<VV> Towing Corvairs WAS corvair pics

[Ken Pepke]

Glad the pictures worked ... There has been a time or two in the past when my pictures failed.

I bought a '69 ElCamino in January of 1969 ... a 3 speed 307 V8.  Super low end towing power but at 70 MPH all those little drum brakes did was make a funny noise.  Sometime in 1970 a '69 SS 396 had an unfortunate encounter with a tree and came to reside in the junkyard.  Shortly thereafter the stopping power of my ElCamino was dramatically improved!  At anything above 35 MPH it would stop on a dime ... and give 9 cents change.  Funny thing though, those little self energizing drum brakes would out perform the SS discs in around town driving!  I had to get used to allowing a little extra stopping space when I drove that ElCamino with the disc brakes.  

That '69 towed lots of Corvairs, manual and automatics, [and other cars, trucks, and trailers] to lots of places near and far, over its 225 K life as did it's 305 V8 '76 ElCamino replacement.  The one in the picture is a '70 model with a 350 hp 350 V8 and it can pull just about anything inside out ... at any speed you wish :-)  I turned this Corvair around in the garage with a floor jack, hooked up the tow bar and pulled it 15 or so miles to my garage ... didn't even go past the junkyard.

I bought the tow bar in the early 60s and moved dozens and dozens of Corvairs with it over the years.  Lots of those Corvairs, and other cars, were pulled with my daily driver Corvair!

Ken P
Wyandotte, MI
Worry looks around; Sorry looks back, Faith looks up.

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> From: "Cliff Tibbitts" <tibbitts at qx.net>
> Date: November 7, 2011 12:51:25 PM EST
> To: <kenpepke at juno.com>
> Subject: corvair pics
> 
> Ken ,
>  
> The pics are coming through just fine.  What happens is the moderators post the pics on the website and when we click the links, there they.  I suppose it would look funny at your end.
>  
> Question for you.  How does the El Camino fare as a tow vehicle?  I suppose the trip from the junkyard to your house was not particularly long, but just wondering if you have towed Corvairs long distances with the ELKO and how stable was the ride.   I have long felt that a 69 El Camino would be just the trick for towing a Corvair.  At least one person was towing his Corvair with a Rampside last June in INDY. 
>  
> Thanks,
> Cliff Tibbitts
> Lexington, KY