Towing a 914

[ramok32]

I will be towing a 73 2.0 from Washington to Kansas next week. I have a bumper tow bar that usually chains to the frame or bumper mounts. The only place I can see underneath is the A Arm triangulation to put the hook and apply tension. I dont particularly need the A-arms so I'm not worried about ruining them but I wonder if anyone has any other suggestions. Also, is there any issues ralated to flat towing in regards to the ring and pinion/ transmission? Is putting in neutral and towing OK?

[John Rogers]

The previous owner of my race car used to flat tow it everywhere from San Diego, including Phoenix and Las Vegas. I still use the two bar on occasion and it works great. If you remove the front bumper there are two holes on either side and I bolt the bar to the car here backed by heavy washers. I put the trans in neutral, e-brake off, attach two temp magnetic lights from my trailer conn. to the 914 rear trunk and turn on the key so the 914 front wheels will turn. You might want to unhook the batt for this part. The rear lights are important as police will use that as the reason for a ticket. Finally, the previous owner told me to NEVER try to backup with the car attached as it goes crazy and I haven't tried it! Good luck

[This message has been edited by john rogers (edited 04-12-2001).]

[Conrad W Peden]

How about a wheel dolly on the fronts?

------------------
CWP/VIR
72 914 L20E in rusto.
73 914 L20E 2.0L in resto.
http://members.rennlist.com/a914lover

[Conrad W Peden]

How about a wheel dolly on the fronts? Like the ones from U-Haul.

------------------
CWP/VIR
72 914 L20E in rusto.
73 914 L20E 2.0L in resto.
http://members.rennlist.com/a914lover

[TimW]

I recently used a U-Haul front wheel dolly that worked great. I was going local (150 miles), but considering you already have a tow bar I would say go ahead and use it. Renting a wheel dolly across country might get expensive. I’ve towed before with a tow bar too from Milwaukee, WI to Des Moines, IA. No big deal. You just can’t go as fast, and you’ll want to check it regularly (like to the level of paranoia).

John pretty much as it down.

Tim

[ejm914]

I don't know if this is an issue for you but in some states any vehicle in tow must be registered, even if only two wheels are on the ground.

[TimW]

I don’t know if this is an urban legend or not, but someone told me you can’t tow a car, or trailer for that matter, on the Chicago area freeways. I guess tow trucks would have to be flat beds?

Not that you're going through Chicago, but you never know...

[JP Noonan]

You're right about the car having to be registered. You can, however, get a temorary "transportation" tag (in Fla and Ohio at least) I think iot is good for 5 days. The idea is that you can drive an unregistered car to an emission staion, but legally you can go anywhere.

The bumper mounts are different on the 70-74 cars and the 75-76. The 75-76 have a bumper shock that you could remove and then bolt onto those holes. The 70-74 has no shocks but has four bolt holes at the ends.

Think about how good the tires are.


P.S. I towed a 914 from Ohio to D.C. then the Miami. About 4:00 am I looked in the mirror and almost S--- myself because I thought a car was right on my ass.... I pulled over at the next rest stop. IMHO towing a car is more tiring/stressful then just driving.

[B Komar]

Thanks for the input guys! I have my route plotted through Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas. I leave Monday AM. Quite the carventure! My 75 2.0 should be on the road again in about month...This will be the beginning of many new questions for this group. I'll let everyone know how the trip turns out! Brian

[Jim Smolka]

Another option to tow a car is to remove the CV axles and the stub axles. Then seperate the stub axles from the CVs. Next install only the Stub axles . This way, the rear is free to rotate without turning the drive train. Dont't try to tow the car without the stub axles in place!!

Just my $0.015 worth.

[SteveStromberg]

I trail my dune buggy on its wheels over 10,000 km in Mexico. I recomend removing the axle shafts, check the wheel bearings, every hour pull over and check on the car,feel the hubs to make sure they are not overheating.take it slow the car may start to whip back and forth Do Not hit the brakes just let off the gas and slow down. Steve

[TimW]

Hey Steve, I hope when you say remove the axle shafts you mean leaving the axle stubs as Jim suggested. While the hubs are in pretty tight, technically without the axle stubs there is nothing holding them in – although anyone who ever had to remove one would argue that point.

Another issue, do you remove the speedo cable or not? Should the OD read the number of miles the car been driven, or moved? I suppose with a 30 year old car who’s mileage no longer needs to be disclosed it’s a mute point. Unless it’s in pristine condition, in which case you would probably flat bed it anyway? But then again 914’s are made to be driven. Ah decisions decisions.

[SteveStromberg]

The axle shaft with the CV joints Not the stubb axle.Leave speedo cable in to keep gear lube from leaking out. Are the tyres flat sided from sitting? Steve

[oc92]

so there would be no probs later with the transaxle if the car was in neutral during a 4 wheel tow?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

As long as you don't put the car in gear, there shouldn't be any problems. I know people who have flat-towed completely-intact 914s for hundreds of miles without incident.

Just remember to take it out of gear. I've seen the remnants of a Type I engine that came out of a Thing that was towed behind a motorhome. The Thing was in 1st gear. They guessed it got up to 16,000 RPM or so. There wasn't much left...

--DD

[ramok32]

Thanks again, To clarify....if I leave the axles intact....am I looking for trouble? I had planned on leaving all in place...I have towed many a bug (58 european just the other day) flat without any problems...just didnt know if the 914 trans had any differences that I should be aware of. The tires I will be bringing from another car that are in good shape so I'm not worried about flat spots or dry rot. the car has Fuchs X4 but only 3 with tires so I will have several spares. I'm not worried about the miles on the odometer...but I can disconnect it from behind the speedo without any potential leaks right? I talked with the local Sheriff today and he thinks I should have no problems with the legalities in the states I will be going through but...he said I may get one of those Troopers on a "bad day"...you never know. All is loaded up and ready to go on Monday so wish me luck! I will check any new posts tomorrow...Thanks in advance, Brian

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

To clarify: Put the tranny in neutral, and flat-tow it. It should be just fine. Disconnect the speedo cable from the speedo if you like. The only way it will leak is if the speedo drive is leaking already, and it would eventually leak onto your legs while you were driving anyway, even with the cable connected. (BTDT, got the oil-spotted jeans to prove it.)

--DD