Dolly towing a Corvair

[azdave]

Plenty of people have dolly or flat towed Corvairs like that with no issues. Tom Gould flat-towed his famous Grey Ghost drag race car (4-speed) over 30,000 mile during a 2-year racing period with no issues.You'll be fine.

[66vairguy]

Some good comments. I'll add that it is smart to make sure the towed cars has insurance that will cover the car while being towed. I always advise folks that have cars moved via professional, towing, etc. to have insurance that covers the vehicle DURING transport. One buddy had to collect!!!! He had Hagerty insurance and they said the mover was responsible. When the mover refused to pay, Hagerty paid the claim and ended up suing the mover to recover the cost. One reason I stay with Hagerty Ins.

One issue with dolly towing is the suspension alignment. When you lift one end of the car up the wheels on the ground he suspension geometry will change. With a straight axle car it is not issue. With IRS or the front wheels on the ground it CAN be an issue as one person noted.

In California even a licensed NON-OP (registration fees suspended) car CANNOT have a tire touch a public roadway or you'll be fined AND pay for all back registration. Transport on a trailer or flat bed truck is fine.

Some say you can get a temporary registration to move the car (usually out of state), but if you've ever been to a DMV ----- well it's just easier to put the car on a trailer (and probably less expensive).

[Dennis66]

Some good comments. With IRS or the front wheels on the ground it CAN be an issue as one person noted.

I believe that was me. For reference sake, my concern was alignment for normal driving would have the steering wheels set for toe in (I haven't checked the specs for a Corvair yet. If towing on a tow dolly, with the rear wheels on the dolly, I would be concerned about tire wear. While I guess that with a manual trans, it might be just as easy to tow on the rear wheels, I believe the front would have more clearance. Additionally, towing on the rear would continue to add miles to the odometer (the earlies, at least mine, take odometer drive from the transaxle - I know from past cars that the later models take it from the left front wheel).

In California even a licensed NON-OP (registration fees suspended) car CANNOT have a tire touch a public roadway or you'll be fined AND pay for all back registration.
REALLY? So what does California do when a motorhome owner comes out with their car on a tow dolly? Not that I EVER want to go to California (sorry Californians)

Dennis

[66vairguy]

Dennis said "So what does California do when a motorhome owner comes out with their car on a tow dolly?"

Not a problem if the motorhome and car in tow are both registered in any state or province of Canada (not sure about Mexico).

Note: many states will let an out of state person buy a vehicle and issue a temporary registration (less money) so they can get the car back home legally.

[66vairguy]

I should have explained that California's NON-0P rule allows you to keep your license plates and registration WITHOUT PAYING FEES if you promise not to drive the car on public roads. It's an honor system, but if you get caught you do have to pay a penalty and fees for ALL the NON-OP years. California issues yearly registration stickers to put on the license plates.

It's a help to us old car folks that have a car apart for restoration for years at a time. When you want to drive the car on the road you simply pay ONLY the fees for the year you are going to drive the car. No charge for the previous NON-OP years, no buying new license plates, etc.

All in all compared to some states I've been in, California is not bad for old car folks. Unlike some states, 1975 and older cars are exempt from emissions testing. If you have a 1976 or newer car and you can't get an emissions control part, then it's exempted.