Hello everyone: Tried the search in Technical but no answer - Question: Anyone tell me the towing capacity of a 1949 Ford Club Coupe? Has a 1950 Mercury flathead V8 with 3 speed manual and Overdrive I just finished a rebuild on the engine and it is now 260 Cubic Inches having a Iskenderian Ful Race cam, solid lifters etc., topped off with pair of .400 Offenhauser Alum. heads, I plan to get a classic travel trailer to bring along behind Emma Jean Thank you for your input. Michael.
Brakes are drum and new all around but could probably stand to have new wheel cyl. and master cyl. rebuild or new too. I feel the lines are ok. What about any particular GVW trailer. I'd like to get a tandem axle around 17-18 feet so it would have a full bathroom too. Make for a nicer feelin' trip if yu can clean up now and then. chrisntx; please tell me how a gooseneck trailer fits on the deck lid. ;0) Michael.
I tow a light trailer with a '47 Ford Truck. I'm pulling right around 3K. I've got more motor than you so I can't compare there, but I will definitely say this : I couldn't get rid of those drum brakes fast enough!!!!! With disc brakes, dual m/c & proportioning valve - it stops a BILLION times better now - alot of peace of mind for a relatively small amount of effort. One mishap pulling a trailer will be all it takes.... YMMV
No trunk lid when trailer is hooked..Car is beefed big time to do that trailer, I think the engine is [was] a 460..I think the trailer size you are wanting to tow is way too big, I do hope you have 4.11's in the rear with a full race cam and OD!..The 49' weighs around 3000#'s...I wouldn't feel comfortable with a trailer that weighs more than the car, not that I haven't done it but I was lucky and didn't get into a tail wagging the dog situation.. Good point was brought up on car brakes but the trailer should have a braking system also....
Good point on the "not towing over the cars weight". Hadn't actually thought of changing to disc brakes but it's a good bit of information to ponder. Does anyone know just what the Ford literature stated back then as to "Tow Capacity"? I can't even Google it and get anything useful. I think I'll start at the beginning by taking the Coupe to the Transfer Trucking Company public scales. Be a well spent $5 I think. Maybe I should ask for PM notes on this too.
I think a 17/18 ft duel axle might be a little much for your Ford power wise if you plan on running highway speeds. Probably would do alright if the OD was off and you still have a low gear in the rear but it would be a lot of rpm at 65/70 mph, little flathead would be working preety hard. No dought you would piss everyone behind you off going up hills in 2nd gear! Brakes would be marginal also, you WOULD need trailer brakes hooked up and working right. Half to laugh, Lucy and Desi had a movie in the early 50's called the "Long, long trailer". They supposedly pulled a 40' New Moon across country with a 53 Merc Convertible. My brother just bought a 40' New Moon, it's heavy, definately knew it was behind a turbo deisel duelly. Did people really pull these trailers behind cars in the day?
Are you serious.... Ok, I cant imagine any engine with a "full race" cam would be very trailer friendly, then add the combination of flathead, solid lifters, and you want to tow a 17ft+ trailer with a 1949 Ford Club Coupe, and hadn't even considered the drum brakes before posting. And you're even already considering a bathroom in the trailer. I honestly have to wonder what you're smokin.
Cars didn't have a tow capacity back then. Hitches were an add-on accessory that usually clamped around the thin little bumper and not to the chassis. Have you seen how thin your bumper is? Even with a modern receiver style hitch I think a vintage 12-14 foot single axle trailer is about all you're going to want to pull behind your car. The old trailers weren't exactly built with weight savings in mind and they didn't have the materials that modern trailers have that make them so light. The cammed flathead isn't going to be happy pulling a sled and the drum brakes are going to make your ass chew up the seat upholstery.
The smaller single axle jobs aren't too bad. The key to towing is brakes. With my 1/2 ton Suburban I towed everything from a Hudson with no engine, trans or front clip (maybe 2800 lbs or so) to a second, 1-ton Suburban, to a car trailer with a '57 Dodge wagon full of about 1500 lbs more loose parts. I figure that was about 7500 lbs total - and that was too much, I had it push me with the wheels locked at one stoplight when it dropped on me quick. Granted that was a borrowed trailer with non-functional surge brakes. But I don't even want to imagine having to make a hard stop or two on the little drum brakes on a '50 Ford, even with good working trailer brakes, with something that big behind me. Not only that, but that 7500 lb load was pushing it power-wise with the 350, too, those are around 200 HP and that truck had a goofy highway gear in it, and it was all I could do on a couple of the hills I had to climb to get it where I had to go - I did make it, but crawling in low with my foot on the floor in a couple spots. Now I mention that 1-ton Suburban because it was heavier and was about the most I'd want to go behind that rig - around 1000-1200 lbs heavier. Now I'm running a 1-ton van and I haven't pulled a lot with it, but the Willys I towed home may as well have not been there at all - and come to find out the 4-wheel drive on it was engaged with the trans itself in neutral the whole way.
I know the guy that tows a goose neck with that 51 coupe. He has a 38-39 pickup side panel badge mounted as a cover between the truck and the back window. He removes the panel and hooks up the trailer, no truck lid removal. Part of his setup is trailer brakes. I think you can safely use the stock brakes with trailer brakes.
Your cam choice pretty much kills your towing capacity. You will need a pretty deep gear at the very least to haul a motor home. The cam you chose makes its power once you are revved up you need your torque on the bottom for a puller. Sorry to crap in your corn flakes just trying to be honest with you.
