Tow 911 - 912

[1-ev.com]

Hey Guys,

I order to tow my car to the body shop for paint job, I've made custom tow brackets for 911-912 Porsches that will accommodate $79 Harbor Freight 5000 lb tow bar and those brackets were performing marvelously on the road test !!!

http://www.harborfreight.com/5000-lb-capacity-adjustable-tow-bar-94696.html



I can offer them to other guys now !!! Please PM or email me if any interest


Pulling your race car to the Race Track and sitting in A/C SUV, Pickup or Van, where your passenger (could be wife) is happy... that could make it much better experience on the track...

Please let you know if you have any opinions...


Regards,
-Y.
PS:Also, a better Pic further down few posts

[1-ev.com]

any opinions... ???

[cdrik915]

Really ingenious.

And secured.

Congrats mate !!!

[rouxroux]

I've often thought about flat-towing a 911 behind our RV....any pros/cons?

[1-ev.com]

track tires ... to be replaced with road tires, i guess... and save $1-5k on the trailer ...

[1-ev.com]

Thank you, i've tried my best -- cdrik915

Originally Posted by cdrik915

Really ingenious.

And secured.

Congrats mate !!!

[911 tweaks]

this is a great idea, but, keep in mind for here in the states, IF a car is towed w/ even 2 of its wheels on the road, it MUST be registered = have a valid license plate on it & insured & possibly have a valid inspection sticker on the windshield or on the plate(s)...

I was thinking of one of these for if & when the need arrised to go p/up a car that has been off the road for a while or disabled for a while & shoved in a garage...

How much for your brackets to enable the HF device to bolt up to the front of a Porsche...??

Again, great idea & I am interested...

Thx, Bob

[1-ev.com]

Bob,

Agreed, on car registration, where i think that lot of cases race cars are not street legal ...

But it could work on street legal Porsches...

Speaking of the price - I've not finalized it yet, but I am thinking around $25-45 a pair or so... I will try to make a price as low as possible, it will depend on the metal cost, I've own a CNC Machine to manufacture them, that would be a savings for the customer there, so it will not be a rip off...

Please let me know your thoughts...

Thank you,
-Youri

Originally Posted by 911 tweaks

this is a great idea, but, keep in mind for here in the states, IF a car is towed w/ even 2 of its wheels on the road, it MUST be registered = have a valid license plate on it & insured & possibly have a valid inspection sticker on the windshield or on the plate(s)...

I was thinking of one of these for if & when the need arrised to go p/up a car that has been off the road for a while or disabled for a while & shoved in a garage...

How much for your brackets to enable the HF device to bolt up to the front of a Porsche...??

Again, great idea & I am interested...

Thx, Bob

[911 tweaks]

Youri...you are peaking some interest I would guess on this...if < $45 shipped you may have interest...
Maybe give some thought to brackets that bolt up to the a-arm brackets & stay attached to the car & have a clever quick dis connect to the hitch device...then you will be cookin' with gas... :-)

To me, it appears a bit of a pain having to unbolt a-arm bracket, bolt up your brackets......when done, un bolt the brackets & re bolt the a-arm brackets...any easier way by chance...??

Thx for sharing your ideas...nice so far... :-)

Bob

[1-ev.com]

Bob,

You can leave my brackets on the car and just Option1-remove the bar pins OR Option2-unbolt bar pin holder, in this option you have to replace the locknuts every time to make sure they are holding the bolts (upper white nut on the bottom pic), this way bracket almost invisible.

Speaking of installing under the front bushing holders - that is a Piece of Cake... and 10 min deal.

One thing, Alignment needs to be done after the install under the bush holders, that will move the caster a bit. Although, if those brackets installed on top of the bushing holders, then I think alignment will be okay( I am working on this option, a small spacer needed).

My 2c
-Y.

Originally Posted by 911 tweaks

Youri...you are peaking some interest I would guess on this...if < $45 shipped you may have interest...
Maybe give some thought to brackets that bolt up to the a-arm brackets & stay attached to the car & have a clever quick dis connect to the hitch device...then you will be cookin' with gas... :-)

To me, it appears a bit of a pain having to unbolt a-arm bracket, bolt up your brackets......when done, un bolt the brackets & re bolt the a-arm brackets...any easier way by chance...??

