NA Front Bumper Mod
 

I wanted a cleaner look and a tow hook for the B&B rental cars. 1st, I removed the bumper pads, the removed the big rivets, that holds the bumper bracket on then had holes welded closed & had the brackets welded to the bumper since the big pop rivets were removed. I also drilled new holes for the tow loop, $8 at Lowes, and had a peace of steel cut & drilled for a backing plate. I had PowderTech-Plus
https://www.facebook.com/pages/PowderTech-Plus-Inc/307225113250
98 INDUSTRIAL LOOP N,
Orange Park, Florida 32073

Phone (904) 269-1719
Email powdertechplus@yahoo.com
Website PowderTech Plus Inc.

sand blast & powder coat the bumper, I could have had them use some filler powder(like using bondo) for a smoother look over where the holes were filled, but this is a track car, so I didn't bother with the extra time & expense, plus, it was an experiment, so again, just wanted to see how the "idea" would come out, and since I have a few extra bumpers, I may do the other 2 cars..
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Good workmanship, nice writeup too.

Talk about updating your front end, it looks like your car has a pierced nose, very modern and hip looking!:cool:

Bruce

I am still trying to find a solution for my 84 that has had a turbo 88 front bumper installed. Traditional tow mounts(that i'm aware of) aren't really readily available for my car with the current bumper. I'm along the same lines that you are as for a mod. A local tow company broke my fiberglass fascia from their chains looking for a tow point that wasn't originally designed for. I'm still looking for ideas that will fit my car.

Post some pix?? How about a 951 inner bumper, then you can use the screw on hook.

I will in the AM when there is more light out.

Looks great man.

How about using the backing plate with captive nuts and a screw on hook for when you need it?

That is an option, but this was mainly an test to see how inexpensively I could mod a front bumper, since one was looking pretty bad on one of the cars (faded, chipped paint) and it;
1] Not cost a fortune.
2] Still look good..

The more I look at it on the car, the more I like it and will most likely do the other 2 B&B 944s.

I kind of want to delete the pads on my twofah, and not do the "nose ring" haha. This is sweet!

The one thing I might have done differently would have been to mount the tow ring a bit closer to a bumper mount point. I think you might risk breaking the bumper in half if you happen to tug on that ring a bit more than expected...

hmmmm - i'm not sure what the intended use is, but i don't think that setup is rated for anywhere near what the potential tow load is. it might be ok for slowly rolling onto a flatbed, or into a trailer, but it won't likely be enough in the event of a track incident, where you are essentially dragging the car, and i don't think any steward is going to approve it.

How many PCA & NASA events have you ever been too, this is much more solid than a lot of the crap they pass,, Course it is only meant to slow tow, not snatching, and if you have crashed hard enough to need to be snatched, you have bigger issues to deal with.. Here is passes PCA club race stewards, and these cars have been racing for YEARS:eek:
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The chance of breaking a standard 944 bumper is very slim, they are quite strong and remember, Porsche used a screw in hook, in the center of the bumper on both the 951 & 968s. By mounting the hook in the middle, the load is distributed evenly between the 4 13mm bolts (2 per bumper shock) that hold the front bumper on (both NA & Turbo use the same hardware) a 944. The ring that used has a Load limit of 3,666 lb, that is more than most 944 race cars weigh, and don't forget, I used an 1/8 thick steel plate, that is pretty stout too:D.

If it was only used as a street car, I wouldn't use the nose ring either, but we rent these for DEs, while we haven't had any mechanical issues in the 3 years that we have operated B&B Track Car Rental LLC, I do remember when we were racing the 12 Hours of Sebring with one of the Turbos, BITD, we had an engine fire during practice, the stewards instead of using the lower tow hook, tied their line to the Strut Brace & towed it in with that:eek:, yes, it bent the BK brace, I have that bar on my 924S:D, after I used a press to straightened it back out :D

Off-topic... your avatar happens to be wearing my shoes

lol - quite a few events actually. but, in this instance i'm not talking about DE silliness either. those clowns will let anything out there. i'm talking about having to undergo a real inspection. that hook would never pass.

