1976 Cadillac Eldorado as tow vehicle??

My neighbor is having money problems and has offered to sell me his cherry 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. It has front wheel drive and an hopped up 500 CI V8. It has air bags in the back so the back end won't sag when the trailer is hooked to it. Does anyone see any problems with towing my SAN 210 with this beast?

This is almost identical to the one I can buy. What do you guys think? It matches my boat spot on!

Go for it BOSS HOG!

looks pimp. Not sure of the tow rating on those but I know a guy who had a lincoln continental with a 460 that pulled a camper with it so I dont see too big a broblem with it if it has a class 3 or better hitch.

Just keep an eye on the tranny
Not made for towing and it is already pushing a heavy car.

Ya, the tranny has also been built up when he did the engine. It's got headers, a aluminium heads and a custom air gap intake manifold with a holly projection system on it.

That thing is straight Pimpin. You need Bull Horn's
on the front and a White Suite like Boss Hog if you are gonna be driving that thing.

You wanna tow with that???? Please tell me your Joking. If you live in Hazzard county I would tell you go for it great tow rig.

My Mom used to have this exact same Caddy. That thing would do Smokey Front wheel drive burns out just by dropping the hammer. I would love to see you try and pull a SAN out of the watter on a steep ramp with a little bit of water. Be sure to have the video cammera rolling so we can all see what happens

That's what I'm worried about. The ramps around here are not that steep though. It does have a ton of weight over the front wheels though in the form of a 500 CI V8.

Do you think it will really be that bad?

I'd be willing to bet it would'nt pull the SAN up the ramp. But it look pretty sweet till that point...

LOL "G"
that's great, Hazzard County.
Roscoe P Cole Train

500 CI V8? looks like you will be passing everything on the ride except for a gas station..

Personally I think it will do fine pulling the boat and also pulling the boat up a ramp. A buddy of mind back in the day had a 4x4 pickup, he lost a u-joint in the rear driveline. He drove it in 4 wheel drive for months. Pulled an old I/O around with it also. He never had a problem at the ramp. Boy did we razz him about his go anywhere front wheel drive pick-up truck! ;)

JT

That is a sweet car, I'd love to see a SAN behind it. I'm intrigued though, it is 500 CI FRONT WHEEL drive? Does the motor site sideways or front back like some of mid-90's euro cars? I'd love to find a car around here in that condition.

No, the motor sits the way it should but it has a front wheel drive trans that basically goes out the back and folds under. It is the transmission used in GMC motorhomes, Oldsmobile Tornados and Buick Riverias of the same time. In the GMC motorhome it would pull almost three times the weight of Eldo.

Thats gangster. Not sure I'd tow with it, but I'd have to scoop it up. too bad its not rear wheel or I'd have to put a board rack in the trunk. Be poppin trunk on your asses.

I'll bet the Caddy with air bags and a weight distributing hitch will pull a SAN 210 up a paved 45 degree incline boat ramp. Who wants in on it?

not me dante. put some 7 inch tires on it and call it a day, that car will your momma.

very gangsta... no way its towing a SAN of any sort without heavy modifications, including an extra tow vehicle for when you have to tow the caddy and attached SAN up the ramp.

if i can go diggin in a buick lesaber than you can pull that boat out with that caddy.

ive seen a guy pull a 210 crownline 20 miles through hill country with a oldsmobile.

Looks like I'm not the first to think of this...

What, you mean pull a camper out of a lake with a Caddy?

You can tow a SAN 210 with a Caddy. You will get 5mpg, but if the tranny is re-enforced for towing and you don't mind a terrible ride, it can be done.

Getting up a wet ramp of any decline is a different story all together.

Honestly, I think everyone would love to see you try. It would make a great story, and you can give the bird to whoever said, "it can't be done."

However, the probability of this being a HUGE headache is much greater then everything going smoothly without a hitch(pun intended.)

Have someone take a video camera along when your at the ramp

I don't understand what the big deal is? People used to tow boats to the lake all the time with cars back when cars where built like the trucks of today. What is the difference between a front wheel drive v8 car with weight over the tires and a rear wheel drive v8 truck with very little weight over the axle trying to pull a boat out of the water? I would think the caddy would even do a better job of it.

