Saturday, September 12, 2009

Grand Wagonner. A Woodie Tow Rig



I need a tow rig. But most of the vehicles up to the task in my sub -$3k budget were just so aesthetically unpleasing. So brutish. So mediocre. So blah. I could not bear to pick up a late 90s Explorer or mid-eighties F150. 

Many other options were small and ugly. Rodeo? Ranger? Blazer?

After looking around online I settled in on full size Bronco or a Grand Wagoneer. After looking at my first Grand Wagoneer I knew I had to have one. The plush interior. The solid Dana 44 axles. The big, hard-to-control-the-emissions 360. The wood paneling. OK, vinyl paneling. But it does look stylish. Growing up in Connecticut I would see these at the yacht clubs (where I worked) and on The Vineyard (where I day tripped).

Mine is an 87. 117,000 miles. All original. Lots of records. No rust. All it needs is an alignment and some floor mats. That's it. I spent 12 hours, it is a BIG car, cleaning the inside and outside. 

Leather cleaner and Lexol on the leather. Carpet cleaner on all the carpet. Outside, it got a wash, a polish with my buffer and then a final application of Klasse. I'm going for protection, not ultimate shine. 

Once it was all clean I hooked it up with my Harbor Freight tow bar and gave it a go. I couldn't even tell I was towing something. Fantastic.

First race is the 27th. A three hour enduro. Now I have something to tow a potentially damaged car home with. Knock on wood and all that though.

1 comment:

993C4S said...

Very cool Kevin. I'm a huge Jeep fan and have had lots and lots of them. I just put my last Grand Wagoneer up for sale (very similar to yours in looks). I'm going to miss it, but plan on replacing it soon!!!! Good luck on the race