Where can I buy a front tow hook like this?

[Noel]

I was at Mid-Ohio this weekend and met a fellow SC owner whose brother fabricated a front tow hook for him from aluminum. It attached to the front bumper just behind the bumper trim. He mentioned that he had to trim the back of the bumper trim to make it fit properly.

Unfortunately, his brother only made one and is not in the businesses of making them so he was not interested in making more. Has anyone seen a similar tow hook for the front of the 74-89 accordion bumper cars?

Many thanks.

[hm7608]

Not exactly the same but I saw similar on www.dartauto.com home page.

[DW SD]

smartracing has some too.

Doug

[Zeke]

TRE (TREcup on this bbs) has the same thing.

[North Coast Cab]

Looks simple, but how does it mount?

John

[Noel]

He said that it mounts to the two bolts that secure the bumper to the bumper shock. As such, I think it is "L" shaped behind the bumper rubber cover. I've not sure if he has ever been towed with it or not, so I can't speak to the strength of this setup. I really liked the look of it since it kept the stock appearance of the car, which is also important to me.

I looked at the other hooks mentioned above, but all seemed to require some fabrication to mount. As I don't possess the tools or skills to weld or fabricate, I was looking for a easy installation for the stock location and am willing to pay the necessary price. This seemed to fit the bill.

[Noel]

I was just looking at the RENNLINE website and saw these hooks:



I may be able to mount the 5" hook to the front bumper by drilling holes in the bumper behind the rubber bumper trim strip. The tow hook could then extend out from the bottom side of the bumper trim strip.

The question is, "Will this mounting withstand the stress of a tow out of a gravel trap?"

Any thoughts?

Or perhaps I should buy the longer tow hook and mount it elsewhere in the front so that the tow hook protrudes from between the bumper and the front valance? What is behind the bumper that I could mount it to?

[obrut]

have you thought about the loop of used seat belt approach? - very light and easy to mount

[Noel]

Originally posted by obrut
have you thought about the loop of used seat belt approach? - very light and easy to mount

I don't follow this. Could you explain further?

Anyone have any comments on the strength of using the bumper to pull the car out of a gravel trap?

[masraum]

I wouldn't tow a car by the bumper. One good offcenter pull and your bumper alignment will be tweaked. I'd want to find a better place to pull from.

[89911]

Noel, first advice is to avoid gravel and sand traps and don't plan on entering them If you do need to be pulled, grab a few rear tow hooks and get pulled out backwards. Easy to ad. I always thought the front ones a bit dangerous for street driving.

[obrut]

here's one on the back of a mate's car (left hand side and the tow triangle) - basically you cut a length of old seat belt or harness material, loop it over, cut a hole and then bolt it to the car (e.g. to a bumper mount) with some big washers.

very light, doesn't protrude, can't hurt knees/pedestrians etc, cheap and easy to use

i wouldn't like to try and connect a tow line to the one in 89911's pic with a hot engine - it looks more like a trailer tie down

[North Coast Cab]

I made the trailer tie downs shown in 89911's picture to hold the straps when towing. I got her in the mud last year at Nelson Ledges and would have needed a shovel to attach the strap to them. I think the bumper mount is ok if it's centered and well secured.

JOhn

[Noel]

Originally posted by 89911
[B]Noel, first advice is to avoid gravel and sand traps and don't plan on entering them If you do need to be pulled, grab a few rear tow hooks and get pulled out backwards. Easy to ad. I always thought the front ones a bit dangerous for street driving.

Well, no one really plans to enter the sand traps...do they? Maybe just by installing a tow hook on my car, I'm asking for trouble. It would just be nice that once I'm in there that my car won't sustain any more damage from the tow out.

[Noel]

Originally posted by obrut
here's one on the back of a mate's car (left hand side and the tow triangle) - basically you cut a length of old seat belt or harness material, loop it over, cut a hole and then bolt it to the car (e.g. to a bumper mount) with some big washers.

I really like this idea. I could even attach it to the frame and thread it through the bumper. I"m now regretting throwing away my old safety belts from that car. I guess since the shoulder straps from my six-point harnesses are so long, I could use the excess. GREAT PLAN!!! I could even use one of the bolt in ends from the harnesses to mount to the frame.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Having just added fiberglass IROC front and RS rear units to my '83 SC--no more bumpers, they just mock them in fiberglass, of course--I have nothing to which to mount what aftermarket towhooks I've seen. The bumper rams are gone, the bumper mounting points are of course gone with them. I fabricated my own front towhook by welding plate steel and a bent steel rod for the actual hook and plan to bolt it to the pan somewhere up front, wt the hook protruding through the fiberglass.

Haven't done the actual drilling and bolting yet, so if there's a better way to accomplish what I'm doing, lemme know.

Stephan

[ted]

Just a thought. It is a good idea to keep your 911 tow hook mounted lower than the tow vehicle's hook up height. However that can be determined??
It might make it easier to get a car loose that is stuck in gravel or mud.

I have used the suspension tie downs pictured for securing my 911 to the trailer. Not sure I'd want to have my car pulled by them. Would there be an increased chance of loosing your alignment?

[Zeke]

I like the "soft" approach to this. But, I don't know if the various sanctioning bodies feel the same way. One would have to make sure the "pull" was in line with the attachment or otherwise bend or break something. Hard mounted metal ones are going to help there.

AFA undercar hooks, there is no safety worker going to lie in the dirt (or whatever) and try to hook up to something he can't see. It's dangerous out on the track and the tow hooks have to be easy to see if the car is covered with dirt, fire foam, dry extinguisher powder or whatever.

I have been towed off the track and have first hand experience with an appreciative safety crew for providing an easy to see, easy to use hook like the ones shown above by Rennline. Anything less is a disservice to all.

[emcon5]

Some of the IT and Spec Miata guys are using climbing runners, like these:

http://store.karstsports.com/bldiseruny18.html

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47898221&parent_category_rn=4500701&vcat=REI_SEARCH

Tom

[89911]

Originally posted by Zeke

AFA undercar hooks, there is no safety worker going to lie in the dirt (or whatever) and try to hook up to something he can't see. It's dangerous out on the track and the tow hooks have to be easy to see if the car is covered with dirt, fire foam, dry extinguisher powder or whatever.

I have been towed off the track and have first hand experience with an appreciative safety crew for providing an easy to see, easy to use hook like the ones shown above by Rennline. Anything less is a disservice to all.

Never being stuck (or off track) after 6 years of DE's I suppose my simple suggestion may not work for those that get "bogged down to their axles" in gravel. But most here have everyday drivers that would rather not (I would think) have a protruding bayonnet on their road cars. Rennline advertises them as tie down/tow hooks so go figure.