Can anyone tell me the towing capacity for a 75 or 76 Electra with the 455? I'm looking to be able to tow about 3800 lbs.
You will not have any problems towing with the Electra but you need the right equipment. You need a weight distributing hitch with the weight dist. springs and anti-sway attachment. Compared to a wagon or a pickup you have a much larger distance from the rear axle to the hitch. Therefore the car will experience more weight transfer off the front tires when you set the trailer on the hitch, and the trailer will be more likely to steer the vehicle around. Keep the coupling as close to the bumper as possible to minimize this distance. The weight dist. springs will allow you to control the load on the coupling. Too much load on the coupling and you will transfer too much weight off the front tires making your car unstable. The anti-sway attachment is required to keep the trailer from swaying when trucks pass you. Heavy duty rear coil springs, air shocks, trans cooler and a 4-core radiator are highly recommended. I have pulled 6000 lbs safely with my Centurion (vehicles on trailers, campers). I pulled my travel trailer from Michigan to Florida and back. Keep it below 70 mph even though you will be tempted to drive faster since the BBB engine is barely affected by the extra weight of the trailer.
More suggestions: I don't know how heavy the tongue of your trailer is but you want about 200 lbs on the coupling so adjust the weight dist. springs so that the bumper/hitch is about 1-2" lower with the trailer attached. You will need 93 octane if you are not already using it. I also have a deep finned aluminum trans pan to keep temps down on long trips. It would be cool if you post a picture here when you get it all hooked up.
Eric...thanks for the info. I'm currently towing with my 2002 Bravada w/ anti-sway. I just hate driving an SUV...I'd much rather show up at the campgrounds in a classic Electra or and Estate Wagon! Brady Bunch eat your heart out! I suppose I could build up my convert and show up in that as well! You spelled out just what I thought I would need. Thanks for the info.
Like it was said in the previous posts. Make sure you get a weight distributing hitch with the weight dist. bars and anti-sway attachment. Biggy are your trailer brakes, makes sure they are working well. Been towing for years, first with my 73 Riviera now with my Centurion 455 convertible. Also have air shocks in the Centurion, I bump up the air when towing to firm up and help level the ride. When not towing I lower them to about 10 pounds. Weight: trailer empty is 1,350 pounds, racecar 2,950, tools and equipment, gas etc add another 250 pounds. My Centurion has 2.70's in the rear and I get about 9-10 mpg towing using the premium gas. Oh and and with the A/C going it drops 1-2 mpg.
Awesome car Rick!! My lessons learned: I first installed air bags in the spring coils because I'd rather put the extra weight on the spring seats where it belongs instead of the shocks but the air bags ruptured due to the excess heat coming off the dual exhaust. I also swapped out the original 2.93 rear axle for a 3.42 hoping to ease the load on the engine and reduce engine temperature and the pinging I would get with A/C on driving up the mountains. I did not notice any improvement though and could have stayed with the 2.93.
Thanks Eric. For my Centurion I rebuilt my engine basically stock .030 over with replacemement low compression factory piston with a mild towing cam and added converted Stage 1 heads. Everything else is stock nothing special. Cooling I installed a new 4 row radiator and an electric black magic fan. The trans was rebuilt heavy duty with a shift kit. I get no pinging running premium while towing, though I find it interesting with your gear changes, as I am planning on switching to a 2.93 ratio. Funny the car while towing gets better mpg while I'm doing 70-75 instead of 60-65. The 2.93's may get me the better mileage at the lower speeds as the motor doesn't have to work as hard. Another biggy when towing is make sure your tires on the tow car are in perfect shape and not old. I have tires that were 5 years old but only about 8,000 miles on them. They looked perfect. Well while towing back from Salem, Ohio I had a rear tire blow out. The tire just blew out! Most likely from the age and heat with all the weight on it. I have now new ones rated for high heat and heavy towing weight. Can't resist this shot was at the GS Nats aroung the late 80's with my GS Riviera. Same racecar, same trailer. We took a LeSabre hitch and customized it to fit the Riv. Good luck with your project :TU:
I used to tow with a '76 Electra. I towed my 24' Sea Ray, the boat and trailer weighed about 5000 lbs with the boat having its 72 gal. fuel tank filled. I used a dead weight hitch and had around 500lbs tounge weight. The rear axle ratio was originally 2.56 open, but I installed a 3.08 posi out of a 71 Catalina, I didnt notice much of a difference with the 3.08's, but I really just wanted the posi for slippery, steep launch ramps. In the owners manual, it stated that "when properly equiped" (3.23 gears) the Electra was rated for up to 7000 lbs. Even tho the engine only had 205 H.P It made up for it in torque :bglasses: Mark
It's amazing how easily these cars pull an extra 5000 lbs with 2.7 gears. TORQUE! Even the trucks today do it with gears. Also be sure to check the u-joints. I had one start to vibrate about 100 miles from home while pulling another car. I made it home OK and the u-joint was in bad shape.
