Using a tow dolly

[Alpine 1789]

I will be towing my SV tomorrow using a tow dolly. I know I need to remove the drive shaft and plug the back of the transmission. I have a spare yoke that I have saved for many years for just this reason ;but I have very little confidence in my ability to find it in the next few hours. Can I just put an expansion plug in there?

 

[65sunbeam]

Expansion plug is a great idea. Then place a heavy duty plastic bag over the end and fasten tight with a few zip ties just to catch any possible leaks.
Have a safe trip! Eric

 

[Alpine 1789]

Thanks, Eric. Now I just have to find my expansion plugs.

 

[P. Scofield]

I got an expansion plug for ya!

Seriously, I am about to do the same thing, but this car has overdrive. I assume its the same senario. So how big is that hole? My guess is 1-1/2" to maybe 1-5/8".

Paul

 

[hartmandm]

I am currently restoring an OD drive shaft from either a series IV or V. The outside diameter of the yoke sleeve is 1.375" (1-3/8").

Mike

 

[sunbby]

I'm not sure that will work, doesn't the output shaft sit proud of the transmission casing? Or maybe I'm thinking about a different transmission...

 

[Tom H]

That's what I was thinking. I was puzzled about what kind of "expansion plug" they were talking about that would fit around the splined shaft.

Jim, I towed my Alpine from Denver to Cleveland on a 2 wheel dolly (front on the dolly) and just pulled the drive shaft. That's not much angle and I doubt much oil will leak out, if any.

Tom

 

[65beam]

dolly

the tail shaft does stick out of the housing but if you did find a plug other than a spare yoke you might find you need a rear seal before installing the drive shaft. there was a guy from oregon at SUNI that towed his tiger backwards on a dolly.

 

[Hillman]

Depending on how far your are towing, i might consider loosening the rear brake shoe to drum clearance.

 

[Acollin]

Do you disconnect the drive train so heat does not build up in the gear box?

If so, it seems a whole lot easier to use a tow dolly with the rear wheels off the ground.

My recollection is that only automatic transmission cars created concerns about heat in the trans as manuals did not have a cooling system to contend with either way.

Please clarify for me.

Thanks
Andrew

 

[65sunbeam]

You can tow a Sunbeam backwards on a tow dolly as long as it does not have wire wheels!

 

[Alpine 1789]

Well, that was not my finest hour! Using an expansion plug sounded like a good idea, but it was not. As has been suggested, the transmission output shaft extends the length of the tail housing, meaning it was impossible to plug the hole. Of course, I only discovered this after removing the prop shaft, while oil was pouring out of the transmission on to my driveway!

I threw a box under the car to minimize the oil spill (don't ask me why I didn't use a drain pan; like I said, this wasn't my finest hour!) and went off in search of my spare yoke. The best I could do was a spare prop shaft, so I set about destroying a perfectly good U-joint to remove the yoke. By the time I got it off, the oil was a big puddle on the driveway, just two days before the house goes on the market!

I anchored the spare yoke in place with some welding wire and spent the next hour cleaning the oil up as well as possible. The car is behind me right now, resting comfortable on the dolly. I'll have to refill the tranny when I get to my destination. I don't think I lost all the oil, but the bottom line is not to even think about my stupid idea of an expansion plug!

p.s. While cleaning up the morning, I of course found the spare yoke.

 

[Alpine 1789]

You can tow a Sunbeam backwards on a tow dolly as long as it does not have wire wheels!

Do you have to lock the front wheels when you do that?

 

[Bill Blue]

Tow dolly to move a running 'Beam. Sounds like a serious move. What part of the country are you heading toward?

Bill

 

[Alpine 1789]

Tow dolly to move a running 'Beam. Sounds like a serious move. What part of the country are you heading toward?

Bill

After 35 years away, my SV (along with my wife and me) has returned to its Rootes on Long Island. The car was originally purchased at Mid Island Motors in Hicksville, NY. I don't know about its first five years or so, but know that it was around the Hamptons for the next five. We lived a little further up the Island when we bought the car in 1977, but it initially made frequent trips to the Hamptons, as my in-laws' were living there. (The first engine swap, when I combined a running rust bucket and a solid parts car to create one good runner, was done in my in-laws driveway in Bridgehampton.) However, I don't think it has been back since 1979 or so, when it (and we) moved to NJ, then PA, then OH and then MO.

My wife and I are fulfilling a life-long dream and moving back to Southampton. (She grew up here and I lived here on and off from the early to late 70's.) Our house in St. Louis went on the market today and this will be home, once the house is sold and everything is moved here or put in storage until we are finished enlarging the house and building a new garage. (Our place here is 725 sq ft, just 100 sq ft larger than our garage in St. Louis.)

We are now neighbors with Rocco "Mototron" Lojac and I drove the Alpine over his place this morning. Then, Kathy and I went to the beach, where we got a resident beach sticker for the car. It is now official. Or, it will be when the old house is sold. Anyone interested in moving to St. Louis? I know a really nice place for you with a perfect garage. I will even throw in the custom made shelf for storing your hard top.

 

[Bill Blue]

So, I suspect, this is the reason you did not make it to the SUNI. I did not quit looking for you until Tuesday!

What happens to the V6 project?

Always glad to see a guy fulfill a lifelong goal, even if it is a guy I like and it him twice as far away.

I'm glad for you.

Bill

 

[DanR]

I like'm too!

Bill, I bet-ya Jim finishes the V6 conversion to his Alpine formerly an Automatic tranny BW 35.

He's been at it for many a year! And as always there has been just another priority that stood in the way. Now that the SV is on the road the V6 will be next!

 

[Alpine 1789]

So, I suspect, this is the reason you did not make it to the SUNI. I did not quit looking for you until Tuesday!

What happens to the V6 project?

Always glad to see a guy fulfill a lifelong goal, even if it is a guy I like and it him twice as far away.

I'm glad for you.

Bill

Thanks, Bill. That is indeed why I wasn't there. We made a list of all of things that had to be done to the house before we could list it and I took one look at the list and cancelled my reservation at the hotel. I still took the week off, but worked like a dog on the house.

There is a lot I will miss about the midwest, but I went swimming in the Atlantic this afternoon, and that makes up for a lot!

Bill, I bet-ya Jim finishes the V6 conversion to his Alpine formerly an Automatic tranny BW 35.

He's been at it for many a year! And as always there has been just another priority that stood in the way. Now that the SV is on the road the V6 will be next!

I hope you are right, Dan. I did stop by to visit the V6 before I left, and work is slowly progressing. I haven't had time to post this yet, but it now has a new rear valence. It wasn't welded in place yet, but it was nice to see progress.

We have our plans for our new place staged, and Stage 1 is a new garage. Hopefully, that will be ready by the time the car is ready for me to start the mechanical work. And, I have already arranged for the same guy to take on my S3. That doesn't need near the work and I always planned on doing tht one myself, but I figure he can take his time with that one (unlike the SIV ) since I probably won't get to it for at least a couple more years. And, it beats storing the car!

 

[65beam]

dolly

Jim,
does this mean you're joining the ranks of us retired guys?

 

[P. Scofield]

Tim,
Are you serious about the backwards thing? I need to do this in a few weeks.
I don't see a reason not to just pull the tranny plug and drain the oil when removing the drive shaft?

Paul