American Lead

Hi I got a question that i was hopeing i could get some ideas from you guys.... anyway i bought 2 1954 chevy's and they are way the hell in the woods behind this guys house and they are as hard as hell to get to (don't even think about a tow truck) infact I only paid 200 bucks because nobody thought they could get them out... The drove in and basically the woods grew up around them.... any thoughts? I thought about getting them running there and driveing them out but they have been sitting 40 years... i can cut a path for them but a tow truck would sink into the ground....

Robert

csstrux

You may be able to get them running, but I would take a second look at a hook. I started my career in a wrecker, and you would not believe what can be done with one, assuming the operator has a clue, and the equipment needed. How far out are they? call around for pricing, and present it as a competetive bid, on their timeframe. I have gone hundreds of yards out with extra cable and ****** blocks to get kids out of the muddy fields in the past. usually in a situation like yours it would be considdered a teachable moment. get the rookies out and show them how its done. aka training. Pricing should be relatively competative there. but it will be on their schedual to get it cheep.

Bluevista

x2

Is there a 'dozer sitting around there anywhere?
I know a guy who bought a used one for 5K to save money digging his pond. It got stuck in a mud vacuum and he had to hire two more to get it out, took a week and cost him 20K.

rockethound

can they be winched out, cable to a tree winch as far as you can then to another until you can reach them with a tow truck.

daves62

you could also use a poor boys winch "come along" case of beer and a good buddy its a lot cheaper but a hole lot of work

jensenracing77

do you have any friends that have a helicopter?
if you plan to do a complete restore on it just take it apart and carry it out one piece at a time.

esisson

Post some pics of them please! It would help a lot for people to see what you're up against.

68conv455

Get em quick while the ground is still frozen. Otherwise you will need to wait for the dryest part of summer.

American Lead

Hi Thanks guys... I think i'll go with the winch idea... it never crossed my mind to winch from the trees.. Lots of other intresting ideas as well I could be like johnny cash and get it one piece at a time huh?

I'll post some pics but they are horrible.... they ran when they were parch back in 64 and nobody touched em since....

Robert

American Lead

There are 2 cars... one has a good body and the other has a goodish interior and some engine parts.... unfortuneatly i frigged up the pics of the good one so the first 2 are the only pics of the good one


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Olds64

Holy cow! Those cars definitely look like they have been sitting for years!

How did you ever figure out the owner had them in his field? Good luck getting them out of there.

csstrux

The first thing you will want to do is clear the brush away. Then get them off the ground. Those drums are going to be rusted solid, so if you have any fabricating skills you may want to considder fabbing up some all terain dollies. use big fat tires on a deck or carriage that is wide as the car and as long, otherwise you will be in for a very long hard pull. You will want to tie to a tree at least 6" acrost

Oldsguy

I agree with csstrux, I bet those frames are really rusted underneath and you are going to need some rigidity before moving those cars by any means. Nobody has mentioned this yet and don't laugh, I am serious. Do you know of anyone with a team of mules?

citcapp

From the looks of the rust are you sure they are worth the effort. You might do better parting them out in place and hauling the parts out with a 4 wheel drive pickup by cutting a path thru the trees

wolfman98

another option is to hokk up some sort of dollie system but to get them out of a muddy field or terrain that you can't get a wrecker into you might want to look for someone who has a good size tractor. if their are any local farmers close by they might not charge you much to tow them out to where you can get at them .

Jamesbo

X2

Why not buy a surplus squad tent and put it up and take them apart right there to see what you've got.

or plan B

Somehow they got in there. So look for younger smaller trees to try to find an old road bed. Pay a farmer to bush hog down the little stuff and then either make a skid or take his trailer in there.

wmachine

X3

They can be so rotted on the bottom that there isn't anything there on the bottom. Thus nothing to even hook up to, to be able to pull anywhere!
I wouldn't make *any* plans until I knew exactly how the bottoms look.
I'd be surprised if those cars aren't rusted away right into the ground.

Jamesbo

FYI
"Leaves of three, Let it be."

dyscookn

No-shoulders and stingy thingies ''O-MY""

American Lead

Hi Guys.

Well I'm going there in a week or 2 to start cutting and chopping them out... the one on the gorund is pretty much screwed with the exception of the dash, glass (front window most importantly since the other one is gone) but the one with the good body is up on blocks and didn't see as much as salt as the other one... it was running when it was there last so it soley a motor and transmission that are good to rebuild.. I won't be driveing far in them so as long as it runs i'll slap in some filler primer and paint and prp rivit some flors in enough to make it run and call it a day.... I'll worry about it passing saftey after i move to the states after i'm out of trade school for a few years... untill then i'll just pick at it and have some fun with them

Robert

csstrux

sounds like a plan.

wolfman98

Where about in N.S. are you? I live in the same province but from the pics I know they are not recent.

American Lead

Hi,
I'm in the halifax area... the pics was taken early fall... just before the leaves started to change.

