pull or push

autokunst

autokunst

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Hello all,
I've been noodling on what to do next in preparation for bringing the Raven home to her new nest. This will involve taking the car in a trailer from the remote house in the woods to the new garage in town. The day of activities surrounding bringing the car home will be fun, amazing, and monumental (I may be overselling it, but plan to enjoy the journey regardless). But the logistics of this transport come into plan, and I thought what better than to solicit willing members herein for input. I may not be able to handle the advice, but will try to learn from it. Here are the particulars.

The car is "running", but not well. Driving it the two hour journey doesn't seem possible, though, given I've pulled the windscreens along with a number of other parts including the tail light assemblies. So, no driving it home.

PULL (the engine or head)?
Next would be to drive it onto the trailer. I probably need to tinker a bit even to do that, as I installed a 123 ignition but never finished dialing that in. Plus, I appear to have a healthy oil leak coming from the rear cam cover. I have a new gaskets and seal washers, etc - but access is tight back there. I'd planned on pulling the engine to get to this effectively. Alternatively, I could pull the head. This all sounds good, but seems like a lot of work to do just to roll the car into a trailer, and then back out on the other end. I suppose I can ignore the leak for these short bursts. But I'd still need to spend an unknown amount of time tuning, cleaning, and troubleshooting.

PUSH (the car)?
The last option - likely the simplest - is to push the dang thing onto the trailer, and push it back out on the other end. This is the least fun, but aside from a few moments of sweat and frustration, will be the least intensive I suspect. But I tend to find the simplest solutions least satisfying. That is a topic for another thread...

What say you?
 
You will need a lot of bodies for the push/pull, and while it can be a great bonding experience between you and whomever shows up, even if you think you have enough confirmations, some help just cannot make it on that day. I would just hire a professional to winch your Coupe up onto a flat deck and deliver into your new shop. Money well spent. Will be such a great feeling to have you and your car at the same address! Good luck Stephen:cool:
 
1) Agree with bluecoupe30! Hire a tow service or if you have AAA, flatbed to the Nest.
2) Get the car started to drive into the trailer & back out at the Nest.

Pictures requested.
 
Non running cars are best put into or onto trailers with cables.
its safer.
Duck gaskets can be replaced easily enough by removing the fan, the tranny support, the nuts to the center bearing and jacking the tranny up so the engine is tilted forward. Plenty of room to get the plate off to replace gasket and seal.
use some permatex to stick the duck gasket to plate and don’t overtighten the bolts- it can split the gasket.
big oil leaks seldom come from cam covers.....
 

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sfdon said:
Non running cars are best put into or onto trailers with cables. its safer.
Click to expand...

Agree. There are lots of YouTube videos of people loading cars onto trailers using only muscle and improvised ramps - they usually don't end well.

A lot depends on the grades at either end of your journey. Manually pushing a car up a hill & up ramps takes real muscle. There is a lot of force involved and the car can get away from you. Even on level surfaces, trailer ramps are too steep for a handful of guys to safely load a car. You'll try something crazy, like getting a running start - the car will get part way up the ramps, begin to roll backward and flatten the guys behind. Use a winch! Even a cheap Harbor Freight come along will be safer than just muscle power.
 
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I recommend against any dismantling before moving - get it to your new lair and then assess first steps (after putting down the drip trays!)
 
sfdon said:
big oil leaks seldom come from cam covers
Click to expand...
This comment is especially interesting. Given the limited visibility, I can't confirm 100%, but after several starts/runs, and subsequent flowing oil and observation, I'd assumed this can be the only source. Is there another more likely source back there? I do love the idea of tipping everything forward to get a better look and and R&R on this cover.
 
adawil2002 said:
1) Agree with bluecoupe30! Hire a tow service or if you have AAA, flatbed to the Nest.
2) Get the car started to drive into the trailer & back out at the Nest.

Pictures requested.
Click to expand...

Agree. I vote to hold your nose, pay the guy w a car hauler/flatbed, a wench & who does this everyday. Be done w it safely for you & your car to enjoy the new digs. Open up that can of worms waiting for you in the engine in the new location.
 
I’m fairley certain that AAA won’t cover a trip that far, especially if it isn’t currently on your policy. I have exhausted all AAA edge cases over the years.

Post a bid on u-ship.com. Specify and enclosed trailer. Both of your windscreens are pulled right? That is what I got from your comment. It is worth mentioning to other readers that you will lose your rear windscreen on the highway if your front is out. It happened to an e9 buddy of mine.
 
We had an all terrain vehicle from the 70's (KID) that was made out of beefy steel. It sat for years and when we closed the country house it was stored in, my sister's family wanted it so I helped them load it onto their trailer by setting up a couple of come-alongs. It took some cranking and a resetting of the cables & chains to get enough travel, but easy enough to do with just a couple of guys, even up hill a bit. Two come-alongs in parallel for redundancy, the rest were chains for strength & safety.

Here's the video clip.

Note the fender of the 1941 Dodge WC-21 pickup on the left. Wish I coulda kept it, but no room or time.
 
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If you have Hagerty, take advantage of the towing service they offer. Much more suited for classics, and vehicles in various states of dismantle than AAA. Plus, if anything happens, it was arranged through your insurance company.

Markos said:
I’m fairley certain that AAA won’t cover a trip that far, especially if it isn’t currently on your policy. I have exhausted all AAA edge cases over the years.

Post a bid on u-ship.com. Specify and enclosed trailer. Both of your windscreens are pulled right? That is what I got from your comment. It is worth mentioning to other readers that you will lose your rear windscreen on the highway if your front is out. It happened to an e9 buddy of mine.
Click to expand...
 
Markos said:
Specify and enclosed trailer.
Click to expand...
I should add some clarification. Yes, both windscreens are out, and the headliner is questionable. As such, I am not keen on a flatbed nor open trailer. I would surely lose a handful or parts in the wind on the 2 hour drive. If I were to facilitate the transfer in an enclosed trailer, I would also have the opportunity to move a "bunch of stuff" to the new garage, including a large compressor, two welders, and lots of large parts and body panels. So there are other advantages to moving it myself. Sounds like I should just get it rolling under its own power again, despite a couple of oil leaks. That would allow for easy on and off the trailer...
 
Honestly I wouldn’t remove the head or change the gasket. Jam a big sponge (like a tile sponge) between the head and the firewall. Your car will be on the trailer before the head reaches operating temps. The sponge will keep any oil from leaking onto the trailer or your new garage floor.
 
I re-watched the video of when I pulled the car into the driveway in the woods. And then I re-watched it again, and again... I miss driving the car. I definitely need to drive it into the trailer. ;) It may take a weekend of messing around up there getting things ready. For example, I'll need to reattach a steering wheel... Well worth it though, I think.
 
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