Hey,
This is more of a hypothetical,

But as read in the engine section, a slant 6 was used to power a tow car, to be able to tow a plane what would be done to the trans etc rearend etc.

And can this be applied to a 904TF? I'm interested to know with what work what could I tow with my car.

Thanks.

it is all about the gearing....if you have low gears you can pull anything,but you lose top speed

so in most modern cars there is a gear say something like a ratio of 0.54 or something, at this point you could pull alot, but at the sacrafice of acceleration and speed?

4.11 is what I just put in my truck...great accel.....top speed down ,but I also have overdrive so hyway speed is OK
not sure what rear you have ???? might be able to get 5.something also

Are we talking about a car or truck? If it's a car with 9" drum brakes I wouldn't tow more than 500 lbs. If you have disc brakes I wouldn't tow more than 1500 lbs and only that much if you have the tires and suspension to match.

_________________
Joshua

Hmm not really what I'm asking, I'm asking for more of the theory side of things, What can be done to increase towing without touching the engine. if a slant six can be geared to tow and aeroplane that's pretty crazy I'm interested in what kind of gearing it had to achieve this.
Also interested in what is the max you could tow with a street car by changing stuff to the gearbox etc.

and hold on 500lbs is around 250Kg right, your saying to me if I have 9" brakes I should drive with full passengers...? or is it differenct because the friction coefficient is changed because no extra wheels etc.

From a mechanical standpoint, if you omit any changes to the engine, gearing multiplication is the only feasible way to increase the leverage to tow.
2.76 are highway gears that make the car very lazy off the line
3.23 gears are a compromise between highway RPM and off the line acceleration
4.11 are fast acceleration off the line, but will have high RPM on the highway.

All of the above is presumed with 3 speed tranmission with 1 to 1 final ratio. Overdrive will drop the RPM on highway allowing a 4.11 ratio act more like a 3.23 or 3.55, depending on ratio of the overdrive.

If pure tow ability is desired a 4.11 type ratio will help to get it moving off the line, but top speed will be limited.

The reason people express concern on brakes, is the abilty to stop the load you are towing. It's not too hard to get a lot of weight going, it is much harder to stop it, especially in a panic situation. The suspension, shocks, and brakes have to match the strength of the engine.

_________________
1976 Dart Lite /6 3 Speed

To tow a plane you need at least a full chassis vehicle.

This usually means a truck. You would need a towing package (class 3 hitch at least) which usually includes lower gears , better cooling etc.

You need a trailer that has trailer brakes and a good controller.

A long wheel base 3/4 ton 80s Dodge pickup with a 4 speed should do it.

Thats a lot of real estate to move with a slant unless you are in a flat part of the world......

I would not tow a kite in an A body with 9" brakes........

_________________
Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I think I know what you are getting after. You are looking at a large numerical ratio say, 7.17 like a farm tractor with a top speed of maybe 25 mph. But the engine only has 30 hrosepower but can pull say 25,000 lbs double hay wagon with ease. ?? Kinda what you are after? Torque multipulcation ? Your not wanting to do this with a car, More like a Towmotor.

I worked on a few airport tugs. Most had gear ratio's in the 6.20 range in the diff.

_________________
Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Final drive ratio in my mudbogger is 10.5:1.......4.11 x 2.5 x 33" tires

Who knows in first gear.....with a 3500 stall.

Trick is to turn 6500 rpm at the 200ft mark.

_________________
Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Yeah that's what I was interested in alot more!

I don't have a plan to tow with my car at all, but I was interested in what you could tow with a slant without engine mods, so what you have to do to the gearbox and rear end.

Thanks alot guys! very helpful as usual.

Back in my younger more foolish days (1966), I flat towed a 65 dodge Coronet, with a 64 Dart, 170 three on the tree, From Rochester NY to Hacketstown, NJ. Somewhere about 300 miles, no interstates.
PS: and return.

_________________
Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

The forklifts at work weigh 15,000 LBS empty and carry 8,000 LBS of cargo up a 10% grade with a 4.3L chebby,they have a 10:1 gear ratio in the transaxle if you have a strong chassis,and your content with traveling at 5-10 MPH,you can move the world.

_________________
V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

How big a plane we talking about here. Back in the day, I towed loaded 747 frieghters from air frieght to the main terminal to fuel them , then back to air frieght after fueling. That's about 600,000 pounds on the trip to the terminal, and 900,000 pounds on the trip back.

_________________
66 Valiant, 225.
84 Van, 225.
71 Maxi-Van, 318
60 Valiant wagon, 225
87 Maxi-Van, 318 4spd