(ps, could you not mention my existence... I'm not here and no-one saw me... i sorta bought these cars on a last minute choice to save them from a certain death for scrap metal and i didn't tell my folks... so i'd like to keep it on the hush hush for a while untill i get out of trade school in a year or 2... my folks don't reason about things like this and I would be flattened if they ever found out... they don't see the "potentional" in things and they are the reliable left wing folks that don't tolorate this sort of thing well at all... I thought it was the end of me when they found out about the last car i bought..... they made me back out of the deal and I'm still in big trouble and that was 2 months ago. so i know this is a big rant and mabye a bit of parinoia but anyway....)

Thanks,
Robert

Ps... do you ever go to any car shows around halifax like the A&W in woodside?

Olds64

That is actually a good idea, and I'm not just saying that because you're my dad. Mules are strong animals. Two mules could easily pull those cars out of the bushes to a place where you could haul them away with a tow truck or flat bed.

wolfman98

Have not been to that one but when i get my car going i want to go to more shows. What is the A&W and when is it ? I asked about your whereabouts cause I have a fairly large tractor and could have helped you out if you were close but I live in the valley close to Greenwood. I don,t plan on contacting your folks about anything that is your buisness. I guess you are going to a tech school in the city?

OLD SKL 69

I had to laugh when I read that Robert since my parents did the same to me. They could never see the potential either...and they were right wingers! Anyway, just wanted to wish you luck with your project. Only those of us infected by the "old car bug" can truly appreciate what you're doing. Your in good company on this forum!

Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.

ozoneblue

When I lived in S KC Mo. I ran a tow company specializing in recovery With 200" of cable on my 480 twin & 100 on the 460 that truck was a 4x4 I would take it in first with cable extended $ the other truck hooked to it also had a extra 100 at the shop along with who knows how many long chains & ****** blocks Get er Done . ps do NOT hook to a telephone pole very brittle.I know one of my drivers did @&1000 +

csstrux

We did not have 4x4's but were building a 6x6 out of an old fwd cement mixer and a holmes 600 mechanical That thing would have been sweet, but the guy who owned the outfit I worked at let it go after I left. Gotta love those poles. Seems to be a common rookie mistake. How long were you in the game? Did you own it, or run it?

ent72olds

MULES!!!! You guys with your southern humor...I thought mules were only in zoo's!

marinus_

Many years ago a friend of mine drove his car down a very deep ravine. He was told by several tow truck drivers that he had to wait untill late spring before they would attempt to get it out.

We got about 26 guys together and managed to carry the car out and up the hill.

With enough people (and lots of beer) you should be able to get them out.

csstrux

BEER UMMMMM

citcapp

The more beer you drink the smarter you get right, it kills all of the dumb brain cells. That should help get the Hic Hic cars outta them thar wods

wolfman98

I thin the reason that I suggested finding a tractor is that in this province there are a lot of guys with woodlots and they use tractors with super winches hooked to the pto with long cable to get logs out of difficult places.My dad used to do that using his New Holland TL80 and he could haul out 3 or 4 cars if needed. There is a guy down the road who I have towed out of the snow a couple of times. He has a tractor &trailer ( drives for Twin Mountain) and parkes it in a field beside his place. I imagine this spring when it turns to mud I will be pulling him out again. Normally I just hook a chain to him , put the tractor in low and tow it out running the tractor a little above idle. I wish dad had not sold his winch and chokers when he quit logging his woodlot.

Oldsguy

Lots of people is a good idea for one reason, with enough of them (a pair of hands every 1 or 2 feet around the perimeter of the car) there is less chance of damage. However you still have to worry about undergrowth getting in the way so you would still have to clear a path. You wouldn't want even one person tripping because then they all go down with a rusted hulk of car on top! Since you have to clear a path, I still think two mules with the car on skids would be your very best option, second to that would be a winch or tractor pulling with the car on skids.

Jamesbo

Nope we use 'em to plow and pull wagons.

Mules 101

It's the only animal that if you killed every one of them wouldn't be extent. Think about it.

wolfman98

If you could clear a path I would pick or jack the car up and slid something under it. then it would cause less damage

American Lead

Actually thats not a bad idea... i wish i had some mules around but oh well what can I do? Anyways i was thinkin... I'll jack the car up off the ground (atleast the one that has a frame) and i can put some 2x6's under it, if i got 4 10ft lenths on either side i could pull the car foreward ond keep moving the car untill I was out... i do like the carrying it idea but i could see a disaster and lots of broken bones comeing out of that lol

Robert

PS I'll post some better pics in a few weeks when i go over to cut a path to them and put something over the front window so it can start drying out since it has no front window... and i'll lube up the engine and try to give it a whirl... who know what could happen? diesel, tranny fluid, oil, a file and some points.... i could be in business

Thanks,
Robert

Oldsguy

Awaiting your results...