Towing a Hudson

bobbydamit
bobbydamit Expert Adviser
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I guess I have never had a reason to tow a Hudson as they never quit!! But in this case I need to tow my 51 Pacemaker behind my pickup so I can haul parts for the swap meet, and take home stuff of course. I have a heavy duty 2 wheel dolly. Can I tow it from the front, and not disconnect the drive shaft? I am worried about the shifter dropping into gear, [ 3 spd w/ OD ] and tearing up the rear end or tranny. Or from the back and let the front follow without lashing the wheel for better cornering.?

Comments

  • J Haugo
    J Haugo Member
    I would engage the overdrive which will free wheel (going forward) if it did drop into gear. I doubt it would ever drop into reverse which would not free wheel.

    I wish I had made plans to be at the Meet. Have fun. J Haugo
  • bobbydamit
    bobbydamit Expert Adviser
    Forgot about the free wheel with cable pulled out. Excellant idea. Thanks so much. I was afraid of fish tailing if I towed it backwards with the steering free.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    In my past life I moved frequently (US Military). When I moved I usually packed everything into a box van and towed my Hudson behind. Several different cars and trips honed my towing methods. 1. Remove the driveshaft. The potential for damage is too great to risk leaving it connected. 2. Tow bar should be bolted to the frame. (I had a tow bar built that spanned the space between the bumper mounting supports and bolted to metal adapter plates which used the same holes as the bumper mounting bars. With this setup the car tracked straight and did not fish tail. 3) I have used a dolly one time on a Hudson. NEVER AGAIN!!! The turning radius of tow dollies is such that on sharp turns the fenders impact the rocker panels and the front fender bottoms. Unbelievable damage can occur. :( - Like you said... if I had a choice... the cars would have been driven. :)



    Good Luck.
  • bobbydamit
    bobbydamit Expert Adviser
    Has anyone ever towed backwards? I have heard of a couple of guys that said if the dolly does not have swivel plates, which this one does not, nor does it have fneders, and the car is on backwards, and you leave the steering wheel loose, the front tires turn as you trun corners, therfore making it great for keeping in turns instead of twisting in the dolly and hitting the fenders as Wildwasp indicated. Anyone??
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    bobbydamit wrote:
    Has anyone ever towed backwards? I have heard of a couple of guys that said if the dolly does not have swivel plates, which this one does not, nor does it have fneders, and the car is on backwards, and you leave the steering wheel loose, the front tires turn as you trun corners, therfore making it great for keeping in turns instead of twisting in the dolly and hitting the fenders as Wildwasp indicated. Anyone??



    no.

    nonononononononono!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    DO NOT tow your Hudson 'backwards', you're an accident lookin' for a place to happen with this method. Pull that drive-shaft off the rear-diff. and secure the loose end, or better yet, remove it completely, then tow it along behind as if it were 'tail-gating' you ! ! You should still have a Hudson in one piece when you arrive at your destination.



    good-luck & enjoy your road trip ! !



    '47HUD

    minnesota
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    IF it were me unless you plan on hauling some really heavy stuff I'd put a properly made/installed hitch on the Hudson and use a trailer. BUD
  • Richard E.
    Richard E. Senior Contributor
    I worked for two different auto auctions when I was in college, Portland, OR and Denver, CO and they had me tow bar cars from all over the place back to the auction, even on ice & snow, which can be pretty exciting. I never had an accident. How come nobody tow bars any more?



    I consider car dollys to be an accident waiting to happen. I would use a car trailer before I used a dolly. Just my two cents.
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    I'm pleasantly surprised that WildWasp's experience was a good one. A few years ago I did a test run with my '51C8 on a tow bar behind my F-150. Really scary ... upon taking a corner in the neighborhood, the wheels tracked OK into the turn but when I straghtened out, they returned so vigorously that they overshot, then overshot the other way, etc., in a severe oscillation. Glad I was going pretty slow. I then did a test at 30 mph going straight, and did a very mild little avoidance maneuver to one side, then back to center. The Hudson responded with an increasingly severe oscillation that, after about three oscillations, actually dragged the back end of the F-150 sideways. That was the end of the test! I related this to an old-timer with these cars, and he said the front-end setup on the "center-point steering " models ('40 thru '54) created this oscillation problem when recovering from a turn, and that he'd never been able to tow-bar one successfully. Needless to say, I've not tried it again.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Park W wrote:
    I'm pleasantly surprised that WildWasp's experience was a good one. A few years ago I did a test run with my '51C8 on a tow bar behind my F-150. Really scary ... upon taking a corner in the neighborhood, the wheels tracked OK into the turn but when I straghtened out, they returned so vigorously that they overshot, then overshot the other way, etc., in a severe oscillation. Glad I was going pretty slow. I then did a test at 30 mph going straight, and did a very mild little avoidance maneuver to one side, then back to center. The Hudson responded with an increasingly severe oscillation that, after about three oscillations, actually dragged the back end of the F-150 sideways. That was the end of the test! I related this to an old-timer with these cars, and he said the front-end setup on the "center-point steering " models ('40 thru '54) created this oscillation problem when recovering from a turn, and that he'd never been able to tow-bar one successfully. Needless to say, I've not tried it again.



