Need To Move 356 Pre A From Longmont CO to Sedona, AZ

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Scot Bowers
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:31 pm

Need To Move 356 Pre A From Longmont CO to Sedona, AZ

#1 Post by Scot Bowers »

Hello,
I have never shipped my 356 before and I need to move my car from Longmont CO to Sedona AZ, does anyone have a carrier (only) option for me that they have used before and trust? Reliable Carriers said "NO" because there is only one E brake wheel. otherwise no brakes with the peddle. Thanks!

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Sam Good
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Location: Seattle

Re: Need To Move 356 Pre A From Longmont CO to Sedona, AZ

#2 Post by Sam Good »

I just moved a '57 Speedster from California to Washington. Non-runner, similar situation. I must have spent thirty hours researching how to do that. Hopefully I can share a bit of my experience so you know what's coming. Forgive me if I go long... Hopefully you've got some time to read a long rambling post.

So.

You do need to think about it from the carrier's perspective. The problem isn't loading; it's unloading. Having a high-value car that you're rolling down a ramp with no means of stopping it... no responsible operator will want to take on that kind of liability. So if you find a carrier who says "yes" you probably shouldn't do business with such a reckless operator.

But all is not lost.

My speedster had no e-brake at all, though it had a working service brake. One or the other needs to be working, or the carrier will be looking at a real mess when they try to roll your car down the ramp.

So. To get mine here I packed some tools in the car and headed south, taking a four-day weekend (which was supposed to be three, but the boss was cool about it.) I installed the engine (so the car could be parked in gear) and, well, I left it with zero functionality on the e-brake. None. It just needs brakes of some kind.

Since you say you haven't got a service brake, you'd better verify that the e-brake is capable of stopping a car that's rolling down a loading ramp. If it only stops one wheel, it had better do a great job of stopping that wheel. If you've got a working clutch, that's a bonus. If you cannot meet that standard, there is a road trip in your future. I would have to advise you to drive up there and get the car into transportable condition yourself, or hire somebody to do it. If it's just a minor fix to an e-brake component, it shouldn't be too time-consuming or expensive.

I once transported the car when it didn't even have back wheels. It was my uncle's car, and we trailered it ourselves and we got real creative in the process. No commercial operator will ever do that for you. However, if you have a nephew who is brave and kinda foolish, you will always have options.

I will assume that you will simply prepare the car for transport. Doesn't have to run, but must roll and steer and brake. You can do that in a weekend.

As for carriers, Intercity has the best reputation and they're not cheap. They are generally thought of as the quintessential white-glove moving company. They would've been my first choice, but of course it will always depend on where anybody's trucks happen to be at any given time. If they haven't got a truck going your way, oh well.

The carrier I used personally was United Routes, a smallish concern that's basically a handful of enclosed-carrier truckers working under one office in Florida. For example they've got a trucker that they work with consistently on the West Coast corridor, doing CA-to-Seattle once a week, and they've probably got a different one in your neck of the woods. Timing was approximate and adequate, communication was stellar. I got the trucker's personal phone number when he picked it up, so if I wanted to know how my baby was doing I could just give him a call. Non-running cars were normal to them. My car arrived in a 3-car hauler with a Model A (or similar, I don't know a darn thing about cars of that vintage) and a '64 T-Bird, all valuable but not Concours, which should give you an idea of what they mainly do. It wasn't a white-glove company that lays rose petals on your driveway and hires a masseuse to loofah your car as it rolls down the highway, but it was a competent and conscientious operation. It had the feel of a small-time operator who cares. They treated me like my car was the only car on their docket. It's a fine thing and it wasn't too terribly expensive. The price quoted was the price paid.

I was quoted cheaper prices by others. Door-to-Door, for example, quoted me a price several hundred dollars cheaper. But they quoted Enclosed and the booking form they sent me said Open, that sort of thing... It was a volume business to them; I was just another car. That ain't good enough when you're transporting something like this.

Anyway, keep us posted! Good luck to you.

Sam

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