Towing question

jabloomf1230

jabloomf1230

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I experienced a minor disaster. We had a cloudburst with 3+ inches of rain in a short period of time. A torrent of water came down the hill and deposited sand and gravel under my 72 CS, which was parked with the rear end facing the driveway. The car is not damaged, but it would take forever to dig out all the debris before the car could be backed out.. The photo doesn't do the situation justice as the debris is packed right up to the frame. The car only has a front tow hook. Any thoughts on pulling it out?
 
I would buck it up and clear the debris away by hand being careful around the car, get as much of the bulk gone as possible and use a high pressure hose and hose out the remaining crap Water brought it in, water can take it away

But what the hell, I usually do things the hard way No pictures BTW I would only pull it from a strap around the rear subframe if I was to pull it

Thanks, Rick
 
I don't see a photo, but based on your description I wouldn't pull the car towards the pile of debris. I'm with Rick on this one.
 
We never use tow hooks to move cars.
Bad mistake.
 
How about you and another three strong friends pushing the car at the front?
 
Thanks for all the responses and PMs. I can't use the tow hook because I have no access to pull from the front. I think my only option is to dig, since the debris is packed right up to the frame. Is there a photo showing where to attach tow straps to the rear frame. Right now I can't see the underside of the car to get a good idea where to even start digging. I don't think that I could push it in it's present condition since the "upstream" tires are barely touching the ground. I'm not sure why the photo won't upload but it really doesn't show much.
 

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Wow. You can buy a "Run when parked" sign :).
I would think the ideal attachment point for pulling would be the rear axle.
Digging is not a bad idea...
 
What material is the driveway? I'd guess gravel but maybe asphalt or concrete, which would make easier.
If water got the junk there how about water to get it out? To minimize sandsplash suggest jack up one corner or side at a time and put on jackstands to give you working space for a hose and a stiff pushbroom. As long as nothing rubbing bottom while it rolls, you don't need perfection, just two runways for the tires. Could also level some and use long shelf boards; would be lot easier after initial push to get on top.
 
Apologies for an intrusive question, why is a coupe outside in the elements during a 3 inch rain? These cars are too old and brittle for that life :).
 
Because I don't have a garage and it's a driver. It's out of the elements only in the winter. The thunderstorm happened without much warning and I wasn't too worried because the car has a decent car cover. It's not like the car was parked near a water body.. We've lived in this house for 25 years and I've never seen a river come down my paved driveway like that one. I was lucky that the car wasn't swept away. I just spent the last week unblocking all the culverts.
 
2000CS said:
What material is the driveway? I'd guess gravel but maybe asphalt or concrete, which would make easier.
If water got the junk there how about water to get it out? To minimize sandsplash suggest jack up one corner or side at a time and put on jackstands to give you working space for a hose and a stiff pushbroom. As long as nothing rubbing bottom while it rolls, you don't need perfection, just two runways for the tires. Could also level some and use long shelf boards; would be lot easier after initial push to get on top.
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As I said above, the driveway is asphalt, but the sides are 1" crushed stone. The culverts were overwhelmed and then blocked with debris. I will use my floor jack to jack up a corner and dig everything out, one corner at a time.
 
Arde said:
Wow. You can buy a "Run when parked" sign :).
I would think the ideal attachment point for pulling would be the rear axle.
Digging is not a bad idea...
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Sorry for the dumb question, but would pulling on the rear axle have risks? I assume that's what a tow truck operator would do. I bought the car from the first owner in 1974 and had the whole car redone from the frame up in 1978. I only drive it on nice days in the summer, but I'm not sure whether pulling on the axle would cause damage, since the car is so old.
 
Putting hook or chain on CV shaft and pulling will likely tear up boots when it invariably slides to one end or the other.
I used to have a flat tow eye on the differential to subframe bolts to strap on trailer. Guess you could remove two, get longer bolts, loop a chain across them.....then would have to install a fairlead ground level to avoid chain tearing up underbody from upwards angle, by which time you would have gotten gravel out. ;)
Strap around rear subframe is lesser of evils if unable to clear a path.
 
i think you are onto the right idea about jacking the car up and clearing everything under / behind - for a start. i would try to then pull the debris away with a tarp (from the road side) with another vehicle ... wrap the tarp around the debris and pull
 
jabloomf1230 said:
Sorry for the dumb question, but would pulling on the rear axle have risks? I assume that's what a tow truck operator would do. I bought the car from the first owner in 1974 and had the whole car redone from the frame up in 1978. I only drive it on nice days in the summer, but I'm not sure whether pulling on the axle would cause damage, since the car is so old.
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Having driven a tow truck in a past life I can assure you that a well trained tow truck operator (there really is such a thing) would not pull on an axel unless the car was a total loss and there was nowhere else to put a hook or a chain.

unfortunately it sounds like there will be no substitute for the shovel.
 
I agree that the posted picture doesn't show much. Any chance you could take a few more, all sides, from a little more distance so we could see the overall problem?
 
Success. Of course, now it just cranks and won't start. I need to investigate further to see if something got wet. I'm sure it's minor, because it started fine a few days before the storm hit. Thanks to those who suggested digging and everyone else too. It turned out to be not as bad as I thought, primarily because the debris consisted of twigs and leaves in addition to the gravel and rocks.
 

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