Ever use a Chevrolet Caprice as your tow vehicle?

[tcpip]

This just made me crack up:
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/09/beater-...police-package/
It can even do some autoxing.

[Stan]

I never used mine as a tow vehicle, but there is no doubt that a C9 Caprice has the oats for the job. I bought my '89 in '93 at a highway patrol auction with 102k on the clock (and probably 300k worth of idling time... ). I drove it for 10 years and retired 'Ole Blue' with 304,000 miles on her, still passing California smog. Very stout rig.

Oh yeah, the article fails to mention a couple of points. The engine came with a hydraulic roller cam, and the trans not only had heavy duty clutches, but deleted the "shift down to 3rd" at 85 MPH feature found on all civilian 700R4 transmissions...

Stan

[ddewhurst]

That my friends is grassroots hauling at it's peak. I love it.

This past summer at the Sprints there was a 4 door black Benz toting an open trailer with a black Elva E Production car. IIRC the deal is from the NorthEast.

Have Fun
David

[JeffYoung]

I was at the Hillbsorough Court House on Monday (Orange Co., NC) and saw a dude who had taken a mid 80s RWD Cadillac (Sedan De Ville?), cut the top off the back, and made an El Camino/pick up truck out of it. He was also towing a bobcat. I should have taken a picture.

[dspillrat]

You get plenty of respect in these cars while barrelling down the freeway for sure.....and hand waves from the deputies, Patrol cars etc....kinda fun.

I purchased a new 93 or 94 "the last year" caprice with handling package, 350...Man what a blast!!! Very comfortable to drive. Towed a bass boat, and 28 foot camper..... Had to hike out 2 miles of logging road after under-estimating a "little mud puddle" one time traded it the next week just couldn't hack it as a hunting vehicle.
Rutherfordton NC to Raleigh in under 3 hours 10 minutes one time I think. Lights on High beam, left lane cleared like the red sea for Moses!!!!!

Of course that was before I matured enough to take that driving agression to the race track....

Would be fun to autocross...

David

[AntonioGG]

I've thought about these cars as tow vehicles. What bugs me about trucks is that you're plowing a whole lot of air for no reason (if you have an open trailer that is). Actually I had thought about the Caprice wagons too.

[pgipson]

Over the years I have seen some real creative rigs. There was the Spec Renault team that used a Cadillac ambulance and a single axle trailer. And the guy out of Tennessee that had a Vee that he put inside the old school bus. And the guy from SC that put the FF in a big box van. There was a guy running on the east coast somewhere (I used to see this at Charlotte) that had a pickup rigged to put a F440 in the back. He had ramps that put the front wheels over the cab. We also had a guy running an ITA RX7 (before there was IT7) that he pulled with a Mercedes 450 sedan.

[splats]

Back in the '80's, there were two guys that hauled their Late-Models (dirt cars) using FWD Riviera's/El Darado's. They chopped the cars behind the front seat and added a home-made dual-axle trailer. The bed was so low, it looked like the racecars were on the road. They had six-wheel disc brakes and would stop on a dime. Very strange, yet very cool.