I vividly remember lots of cars in the 80's towing boats out of the water as a child.

I used to see those pulling Airstreams all the time. The towing won't be a problem but a wet ramp might be. Going uphill the weight transfers off the front tires towards the back. That makes them easier to spin.
The changes he has to the engine are expensive (and fun) but they won't help the towing much.
Add a tranny cooler, and go for it if it's a good price.

He wants $8,000 for it. It already has a tranny cooler and shift kit in it. The heads are made by a company called Bulldog.

You'll be fine. My dad used to have one similar to that in his old rodeo days, and pulled a 2 horse trailer all around the country.

I dont know why it wouldnt work. I say hook it up and see how it does. Find a hill and see how it will pull.

I have pulled my 82 2001 with a merc station wagon and it worked pretty well. The merc was rear wheel drive and my boat would be lighter than a supersport but I would guess that you could pull it off.

That would be the sickest rig EVER...

just make this contigency to the sale.. your test drive needs to include a tow to the local ramp with your boat to test her abilities.. does it already have the hitch? probably find a used one down on the money at a salvage yard if you have frame measurements?

man you guys are little girls, that caddy will pull it no problem. Plus it will be one of the pimpest tow rigs out there. Here check out this pic complete with little me playing on the boat ramp...


And there you have it a Trans AM launching a boat. Yes that really is me playing in the water, and no that wasn't our boat or car.

73 eldo with 20's

73 eldo\popjpeg{585423,Upload}

You have to resize that picture Dave it's to big!

try this

DAVE WINS..

Dave,
How does it work? Any ramp issues. Please let me know!!

O man, that is awesome Dave!

Again, Bill I don't think your issue will be towing as much as it is getting the boat back up the ramp. I would also imagine the SAN 210 weighs alot more then ski boats did back in the 80's so keep that in mind.

I want to add that I think this idea is great, and my posts have not meant to discourage you, but just to keep a realistic viewpoint. We could all post "do it" but when someone spends alot of money to find out that it didn't work, well I would imagine that will be pretty discouraging.

I'm all for thinking outside the box though, and you will definitely have the coolest tow rig out there.

Goodluck in whatever you decide. Make sure to post pics and videos if you go through with it.

Ben

now that makes me proud to be an american. thats a sick set up.

It's all about the weight transfer under acceleration and the angle of the ramp...the car has more than enough frame, motor, and tranny to pull anything you want on flat ground...but a slick ramp will bring it to it's knees. The front wheel drive is the only variable effecting this..if it were a RWD Coup De Ville it would be a different story.

ryan. my buddy has a 82 pontiac prieassane.(sp) i dont know how to spell it. but we took my old vlx out to saguaro with it. it did just fine. a little slow tho. and not a problem getting out of the water

We used to watch a guy pull his boat out with a front wheel drive Tarus wagon. Never even spun the tires, and that was at the Tower Park Ramp.

Oh hell yes, that is sweet, you have got to rock that set up fo sho!!!

I like it. We had a RWD 500CI couple de ville we used to tow a Ski Nautique from Florida to California, it works great. Another club member towed with an eldo almost identical to the one in your picture (red top). The front wheel drive works on the ramp because the tires are high and dry, the car has plenty of weight on them for good traction. Rolling with your whole crew in the Caddy rag top... Make sure it has a good sound system. I am jealous.

(Message edited by mikeski on May 30, 2008)

I have seen an older caddy pull a vlx no problem before. It looks pretty sweet too. Those cars are heavy and have plenty of power for it.

that makes sense. rear wheel drive trucks have no weight in the back and down on the slimey part of the ramp. my 2wd truck used to have trouble.

This is some of the most ghetto crap I've ever seen.

ghetto crap? Seemed like everyone was having some fun with this thread....

The great thing about using a less-than-perfect tow vehicle was learning how to use the boat to push it up the first few feet of ramp to get moving.

I assume you have another tow rig, so whats the worst that can happen if you try to tow it.

Well besides blowing out the tranny

It's fun just ghetto.

"The great thing about using a less-than-perfect tow vehicle was learning how to use the boat to push it up the first few feet of ramp to get moving." guess you have a point there.

Man that is a sick Eldo. I think it should pull it all right!