Hello There!!

[Jeff]

Well, I have a verbal deal on a Classic Roadster TD. I have been wanting a TD or a gazelle for a very long time. And I am now VERY close. I saw it sitting beside the road while on a trip and have a deal struck at $3,000. The seller says that the title says manufactured by Classic and does not appear to be an assembled title.

This car is 300 miles from me. The owner hasn’t run it in quite a while and there is no battery. I am pretty sure that I should trailer or tow this home. I wonder if with clearance if a tow dolly would work or should I invest in a tow bar from mgmagic? My tow vehicles are mid size SUV’s and I would like to take this on vacation with me.

Any ideas, concerns, suggestions or comments?

Jeff

[ray10]

First off  welcome to the forum. the first thing we need to know is what engine it has ? ford ,chevy , or vw motor? If it a vw the tow bars are real cheep and easy to install. i’m sure some one has the price on a tow bar or a place to get one. and again welcome .  

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[Paul Mossberg]

Welcome aboard Jeff!

You made the right choice picking the TD over the Gazelle. But then I may be biased! 😉

I agree you should tow or trailer the car home. You’ll want to go over it from head to tow before you put any real miles on her.

A tow dolly will work. But as Ray said, if the car is VW based, VW tow bars are cheap and flat towing is a piece of cake.

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

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[Jeff]

Oh, I’m sorry. It is a 1971 VW Powerplant. I do have access to a tow dolly but being a VW I was wondering if I could even load it backwards with the front wheels being the trailing wheels? I am not sure if I would have clearance difficulty getting it on the tow dolly.

Jeff

[Royal]

Jeff, I once had a tow dolly that was too wide to tow a TD.  That is to say that the wheels fell inside of the dolly’s recesses because the TD track was too narrow.  

I doubt that your front wheels have an ignition lock and if they do not then you could not tow backwards.  Why would you want to anyway?  

I have flat towed my TDr over 3000 miles in the last 2 years and IMHO it really is the way to go. Unless your front end has been narrowed, a standard VW tow bar is a very quick (3 minute) painless, no tools hookup.  

I tow with my 2 wd  2008 Mercury Mariner with the small V6 and auto transmission and no towing package.  EzPeasy!  

[KentT]

Facing a similar situation and distance from home, I chose to by a VW towbar for about the same price as renting a tow dolly.  Now I have the towbar should I ever want to tow it again, such as to a car show, shop, or something…

These cars are so light that they tow great on the VW pin-on towbar… 

Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...

[Jeff]

I found that the tow dolly that I am looking to use has wells that will allow a minimum 43″. What is the inside distance between the wheel/tire of the rear of a Duchess or VW?

I do plan on getting a tow bar because we do plan on taking it with us but being a new acquisition, I would feel more comfortable with only two wheels on the ground than all four. One thing is that I saw the steering collar on the shaft running through the storage compartment under the bonnet was being being secured with a BENT NAIL!?!?!? I WOULD rather flat tow. but I already have a dolly with no tow bar.

I used to moonlight with a wrecker/repo guy. So I am concerned about the clearance on the rear of the Duchess if I tow it with steering wheels up on the dolly. I am also concerned wondering if I can even back the car onto the dolly. Non-locking steering column is not an issue, I know how to deal with that.

And I will have to transit the Mackinaw Bridge with an unfamiliar tow. If anyone is familiar with the road deck on that bridge, you would understand my concern.

Jeff

[Royal]

Jeff, I measure 48″ between the rear tires at the road surface.  So you should be good to go.   

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