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?'s on 1960 Invicta


Guest dayvd1960

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Guest dayvd1960

OK, so I been reading thru some of the threads and I've not found what I need to know and really don't know even where to begin looking... except maybe here.

I just purchased a 1960 Buick Invicta. I need to get this car to IN from WV. I'm poor(mainly cause I just bought a 1960 Invicta). Anyway how much does this car weigh? Can I tow it with a two wheel dolly behind my Chevy minivan? Would it be better to put it on a trailer and tow it? How long is the wheelbase and how wide? I'm concerned the new dolleys and trailer from U-Haul aren't gonna be large enough....

Absolutely any help would be greatly appreciated!

dave

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I would figure approximately 4,500 pounds for the Buick. The wheelbase will be about 123 inches and the car about 80 inches wide, with an overall length just under 220 inches.

The two wheel dollies I've seen are not adequate for a car of this size and weight, and your Chevy minivan would not be a suitable tow vehicle. The car should be trailered behind a heavier, larger vehicle -- a full-size pickup truck at a minimum.

I recommend that you contact some of the car clubs in your area to learn whether anyone is willing to "hire out" with their tow vehicle and car trailer to help you move the Buick. Please keep us posted, and let us know about the '60 Invicta. We have a separate forum here for Technical Questions related to Collectible Buicks, and that would be an appropriate place to ask your technical questions in the future.

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Brian is right on the money with his weights and dimensions. I have a '59 Invicta and looked into towing it with a dolley or a U_haul trailer. My final decision was no way. I went out and bought an aluminum 7,000 lb gross weight open car hauler and borrowed my brothers dually diesel chev truck to tow it. Since I knew I couldn't keep using my brothers truck, I traded off my '03 Trailblazer on an '03 Yukon. I would estimate the car and trailer loaded weighs approximately 6000lbs. The Yukon tows it no problem, but a 3/4 ton pickup with a bigger motor or diesel would be my choice if I could afford it. I also have to use a weight distributing hitch or the back end of the Yukon drags on the ground. Personally, there is no way I'd tow it with a mini-van.

Just my 2 cents.

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Guest imported_Thriller

Shipping weight (from factory) for the '60 is around 4300 lb, depending on which model, except for the wagons, which are over 4600 lb. Wheelbase is 123 inches and overall length is basically 218 inches.

There are regulations that limit the amount you are towing to weigh no more than 25% more than that of the tow vehicle. This is an American regulation - U-Haul in Canada follows it. So, my ext. cab 2000 Sierra is about 4300 lb and I am supposedly limited to pulling about 5400 lb. U-Haul wouldn't rent me a trailer to pull a '56 Buick Special (seems to me the weight is about 3800 lb.) with this truck despite it being set up heavy duty everything and outfitted for towing. It has a towing capacity of 7700 lb. So, I rented a trailer from a local outfit that didn't worry about it.

The long and the short of it is that, with a trailer weighing probably 1500 lb, you are going to be towing about 5800 lb. To rent from U-Haul, you are going to need a 3/4 ton truck. That's what I'll be purchasing within the year.

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Guest dayvd1960

Thanks for your replies. Upon consideration... and a little searching I've decided it WOULD definitely be better to have someone transport the car for me. Last year I towed my wife's 92 Buick Century Wagon back to IN and it was everything the van wanted going up over the mountains to get out of here. I checked a few sites and come to find out the Invicta is at least 1100#'s heavier.

isaacinvicta1.jpg

I think my son would really like to drive it back... or is at least dreaming of the day he is driving it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Guest 70 Electra

Did you ever get the Invicta home? How's it going with the car? I sent you a PM; hope to hear from you.

grin.gif

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest 60Buick

Thats a nice looking car. You don't see to many Invicta coupes around my way, or at all I have only run across 1 and it was in Daytona Fl. You will have fun with it, you have something not seen everyday and the haul ass too. laugh.gif

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Guest dayvd1960

Hi Ya'll,

Well I think we're finally gonna get the Invicta taken back to IN. I had broken down and called a transport company to come get the car. Fortunately for me it seems that there's not that many transport guys who travel thru the southern part of WV. Fortunately cause they were gonna charge me $6oo buck-A-roonies to move the car. That's almost as much as I paid for the thing!?!? Long story short I got a friend who said he'd come down and take the car back for free!!!!! Well... I'm paying for his gas and food and stuff but still.... unless he eats at some real ritzy joint(we don't have those here in southern WV) or breaks some part on his truck/trailer it looks like I'm gonna luck out.

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Good news. That's a mean machine and looks like it will be a lot of fun. Have you checked out Greg Cockerill's '60 Buick web page? One thing you will find there is the '60 Invicta 4-door ht that was the real "French Connection" car. Here's a link that will take you right to the French (Buick) Connection page. The entire site is really worth looking though, especially if you have a '60 Buick--

http://hometown.aol.com/equipoise60/60buickhomepage7.html

Greg posts on the AACA board as 70 Electra

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