Thx for sharing your ideas...nice so far... :-)

Bob

[tkosier]

Looks very interesting to me too. I would be interested if you go into production.
Tom

[1-ev.com]

Hey guys,
I am rolling the sleeves then
-Y.

[911 tweaks]

Youri...can you post more pics so I can see how this attaches to best understand your oiption 1 & 2...I think I am missing something here...
Thx, Bob

[1-ev.com]

np, i will do it later today, I am on the road now, typing from my iPhone...

[JeremyD]

Interested in this too. Sounds like a decent option

[larrym]

fyi

similar solution - the brackets were custom made by a machine shop - I have used this for yrs on 914, VW-Manx & MGB - see pic

don't let the weld beads confuse you - they are there for some added reinforcement

uses a standard VW bug towbar - about $60 - - less loose-jointed & lighter than the HF bar -

one caution - - these things can rip the welded thread-bungs right out of your pan if you hit a whooppy-do in the road

(yes, it happened to a friend of mine - luckily the safety chain kept the car from going into the martinez straights)

bolt the brackets all the way thru the front pan & put a nut on the long bolt with a BIG thick washer on top inside

- recommend that you also reinforce the vw towbar by adding a second "strap" - see pic2 in following post (cannot edit this one to add the pic for some reason)

- i use this same vw towbar for 914 Manx MGB

and, yes, i have a pattern for the brackets stashed away.




.

[911 tweaks]

more pics please larrym...
Thx for posting...

[1-ev.com]

Agreed on washer could be needed on onside the pan, although if pan is rusted this washer will not do any good ... in mi case, my front pan was just replaced ...

Also, lower then normal hitch is needed to accommodate low bar position:



Following is the larger pic of the bracket, as you can see this baracket does not use any welds.

One more addition, I think needed, that rear chains needs to be hooked up to the bumper bracket, on top of the fog lights, for now they are on lower A-Arms, just for testing...

Hope this helps,
Txs,
-Y.

[Laneco]

Remember the working load limit and breaking strength of your safety chains. They are only as strong as the weakest link. In this case, I see a quick release and I don't know what the strength rating is for that - it may have no rating whatsover or perhaps it does - just make sure you factor it in. Also, whenever I see shiny chain, I think "proof coil" which is the weakest strength normally available.

Chain is marked and if it is unmarked, it's generally proof. You don't need a crazy amount of strength but I would suggest stepping up to at least high test or transport grade which is most of the time identifiable by the goldish anodized color and should be marked every few feet. Higher grades of chain (higher than proof) are usually marked but not with great consistency though manufacturers have done some standardizing. I would pass on the really high grades such as 8 or "hoist" chains. Those very high grades are usually black in color and will always be marked. Here are some common markings that you run across all the time:

Proof - G30, 30 or 3 (look for the #3)
High Test - G4, 40 or 43 (look for the #4)
Transport - G70, G7, 7 or 70 (look for the #7)

To give you an idea of relative strengths - strength goes up sharply with heavier chain such as 3/6 and 5/16:
1/4 Proof - 1250 lbs working load limit
1/4 High Test - 2600 lbs working load limit
1/4 Transport - 3130 lbs working load limit

I tend to go for a bit of overkill on safety chains. Personally, I like to see EACH safety chain with a working load limit of the weight of whatever I am towing. In the case of your flat towed 911, I would suggest the 1/4 high test with each at 2600 lbs working load limit. This will be double what you need and even in the event one chain mounting fails, the remaining chain by itself will be adequate to take the load and allow you to stop safely.

Oh, and two thumbs up for crossing under the tow mechanism. It has become law in several states even on private vehicles - and has always been a good idea to prevent the hitch mechanism from "digging in" when it drops.

angela

[larrym]

.
here is the detail on the vw towbar reinforcement

the safety cable is standard RV item

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