Can an automatic 1987 Corvette be towed on a two-wheel car dolly. I am planning drive the car 800 miles but wondered "just in case" I had a problem could it be towed without a full trailer and what is correct procedure.

Thanks

 

no. I would not drag it.

The driveline won't like being towed in neutral and both bumpers are too low to give it any angle.

budget rents a full trailer for about $500... it's one of a few trailers actually approved for a Corvette. It might require renting the 15' truck, tho...

If the car is in good shape, I would just drive it.

 

thanks for the quick reply. I am planning on driving............hope it goes well. This is my newest restoration project. I see a lot of cars being towed on the dolly's, usually behind travel trailers, and wondered how they do it? I recall that pressure builds in an auto when being towed in neutral. Not sure that is the case, but don't want to do any damage.

 

Definitely not!! Automatic trans cars must have the drive shaft disconnected when the car is towed with the drive wheels on the ground. With the driveshaft in place, internal components in the trany will be turning and without the engine running to provide rotation for the pumps, the ATF will get hot by not going thru the cooler and cook the tranny.

And removal of the C4 driveshaft is not a lot of fun. Even with the driveshaft removed, there is still an issue of ATF draining out the tailshaft.

Most rental car dollys are not long enough in the front to get a Vette up on it and if you try to tow from the rear, the angle of the car on the dolly will cause the nose to scrape on the ground. None of these dollies have brakes so you are towing close to 3500 lbs with no extra braking power that a car trailer provides. Cars or trucks are not up to that extra load for braking without some help.

You definitely want a car trailer to haul the car that distance. The C4 with a steel trailer will weigh around 5000 lbs so you will need a suitable vehicle to tow that weight. At the minimum, a 1/2 ton pickup with proper towing equipment will be needed. A 3/4 ton pickup is even better.

I'm not a big fan of U-Haul equipment as I have seen a lot of ill-maintained stuff and many franchise stores will tell you that they won't rent one of their trailers for a Corvette. Try a self-storage place if you want a U-Haul or go with Budget.

 

 

if ya got to tow it, disconnect the driveshaft at the rear end. use coat hangars in a spiderweb fashion to locate the driveshaft up out of the way, and tow to your heart's content.
OBTW,
make sure the e brake is off!!!!!