so i have a 69 chevelle and was thinking about buying a 69 elk to tow with...ill replace the whole drive train with more suitable stuff i.e. my old 454, or a duramax. so my question is, is it a suitable tow rig as far as frame strength? any other concerns i should have? thanks for your time...logan:confused:

I wouldnt worry so much about power, but more about suspension and brakes. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing someone else on the site who did this or was going to do this..?

And by the way, I think that is an awesome idea, that would be so cool to come up to a show driving a sweet 69 El Camino, with a matching 69 Chevelle on the trailor :thumbsup:

EDIT: After a quick search I found these older threads,
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226249

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151566

There is also a few more threads on it, if you do a search you will find some other discussions on this.

hey Logan, i have towed my 68 malibu with my 71 elco many times to the dragstrip back in the late 80's and some thought i was crazy:noway:. But i had no problem doing so. A few things to consider. Safety for one,and reliability another. Make sure your pull vehicle has proper equipment, brakes,both vehicle and trailer, tow hitch, stabilizer bars a must, and experience a plus...i know it may sound crazy but i used my mitsubishi pick up to tow said malibu a couple of times. Someone posted the question is it a car or truck.... I use mine as a truck more than a car....before setting out on the road find an empty parking lot and get the feel of it before setting out on the open road...I know there are others that have done this before so speak up...and there are other blogs on this subject. Good luck with your task and be safe....:beers:

I don't think it's that absurd. I remember back in the late 80's a guy towed his SS454 70 Chevelle race car on an open trailer with a SS396 70 Chevelle in the identical color.

I've got a 72 Elky myself with a tow bar on it. I haven't ever towed anything with it, but I recall an old skool body man telling that the elkys have a stiffer frame. I mentioned this because back in the day he said he grafted an elky body to a chevelle frame and he said every time it cornered hard it just about flipped. Due to the twisting. So if this is true there should be no issues with the standard elky frame strength. I was kinda thinking the same thing... towing my 66 around with a tricked out low ride trailer. Go for it...

Make sure you have good trailer brakes, preferably on both axles.
Make sure you have good brakes on the El Camino.
I would go talk with a company that builds brakes for trucks and get their recommendations for brake materials, front and rear.
I would use high temperature brake fluid. If you research the subject you will find quite a variation in temperature ranges for different brands.

Here is one source:

http://www.stealth316.com/2-brakefluid.htm

As much as I resist to use the name F**d, their heavy duty DOT 4 is pretty good stuff.

so i have a 69 chevelle and was thinking about buying a 69 elk to tow with...ill replace the whole drive train with more suitable stuff i.e. my old 454, or a duramax. so my question is, is it a suitable tow rig as far as frame strength? any other concerns i should have? thanks for your time...logan:confused:

Short answer: NO; get yourself a 1969 Chevelle owners manual and look up the towing specs. If they wouldn't cover your proposed towing operation, you got no leg to stand on in court. Are you feeling lucky? how lucky? Downside could be millions of $ judgment against you or your estate if something goes wrong. People have played russian roulette in the past without incident; doesn't mean its a sensible thing to do...

My $0.02

I've got a 72 Elky myself with a tow bar on it. I haven't ever towed anything with it, but I recall an old skool body man telling that the elkys have a stiffer frame. I mentioned this because back in the day he said he grafted an elky body to a chevelle frame and he said every time it cornered hard it just about flipped. Due to the twisting. So if this is true there should be no issues with the standard elky frame strength. I was kinda thinking the same thing... towing my 66 around with a tricked out low ride trailer. Go for it...

The frame is stiffer, but in the middle, which is boxed. The rear part of the frame isn't stiffer. That part would worry me if you compare it to the frame of a pickup. Plus does anyone even make a Class III or IV hitch for our cars?

I'm not sure that I would want to tow anything with my Elky, much less a nice chevelle on a trailer.

