1963 Comet 4 door with 170 straight 6 and three on tree. Any idea what the towing capacity would be? We have a vintage-y mid 50s Bellwood trailer. Wonder if it's worth keeping the trailer and towing it around.
I agree with Squirrel, those vintage trailers are pretty heavy compared to modern construction. Do you know what the wet weight of the trailer is? I'd also be wary of stopping it too.
I agree, going up a hill slow is one thing....... but you have to be able to stop it safely, and I am afraid your stock drum brakes are not up to the task.
With no hint of sarcasm, malice or mean spirit........your car is woefully inadequate in every way for that purpose. Tires (capacity), brakes, engine power, cooling, clutch size, suspension.....all insufficient. But you were wise to ask before attempting to tow it. Ray
OK, I'll agree with most of this. So what are your options with what you have. I'll give ya it's a Kook combination. I've towed countless miles of all kinds of trailers in my near 70 years. Back in the beginning we didn't have as many Clowns out there to share the road with so a little risk wasn't as big a deal. One thing I tried to stay on top of was Brakes. The trailer should be able to stop it's own weight. In latter years with brakes on 2 axles it was Duck Soup to keep a Load behind you. Up hill isn't as big a deal as going down. Today you have to worry about some Clown running Up your Ass as much as cutting you off and a short stop in front of ya. You must be able to Stop in a big Hurry if your going to be slow on the road. Making your Comet Wagon a good Tow vehicle is nothing but nuts and bolts should you choose to change up to V-8 and 5 bolt brake parts. Heavy duty springs is also ready avaloble parts. Take it for a test drive in the best conditions you can find and if that makes you uncomfortable, just don't do it. If your really like your Comet as is as well as the trailer maybe the good choice is to add a new Toy to the garage. The Wizzard
If you have 3 friends who tip the scales at about 250 pounds, take them for a ride in your Comet. Go up and down some steep hills. Not pulling anything, just the weight of the car, you, and your 3 hefty friends. This experiment will likely answer your question as far as having adequate power. If traffic conditions allow, try braking hard going down that steep hill and see how much longer it takes to stop with 3 hefty friends on board. Going up a steep hill, you'll quickly be in second gear with the pedal to the metal, and the little engine that could will be saying "I think I can...I think I can...I think I can." Now you're talking about attaching a trailer that probably equals or exceeds the weight of a '63 Comet to a hitch on the rear of the Comet? Second gear won't get you up a steep hill, you'll be down to low, and you'll be watching the temperature gauge climb toward hot. Let's hope you never have to brake suddenly going downhill, especially if it's raining, because if you do the trailer will be in control of the car, not the other way around, and you will find yourself with no control of the car or the trailer. You will find yourself upside down, in a ditch, jackknifed, or head-on into oncoming traffic. Not trying to pile on here or give you a hard time, I just want to strongly agree with what others have said. I don't want to see you and your family get killed or kill somebody else. The laws of physics are very unforgiving.
Actually, my 63 Avalair only weighs 1800 lbs dry. The 6 would be pretty anemic though. I agree with the statement above about 10" drum brakes. It would be a handful unless you added trailer brakes.
I would say it depends very much on how well the trailer is balanced. My folks had a 15' Chinook travel trailer and would rent it out when we weren't using it. One family which rented it had a little Corvair wagon which pulled it with no trouble.
I suspect your only support for that conclusion is that they returned the trailer in one piece. They may never have left town with it. Ray
could always rent a moving type trailer to get a general feel on how everything feels. if not too bad add small amount of extra weight. using experience from Jiminy, find that the Corvair wagon has about same specs as Comet. but, there are a lot of unknowns and can not make a true comparison.
Absolutely - just that my Dad was somewhat skeptical that an under powered Corvair could pull the trailer without problems and was surprised when the car owner returned and reported no problems. We never checked what the trailer weighed at the hitch but it must not have been a lot - depends on the weight balance of the trailer. If the weight is forward of the trailer axle, it is gonna be a bitch to tow - we rented a trailer like that before buying the one we had for over a decade.
Thanks for the responses. I was leaning towards getting rid of the trailer mostly for the fact that the motor seemed small in the comet. But at 11 feet and 1600 pounds I thought maybe. I am upgrading brakes to disc but they are still probably a bit small
I've been guilty of towing more than my 48 could handle weight wise in my younger days and it is no fun when the trailer decides to throw the tow rig around. It isn't just the engine's power to pull a hill or the transmission's or clutch's ability to hold up against towing a trailer but as the others said the brakes, suspension and all around safety factor. On the other hand my bud towed a little tent trailer all over the Western US with his Model A roadster and then a 48 Pointiac convertible. It wasn't as cool as the trailer you are looking at but it gave him a place to sleep in the camp grounds at rod runs and worked well for
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