The vehicle that I replaced the 318v8 4spd Volare with was just as rare.
I found another (second hand) '77 Volare SE with 360v8, 4 barrel carburetor and locking differential. It had leather interior, AC and electric windows. The promise of power was too great so I added headers, dual exhaust and turbo mufflers. I kept it as a sleeper (looked completely stock) but it could out-accelerate anything and got some incredulous looks from Corvette drivers at times. It also out-accelerated everything while towing my Catalina 22. So after taking my time on the on-ramp (to make sure nothing was disturbed inside the sailboat), I would floor it, put on my indicator, join the traffic flow and never again see the cars that piled up behind me on the ramp. I can still remember the torque lifting the drivers side when it delivered horsepower to the back wheels.
It was an awesome tow vehicle, a solid dependable everyday car, and never broke traction probably because of all the glass on the rear end holding the back end down. It gave enough years of service to bring the original purchase price down to miles per penny. It succumbed when the 727 TorqueFlite transmission disintegrated internally while running under light load heading home from work on a winter night. Living in the rust belt, no vehicle makes it past 12 without significant rust and sometimes the frame and body make an otherwise acceptable repair job just too expensive for a 15 yo car with 221,000 miles on the clock.
Trucks and vans have done a great job since then but that '77 Volare 360v8 4bbl will always be my dream tow monster.
The thread is open for comments and stories about your favorite tow vehicles.
