I have three somewhat related questions, but didn’t feel like starting three different threads:
1. I am helping a friend move across state for a new job and he is taking his mid-sized car and a classic that he is in the middle of restoring; however, the classic is too heavy and/or his mid-sized engine is not capable of towing that much weight. Is it possible to rent a truck like a Ryder or Uhaul and tow the mid size behind it, and attach a trailer carrying the classic car to the mid sized car. In other words the truck tows the car which tows the classic, assuming the truck is powerful enough? Is it legal and doable? He doesn’t have a lot of money, and can’t tow the second one, and it doesn’t run yet, and probably won’t for a while.
#2 My heater core in my car started leaking recently, and I rerouted the coolant tube from the core, so now I don’t have heat. Since it’s expensive to repair, what options do I have when winter comes along again in terms of aftermarket heaters?
#3. Do auto parts stores rent out devices to test the fuel pump/pressure. I know some do like Autozone rents out basic testers, but I’m not sure on fuel system ones.
Thanks.
#1: Do not do this. Period. Rent a tilt bed truck and carry one while towing the other on a dolly, or pay to have pros move them.
#2: None. But of you’re willing to contort yourself like a pretzel and do the work, the core itself should be below $150.
#1 Don’t know the legalities of towing two vehicles, but I wouldn’t do it. As anonymous (whoever that might be) suggested, it would be better to pay a professional to transport the classic, and maybe drive the mid-size.
#2 There are interior electric heaters that plug into your cigarette lighter that you can buy. Look at your local autoparts store, or WalMart or Canadian Tire would likely have them, and they would cost much less than a new heater core.
#3 I wouldn’t be surprised if you can rent a fuel pressure tester. Call your local Autozone and ask.
For #1, it should read “…and maybe your friend drives the mid-size.”
I could have fixed it in my original answer but THERE’S NO F***ING EDIT FEATURE!!!
Can you recommend any companies that are good at it?
YOu dont say how many miles is involved in this move nor the kind of driving it is. However its a very daft idea to tow 2 vehicles. That is if your state would even allow it!!!
I’ve checked the Chilton’s book, and it involves taking the dashboard and steering wheel off and a whole bunch of stuff, more than I can probably do.
I don’t think that you have a prayer of heating the car with a heater that plugs in. With a 30 A circuit you could get 360 W max. With a 100 A alternator and a dedicated circuit using ALL the power you could run a 1200 W heater, but that is not practical.
I doubt very seriously that Ryder or U-Haul would rent you anything at all to do some three in a row towing. They’ve got some pretty tight regulations on towing anything due to the sue happy country we live in.
A small electric heater may knock some chill off but that’s about it. Heater cores are cheap but they can be labor intensive to change, especially depending on the car and if A/C equipped or not.
I assume AutoZone probably rents fuel pressure testers or you can do as I do and make your own out of scrap gauges, brass fittings, and ingenuity.
Any particular reason you’re wondering about a fuel pressure gauge?
Didnt we just have this one with CO to OR with a VW?
#1 Never, NO WAY, Do not attempt!!!
#2 They do make electric heaters but they do not work well (Must be a Taurus). We could probably walk you through the process of changing it. It is not that difficult just time consuming.
#3 Some do, some don’t.
~Michael
If you are helping your friend move, you could tow the classic behind the truck, and then he could drive is commuter car. The truck rental companies may have tow bars for that purpose. Call and find out.
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as others have said, do not do this. It’s dangerous. It’s probably 50 state illegal too.
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Not really - - heaters work because they’re using engine coolant as the heat source. If you try and do it aftermarket you’ll have to do it electrically, and electric heat uses a HELL of a lot of power to put out anything meaningful. That little space heater that barely heats up your study draws 15 amps of 120 volt power. To plug one into a car, you’d need a 1,875 watt power inverter. You can get them, but they’re expensive and will probably kill your battery.
Your best bet is just to replace the heater core. You have plenty of time before the snow flies. Now’s a good time 
I checked at the Autozone by my house, they don’t. I might check other places though.
It’s a Thunderbird with 110,000 miles.
I meant to reply with my screen name, but I got logged out somehow.
How much would it cost to have a repair shop to do it?
I asked the question about the towing because I’ve seen it on the road. A large moving-type van carry a smaller moving type van with towing a truck behind it. Then there is a truck or small car in the cargo area of the first truck. I’m in Texas, and I assume they might be going down to Mexico, since the drivers were Mexican, and I’ve seen similar situations where the drivers were all Mexican. Anyway, I was just checking into it. We’ll figure out another way.
I once did a heater core replacement on a Thunderbird. The first step in the Chilton manual was “remove dash board”. After discovering that was not just removing panels in front of the heater box, I did remove the entire dashboard which meant dropping the steering column. What made the entire job onerous was that I pinched a vacuum line when installing the heater box cover and had the r&r the dash twice. Not a fun job because you have to find all the fasteners that hold the dash cover and dash body to the cabin. With the dash off you could see how the whole front of the vehicle was built.
That’s what I thought and why I am wondering about the cost. I’m pretty handy around it, I replaced the alternator, but that was easy since it was on top. I’m concerned about doing it right and the time involved.