anyone have a decent hitch they'd part with to fit my '74 LeSabre? I'd like a class III but I'm open to whatever you have
Howdy, Got an old hitch that came off my Dad's '71 LeSabre. Kind of rusty but useable. It's got a ball on it, don't know what class it is (I'm not up on my hitches!). Are you close to Mpls?
My advise you should take it. Years back I searched high and low for a hitch 3 series for a same model I found one after a few months and had it customized for a 73 Riv. I since sold the car but back in the soup again in 1998 looking for one to fit my 73 Centurion convert. It took a bit longer but found a new one sitting with a pound of dust in a warehouse in Maine. Bottom line is these are hard to locate and the only other option is to have one custom made $$$. Oh and DO NOT WELD IT onto the car otherwise you can never get to your gas tank.
Depends what you want to pull. Anything like a large house trailer (not a small pop up camper) or another car on an open trailer you will need a class 3 series receiver. If you are looking into a box trailer then buy a truck instead. You want a Class 3 series which is similar to the 2nd photo on your post. The square receiver part is 2" square. My car is shown below with the receiver mounted.
that's a sharp looking Centurion BTW...makes me dislike my 5 mph bumpers more lol I do understand what you're talking about though. What I'm looking for IS a class III hitch that will accept the 2'' square receiver. Actually the main role of this car is to tow my Bayliner which is about 2500 lbs fueled, loaded, and with the trailer which doesn't seem at all bad for the 455 powered, body on frame convertible, I just need a hitch good enough. If I fail to find one I figure I can either build my own from scratch or even get a class III truck hitch from a salvage yard and modify it properly...or pick up a new universal truck hitch and work from there
Rick, that sureis a purrrty boat you have:kodak: . I am curious about towing limits on our big cars w/ a 455 and say a tranny cooler . I don't have a truck and I have a feelin' I will have a car or 2 (or 3) follow me home one day....p
You will spend countless hours trying to modify a truck frame mount hitch to your car.....because the side rails will be worthless since a truck uses a very tall ladder frame and your car has short C-channel side rails. If you are patient.....let me know your time frame.....I will be visiting many yards this Sat and every Sat. I believe all full-size B-C bodies will share the same hitch.....I do/can find them...but they are rare.
Thanks for the compliments. Pulling a Bayliner, yes you want the series 3 receiver along with a sway bar and pitch control bars. Then I would also get an adjustable hitch with a heavy duty ball, the adjustable hitch does just that, it will help adjusting your ride height. I use air shocks in the rear, pumped up to 100 pounds when loaded up. When not towing I keep about 25 pounds in them. And like I said do NOT weld it onto the car. Mine has six high grade bolts, nuts, etc along with loctite. If I need to service the tank for what ever reason a good shot with an air gun will help remove that puppy. As for pulling; complete loaded up weight I figure I am close to 5,000 pounds. The trailer is 1,400 lbs and is just over 19 feet end to end, my GS is 2,880 then add a generator and tools inside the box I figure to be another 200-300 pounds, not to mention me and my personal luggage, figuring around 4600 pounds total weight then add the weight of my Centurion hitting the scales at 4700 pounds. Pulling? I would go toe to toe with any truck, Though nothing compares to the comfort and better mpg that a new GMC Duramax, it will keep up with one on the hills and straight-aways. Gas mileage pulling and cruising at 70 I get 9-10 mpg on super unleaded. If I put with the ac on...:shock: forget it! It drops to about 5-6 mpg. Towing with the top down I saw no difference when it is up. But it does look better with it downp The rear gears on my Centurion is 2.71 open rear, have a good shift kit in the trans, a mild tow cam in a low compression 455 and the heads are converted Stage 1's, and I do have a trans cooler up front along with a heavy duty 4 core radiator. As for running hot, only if caught in traffic on a 90 degree day she will climb to 210 so I have a Black Magic Electric fan up front to help with that. For the receiver just hunt around on the internet and be patient, they are out there. Some trailer or towing companies are net-worked so they may be able to find one. I do agree that any full size 1971-1976 GM car should fit. If not it has to be pretty close that only minor mods would be needed. I would have posted shots under the car, except the car is winterized inside a car bag until mid March.
