Can anyone please give me info regarding lifting and towing? Where and what would a towtruck driver clip his hook/cable to when pulling my C2 up and on his tilt/lift truck for transportation(ie. a breakdown)? Also, when my car is strapped to the deck of the truck, is there any definite "no-no's" that I should know about?
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Re: Towing/Loading C2 car....
No Cables connected to the frame! Use a Strap around both front bumpers where the license plate frame mounts and connect the cable to the strap to Load the car. Chain Dogs are acceptable for Securing vehicle. Pieces of Rug cut into small squares can protect a restored frame. (Why not drive it on if possible?.) Al W. -
Re: Towing/Loading C2 car....
No Cables connected to the frame! Use a Strap around both front bumpers where the license plate frame mounts and connect the cable to the strap to Load the car. Chain Dogs are acceptable for Securing vehicle. Pieces of Rug cut into small squares can protect a restored frame. (Why not drive it on if possible?.) Al W.Comment
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Re: Towing/Loading C2 car....
Ideally, the car should be driven into place on the deck, but if the car is disabled and needs to be winched up, it may be necessary for the tow operator to attach "J" hooks to the inside of the front lower control arms. (This is to prevent the winch cable from coming into contact with the lower valence panel.) Towels can be wrapped around the hooks to prevent paint damage on show cars.
Once in position, however, secure the car by attaching "T" or "R" hooks to the factory shipping slots in the frame. The steel frame material is doubled up in these locations to ensure adequate integrity. The front shipping slots are located in the frame horns, forward of the spring pockets. They are oriented at about a 45 degree angle to horizantal. Rear provisions are located longitudinally in the #3 crossmember (the one just ahead of the rear axle). They are about a foot inboard and can easily be identified by their turned down flanges. These shipping slots were designed to enable cars to be secured on rail cars (very rough ride) without risk of damage to suspension or chassis parts. GM included this shipping information in the Serviceability Design Guidelines manual.
If proper attachment hooks are not available, or, heaven forbid, the frame is rusted away, a good substitute would be using tire straps. These should be installed so as to hold the tire down on the deck, to prevent putting stress on the suspension. Understand that both the front and rear suspensions are rubber mounted. Securing the car should never put stress on these rubber bushings. Likewise, one should never secure the back of a C-2 by wrapping straps around the axle shafts, as this could result in premature failure of the needle bearings in the u-joints. Please realize that either a tow winch or ratchet tie down is capable of applying much greater load stress to the car that what can be encountered when driving.Comment
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Re: Towing/Loading C2 car....
Ideally, the car should be driven into place on the deck, but if the car is disabled and needs to be winched up, it may be necessary for the tow operator to attach "J" hooks to the inside of the front lower control arms. (This is to prevent the winch cable from coming into contact with the lower valence panel.) Towels can be wrapped around the hooks to prevent paint damage on show cars.
Once in position, however, secure the car by attaching "T" or "R" hooks to the factory shipping slots in the frame. The steel frame material is doubled up in these locations to ensure adequate integrity. The front shipping slots are located in the frame horns, forward of the spring pockets. They are oriented at about a 45 degree angle to horizantal. Rear provisions are located longitudinally in the #3 crossmember (the one just ahead of the rear axle). They are about a foot inboard and can easily be identified by their turned down flanges. These shipping slots were designed to enable cars to be secured on rail cars (very rough ride) without risk of damage to suspension or chassis parts. GM included this shipping information in the Serviceability Design Guidelines manual.
If proper attachment hooks are not available, or, heaven forbid, the frame is rusted away, a good substitute would be using tire straps. These should be installed so as to hold the tire down on the deck, to prevent putting stress on the suspension. Understand that both the front and rear suspensions are rubber mounted. Securing the car should never put stress on these rubber bushings. Likewise, one should never secure the back of a C-2 by wrapping straps around the axle shafts, as this could result in premature failure of the needle bearings in the u-joints. Please realize that either a tow winch or ratchet tie down is capable of applying much greater load stress to the car that what can be encountered when driving.Comment
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