    Park... Your experience is spot on and I have had the same. When I responded to the original post I should have included my experience with Pick-me-up trucks. Exactly what you experienced. The lack of weight over the rear wheels allows applification of towed vehicle oscillations. Using a bumper mount tow bar with binder chains, allows the towed car to move around on that tow bar. The tow bar movement tends to inititate oscillations in the towed Hudson. :(



    My tow bar is designed to be BOLTED to the front of a Stepdown frame at the bumper bracket mounting point. This type of bar maintains a fixed position on the towed car and only allows hinged movement at the attaching points. Another key point I failed to emphasize, using a proper tow vehicle. 1/2 ton pickups and passenger cars are NOT the type of tow vehicle one should attach to a Stepdown.



    Most of my military change of station moves were made using rental box trucks. The physical size and loaded weight assured sufficent mass which prevented it from being pushed around by the towed Hudson. Coupling my tow bar with a 2.5 inch ball on the truck and removal of the driveshaft resulted in incident free towing.



    If I had all this to do over again... I WOULD NOT FLAT TOW a Hudson Stepdown. Trailering the car on a trailer of sufficent size with an adequate tow vehicle is the best method. :)
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    WW, my tow bar was, like yours, bolted to the frame at the bumper mount positions, so it was pretty firmly attached there. Still the problems.



    We'll have to swap stories off-line about military moves. My thirty-plus years of USAF service yielded a total of 22 moves, including our first one, pulling a 36' mobile home with our then Hornet convertible. My e-mail address is in front of the WTN in the listing of officers and directors.
  • MikeWA
    MikeWA Senior Contributor
    I've never tried it, but I visited with Glen Johnson in Utah some years back (when on a Hudson hunting trip), and I seem to recall that he tows cars all the time- has a towbar that bolts to the bumper mounting holes, and he has "tabs" on it for stepdowns, pre-stepdowns, etc. Sounds a little dicey from what's been posted here- now I wonder how he makes it work.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Richard E. wrote:
    I worked for two different auto auctions when I was in college, Portland, OR and Denver, CO and they had me tow bar cars from all over the place back to the auction, even on ice & snow, which can be pretty exciting. I never had an accident. How come nobody tow bars any more?



    I consider car dollys to be an accident waiting to happen. I would use a car trailer before I used a dolly. Just my two cents.



    The new cars bumpers have shocks in them to absorb impact, you can't hook a tow bar to them as it destroys them. Older cars can still use tow bars, you can buy them at RV centers. Tow dollies will work if they are wide enough. The one I rent is only 66" wide and will destroy the rocker panels on full sized cars. I always tell my customers that and they still try to tow vehicles that are too wide, at least I'm not liable when they wreck their cars.



    Harry
  • Hudsonrules
    Hudsonrules Senior Contributor
    :)I have towed several stepdowns and a few pre-war Hudsons with a bumper attached towbar. I still have it after nearly forty years. Yes there have been a couple times that were a bit hairy. Learned to watch my corners, sudden stops, hills, and speed. Also, I learned to check the bolts on the tow bar frequently. Remember, the Hudson will push the towing vehicle on down grades.

    I do not like tow dolliesperiod. The best two thousand dollars that I spent was on a car trailer. Put the Hudson on the trailer, secure it and away you go. Again, check the tie downs frequently.

    I hope everyone has a safe trip to and from the National. I am not bringing a Hudson as the fuel expense using my truck and trailer with the Hudson on the trailer would be cost prohibitive fuel wise.

    See every one at the National next week. My plane arrives at one thirty tuesday morning. It will be a long day. Arnie in Nevada[/I]
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Never tried to flat-tow a Stepdown, but bolting the tow bar to the holes where the bumper bracket goes is the best attachment point, on any vehicle. I've flat-towed various cars and pickups before. Folks in motorhomes do it all the time! I did flat-tow a friends '38 Hudson about 100 miles last year, and it pulled just fine behind my pickup.



    Dollies are useful for small cars and trucks only, IMO. Hudsons (and most other cars of that time!) are just too wide and end up with fender interference that beats the hell out of both the car and the dolly.



    If you can drive one, for whatever reason, trailering and flatbedding are the two best methods to transport any car.
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