This is what I recommend: A Sway Control Bar (mounts on one side) A Pitch Control Bars (one on each side is mounted) The photo shows it still attached to the adjustable hitch. An Adjustable Hitch (Makes it easier to adjust ride height and tongue weight) On the one shown the smaller ball is where the sway bar attaches to. I have one that is exactly like this one. Make a hell of a night and day difference especially on emergency situations, it will keep that trailer in tight with little to no swaying or bobbing. Photos attached Also for a car I would get air shocks
The business end of my hitch looks like the ball and piece the ball mounts to, that you have in picture #1. The rest of it, ie the parts that mount to the car, do not look like pic #2. I'm sure it was a bolt-on hitch. I'll see if I can get pics tomorrow, it's at my Mom's house. Are you anywhere close to Mpls? Best regards, Steve.
Your car has 7 nuts....not 6.....don't forget the BIG NUT driving the car with his Roberta Flack 8 track blasting and the top down.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Thanks for all the info. I understand how an anti-sway bar works but how does the anti-pitch thing work? That's the one with the short chains right? Is that the same as a "weight distribution" or "load equalizing" hitch? I have installed Air Lift bags on my Century and probably will on my LeSabre..Air Lift world headquarters are just down the road from my old HS BTW. Monroe offers a self-height adjusting Sensa Trac. Any experience with it?
found this: http://www.etrailer.com/faq_weightdistribution.aspx and read about how a weight distribution hitch works...that's pretty sweet. It would be nice to be able to "relax" a little when towing with the LeSabre; I don't mean it in a careless way but it's nice not to be white knuckled when the top's down and I'm heading to the lake with a special person... You can swap such a system between trailers right? I've used my dad's tow dolly and that thing can be really twitchy at times but my Bayliner/Escort trailer hasn't given me any swaying problems before behind my mom's Hemi Durango and my Forester (was technically a couple hundred pounds overloaded and thus my biggest reason for getting the LeSabre)
Philip The bottom line is a truck will in most cases always tow better than a car. The longer the wheel base on your tow vehicle the more stable you are on the road. Back in the mid 80's I towed with a '77 Chevy K5 Blazer. It had a shorter wheel base than my '73 Riv and Centurion. And it was not as stable on the road oh and not to mention the 350 Chevy engine just didn't cut it when I hit those long and huge West Virginia hill while heading to the GS Nats. But in my case I wanted another Buick and having two and a tow vehicle would not fly well with the Boss (my wife:laugh: ). So I thought on towing a Buick with a Buick. I always loved convertibles so eventually I sold my Riv when I found my Centurion. Just that with a car I highly stress a full boxed framed car for added strength. With the adjustable hitch, sway bar and pitch bars, you can use them from tow vehicle to tow vehicle. I had used the same pieces when I towed with my K5 Blazer, and my Riviera. Biggest priority is safety and having the sway bar and pitch bars along with a long wheel base vehicle gives you the best. There have been times while doing 60-70 that I had to make an unexpected severe lane change cause some jackass just cuts in front of me. Did so and the car and trailer just follow in line not swaying one bit, keeping total control. So don't skimp do it right and you eliminate the worry and hassles when your cruising on vacation with your trailer. Just for the hell of it I attached two old shots when I towed with my Riv to the GS Nats back in 94 and 1991 when my GS was red.
Does the weight distribution part of the system help makeup for my LeSabre's long distance between the hitch (that I don't have) and the rear wheels?
Just an FYI.... I went down to my local Uhaul and asked if they had a hitch for a '66 Wildcat. They made a few phone calls and a class II hitch should be here any day. I thought that was a pretty obscure car to get a hitch for and I was surprised when they said they could get it. I didn't ask about a class III as a II is suitable for what I need it for. The price is $139, which I think is extremely reasonable. I haven't gotten it yet, so I can't comment on construction/quality. Might be worth a call. I heard the guy mentiom amfab when he was on the phone. That might be who constructs the Uhaul hitches, but I haven't bothered to try to search for them.