But some people will, in fact my '67 still has the remnants of a hitch welded to the frame. Might have been for show.

I have seen pictures of Elky's pulling race cars on trailers.

biggest concern i have towing with my 66 is BRAKES. drum brakes can be interesting!!

The frame is easily strong enough. You'll need a suitable hitch, of course, properly affixed to the rear frame. I drove this rig 2,700 miles round trip several years ago. The ball for the hitch had the wrong geometry so the tow vehicle squatted too much, but I never once bottomed-out:

http://designscomputed.com/files/ec_tow.jpg

It can be done and obviously has been done. Personally, I prefer to pull with at least a 3/4 ton when pulling that much weight.

Devin

thanks guys! serious in depth replies that i really appreciate!

Can be done, has been done but it's not as comfortable as a pickup truck. My opinion only is there's some kind of ratio of wheelbase to rear overhang (rear wheel centerline to rear of vehicle) that's too close and makes it too d@mn twitchy. I pulled a Chevelle once on my trailer with my El Camino and decided I didn't need to do it again.
Your mileage may vary...

The longer and heavier the tow vehicle is, the better it tows. My El Camino is 3360 lbs and would get pushed around a bit by my trailer. The Dakota does pretty good with its 132" WB and 4000+ lbs. But that wasn't nearly as good as the F350 crew cab dually I had years back (162.5" WB and 7000 lbs). That towed like a dream.

An El Camino can work but may not be optimal...

Rear frame is flexible but rear body is not. So provided you have good body mounts that part will probably work.

The Elky has a significant amount of rear overhang. This leads to more leverage for the trailer to bear down on the rear and/or swing side to side (aka shimmy). This long tail also amplifies what movement the car has for any other reason.

The Elky has a pretty soft set of rear springs. Combined with long tail will cause sagging rear quickly. Can be, or should be really, offset with a weight distributing hitch setup.

The Elky has a converging four link rear suspension so there is a certain amount of side to side play natural to this design. A panhard bar would fix this right up though...

Of course then you also get into brakes and power. Power can be fixed with a BBC ;) Brakes a bit more challenging but adding wiring for trailer brakes would be a first step. And operating at higher power for extended periods may require updates to engine and/or transmission cooling.

I have adapted a Curt class III weight distributing hitch from a '99 or later Toyota 4Runner to the back of my '68. I have not pushed the limits on weight or size but it tows pretty well.

Ill never forget some pictures another member posted here of a nice red 71SS El Camino towing a trailer with an identical red 71 Chevelle SS on it. I havent seen those pics resurface again for years. I used to have them saved.

Ill never forget some pictures another member posted here of a nice red 71SS El Camino towing a trailer with an identical red 71 Chevelle SS on it. I havent seen those pics resurface again for years. I used to have them saved.

You must be talking about this one :D

I got the pics from the owner who is a member of this site:thumbsup:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/lotsayenkopics/Howard%20Cox/More%20pictures/still%20more%20cars/tn_075.jpg

Towing w a unprepared elcamino is a problem, however w HD rear springs, front and rear sway bars, air shocks, large wheels and tires in back, a good hitch, and good brakes, it is apleasurable experience, just remember it's not a 3/4 ton pick up and was never meant to replace one. I towed my full weight 72ss454 w my prepared 69 elco many a pleasurable mile!

You must be talking about this one :D

I got the pics from the owner who is a member of this site:thumbsup:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/lotsayenkopics/Howard%20Cox/More%20pictures/still%20more%20cars/tn_075.jpg

Im glad to see someone had these saved. I cant remember which member here it was that posted these.

You must be talking about this one :D

I got the pics from the owner who is a member of this site:thumbsup:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/lotsayenkopics/Howard%20Cox/More%20pictures/still%20more%20cars/tn_075.jpg
Very cool rig:D

My Gpa had a 72 ss, Red w/black stripes and vinyl top, that towed a 64 Nova for years without a problem.