Micheal, I admire your enthusiasm for towing a vintage trailer with your shoebox, BUT... You're going to be limited with stock brakes and the flattie. At the very least, to tow the size trailer you want, you need modern brakes, and about twice as much engine. You might be able to move an 18' tandem axle trailer, but you aren't going to be able to stop it, or roll at highway speeds. I know something about this, we tow a 25' 1946 Spartan Manor with our '48 Pontiac convert and '51 Pontiac tin woody wagon. They both have disk brakes, the convert has an LT1/4L60E and the wagon has a Vortec 4.8/4L60E. The trailer has new brakes, a Reese weight transfer hitch and sway control. I'm building a one ton Diamond T pickup, as the trailer is too much for the cars, although we've towed it thousands of miles. It's just not comfortable. I'd stay with a small canned ham (Canned HAMB?) trailer under 15 feet and less than 2,000 lbs if you plan on actually using the Ford to tow. Brian
Towing is a complicated thing....I am 66 years old, and have towed most anything from farm stuff, to my current set up, which is a 36' fifth wheel which I pull with a Volvo Semi truck. Brakes brakes brakes are the key, plus weight of the towed vehicle vs/ tow vehicle weight. Most anything can get a trailer moving, at fairly good speed, but cornering, handling, and stopping, not just emergency, is the critical part.... I would personally stay with weight less than your car, and good electric brakes on the trailer..... Good luck, and let us know what you do...
No one can argue with what you feel comfortable doing but the idea of not towing more than the tow vehicles weight is ludicrous. If you think an 18 wheel tractor tractor load is defined by the weight of the tractor, I would like to sell you a certain bridge in London England. It has only been used once. By a little old lady. On Sunday.
Its not the brakes on the tow vehicle that matter, but the brakes on the trailer. I have my trailer brakes set so that when I apply the brake pedal, the trailer brakes pull me down without the truck brakes doing anything.
Wow! Didn't see this one coming! BUT; Are you serious.... Yes, I'm serious. Ok, I cant imagine any engine with a "full race" cam would be very trailer friendly, then add the combination of flathead, solid lifters, and you want to tow a 17ft+ trailer with a 1949 Ford Club Coupe, and hadn't even considered the drum brakes before posting. And you're even already considering a bathroom in the trailer. This IS a discussion group isn't it? And I've gotten other "level-headed" responses too. I honestly have to wonder what you're smokin. Never did think a person had to "be on somethin" to dream or "imagine what it would be like to .... "! I came to the H.A.M.B. members to seek good advice on some thoughts I'm having. And only then AFTER looking through the Tech Archives. I "imagine" some of them will better understand my motivation.
This is something I know a lot about. I drive a 98 pete pulling a 48 ft end dump. I always load to 80,000 the empty weigh of the truck& trailer is 34000. But when loaded I have 12,000 on the steer axle and split 34,000 on the tractor axles and 17,000 each on the two trailer axles. So when loaded the truck weighs 46,000 and the trailer weighs 34,000. Back in my younger days when i was a heavy hauler I have hauled loads that grossed in excess of 160,000 and its a total different story double gooseneck and trailer,s with extra axles . and you go very slowly and stop gradually and you creep down steep grades. Most dryvan and reefer freight trucks usually dont haul to the full 80,000 limit. I use a 3/4 ton for a wrecker and I can assure you a ton or larger truck would be better safer and more comfortable. OldWolf
Some folks do have to be on something to have an imagination. Its a sorry truth. Most of those folks have never had an original thought in their life I'm afraid. Something you might consider is a tear drop trailer, I know it doesn't sound as nice as the larger trailers are, but the wife and I both have real fond memories of tear drops and even the next step up from them when we were little. We actually spent soe time together traveling with a '54 merc and one of the tear drops with the little kitchen that opened up in the back when we were in high school. It was a hoot, like camping out without the tent or sleeping on the ground.
Yep... The full race cam will hurt low RPM torque. I had something similar years ago with my towcar that I towed my Racer with. ( exact same engine in both, the thinking was that I'd have more spare parts for the racer at the track, if I needed them...) It did OK, most off the time. You just rev it harder, and shift later. I got stuck in a underpass once, and it had a hard time pulling itself + trailer+ racecar up the hill from a standstill. So I reved it up, sidestepped the clutch, and burned rubber all the way up. It wasn't pretty, but it did it...
The engine had a narrower powerband than a stocker. And although that made it a lot of fun during the week as my daily driver (unloaded ), the gearing was all wrong for heavy towing. ( although the extra power did help once it was on the move...) Al in all, it was a compromise I was willing to make at the time.
I agree with many that the flathead may be an issue, however, dump trucks and cement mixers had flatheads too....What I don't understand is the trailer discussion. Most travel trailers are tandem axel when they are over 22ft. There are plenty of smaller trailers that are single axle with a full bath. I have a 20 ft Avion with bathroom and shower. I know many Serro Scottys came with bathrooms. I used to tow a Scotty with my Chevy 235 in a 59 Gruman (P-30, alum. box van) loaded with swap meet stuff. Yea, hills were tough, but I wasn't in a hurry. I would change to a dual master cylinder, and most important is the trailer has to have electric brakes. Just remember your not in a new truck, and plan to take the senic route!
There is one hell of a difference between a '50 Ford Coupe and a designed for the purpose semi tractor.....the advice was good considering the proposed tow vehicle. I have a lot of years towing, successfully fortunately, but I learned a few things along the way and that was one of them. The advice about really good brakes on the trailer is the best of all recommendations. That and a load equalizing hitch unless the Ford Coupe has beefed up rear suspension for this purpose. Ray
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