AAA North Carolina and towing your hearse

[Otto Baron]

After living in NC for nearing 2 years, I'm finally getting ready to put my 59 Park Row back on the road. It basically needs mabe a new battery and the gas guage fixed, but because it's been sitting since December 2011, I'm a little afraid of starting up the coach with the old gas.
This was never a problem in California, but when I called AAA NC to have the car towed two blocks, the person who answered the phone informed me that AAA would not tow my car, because of what it was, and told me to locate a commercial towing company. Is this policy unique to this state, or is this common with AAA's outside of California?

[mr x]

Seems to me that it depends on who answers the phone and if they interpret it as a commercial auto or not. For example. I have gone to one rmv location and been denied a service. I then take the same paperwork to another location. NO HASSLE.

[60Crown]

My good buddy that lives in Durham will have a definitive answer for you. Give me a couple days since he's driving back from PA currently.

[pyro]

Tell them its a station wagon
Drain the gas tank, remove the fuel filter. Add a catch container, where the fuel filter was. Put 5 gal fresh gas in tank and crank till fresh gas comes out the fuel line, into the catch container. Hopefully you woont need to clean the carb. You dont want to run bad gas throug an engine, as it can (saw it on an engine I brought it) gum up the lifters. If the lifters get gummed up, you'll bend pushrods, break rockers, bend valves, or damage a piston.

[Otto Baron]

Good point on the avoiding of using old gasoline. I know one fellow who put some old gas in a rebuilt engine, and destroyed it. That was one of the reasons I mentioned not wanting to drive with the old gas in my initial post. I have ionstructed the mechanic to drain the old gas immediately upon getting my coach.

[60Crown]

Definitely NOT standard NC AAA policy. My buddy says he's never encountered that before. In fact, one '76 hearse he sold the buyer had AAA come and move it off his property. If you haven't figured out transport yet, I'd suggest calling a different local outfit that accepts AAA.

[Otto Baron]

Calling it a station wagon seemed to work. That's by the way how I had it registered in California. The tow truck driver told me he figured it was a hearse when he got the call, but came, and did the job anyway.

[Otto Baron]

SAM_0032[1].jpg
And away we go.

[CoffinWorm]

You could mix it with new gas depending on how much is already in the tank.

I've also read from quite a few people that AAA would not tow their coaches.

[Otto Baron]

You could mix it with new gas depending on how much is already in the tank.

I've also read from quite a few people that AAA would not tow their coaches.

Fortunately, as the photo above showed, AAA did tow my coach, once I called it what it was registered in California as-a staion wagon. There is no way, I'd mix old gas and new. I once took some old gas from one car, and put it in the tank of another, because I didn't want to just dump it in the ground. The car I put it in lasted less then 24 hours, before it was trashed, and that was an engine I had just spent good money on to rebuild.

[CoffinWorm]

I've done it a few times, but the amount of new gas was much greater than the old gas I mixed it with.

Glad they towed you though.

[Otto Baron]

I've done it a few times, but the amount of new gas was much greater than the old gas I mixed it with.

Glad they towed you though.

The car I put the old gas in had over half a tank, and then after putting in the old gas, I topped off the tank. Use old gas at your own risk. Me? Never again.

[CoffinWorm]

The car I put the old gas in had over half a tank, and then after putting in the old gas, I topped off the tank. Use old gas at your own risk. Me? Never again.

Hmmm. I suppose I've been extremely lucky then. I'll be weary about that from now on.