as for the load limit, that is static load, and not a moving car load. for a car you need 1.5 times the vehicle weight on flat ground, and increase geometrically for a slope (like a trailer ramp), typically to twice the weight of the car. you can use winch calculators to figure out what the load requirements of the components are.

as an example of a situation where a "snatch and go" was needed, i blew a clutch at PIR and needed to be towed off quickly while traffic was still buzzing by. so you can definitely have need of a hook for dragging off the track. unfortunately i had no hook at all in the front (proof that PCA will let anything out there). they didn't want to tow it backwards and so they had to use a tow strap on my roll bar and over my windshield (convertible). they were not particularly concerned with damaging the car, but rather getting me off the track quickly, as they should be, because they were not stopping traffic. a tow hook like that risks success, and creates a higher potential for a bigger problem with traffic.

those shots of the other hooks are more good examples of exactly what not to do. obviously the one didn't work. it stuns me that stuff like that gets passed. it's just not safe.

do what you want. i've seen quite a bit of mickey mouse stuff over the years. i didn't pass it when i was the steward. i'm not risking anybody's life because a tow hook broke while we were trying to get the car off the track before traffic ran into us.

if you plan to use it as a track tow point, i would definitely test it under an abrupt sideways yanking load, like what you would experience if you had to be towed off a track.

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The cars I posted aren't DE cars, but full PCA Club Racers, the red one was a 3.0 Turbo with the broken loop, I other Red Turbo, the front loop is so thin, I wouldn't trust it to go up a trailer, yet, it have been racing for over 13 years and the loops are the same loops that came on my Trailer World aluminum trailer and have worked fine, including sudden stops, as we ordered it new in 1999, and have put a lot of miles on it & hauled a variety of cars, Porsche & even American muscle,(that is were I get the idea to use them and I trust the Grade 8 bolts more than the ones holding the bumper. One of the most MM ones that I have seen was a tire strap, cut down & bolted to the bumper mount, that car not only passed PCA club races but even SCCA races, at tracks including Daytona, Road Atlanta & Moroso. Again, I did this for a DE car, on our race cars have a different set up, as you can't bolt to fiberglass bumpers:p and this was just something that I was goofing around with, but I more than understand the importance of proper hardware & backing plates, if you look up the 1st one I did, on a rear bumper, you will notice that I also tapped & threaded the bumper, then the metal plate, then the nuts:D BTW, I take this lap top PC:mad:

well, all i can say is that it would not pass here. maybe we just pay more attention to safety.

if you aren't using the factory tow hook, tow hooks here must have a minimum 3/8" diameter grade 5 mounting hardware, with a minimum of 1.5" diameter 3/16" thick backing plates on each side. it's pretty much the same as the roll bar specs.

i see weird stuff all the time though. i hear you can use aluminum lug nuts on the east coast. no dice here. those things are dangerous.

Looks great Byron :)

So why wouldn't you pass it??

You state that you require Grade 5, but you ignore the fact that I use 3/8 Grade 8 hardware.
Major trailer manufactures wouldn't use these loops if they didn't know that they were strong enough, it would be a huge liability, and yes, if a car isn't tightened down, they can put a huge stain in a panic stop or fast acceleration :eek:

Plus, you ignore the specs on the backing plate, this is not some BS washer, and larger than what you say you require:mad:
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Is your roll bar thicker than this??
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You see, I had these backing plates made up, I wanted them beefy, and that is what I got.
Course, as I said, this set up won't work on my personal track car, one that I have been tracking since the mid 90s, but I started in the 80s.
No, we don't use aluminum lug nuts either. Course if you are a PCA or SCCA National steward, you would know that neither has different rules for East & Left coast.. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1352871519.jpg
So what is the lateral load for the 951/968 screw in loop?? What is the load for a Rennline loop??
Thanks redstrosekNic:D

no need to get huffy.

from the picture, your hardware looks like 5/16" and not 3/8". even the shot of the tape measure against the holes looks like 3/8" won't fit in that hole. that's why i mentioned the hardware spec.

the real problem is the hold down part of the loop. that will bend and/or rip in a sideways pull, which happens all the time on the track. been there done that. i bent the crap out of that with a 1" ratchet strap and relatively little tension. lol - i think i still have a couple of the bent ones lying around here somewhere.

based on the hardware size of the OEM loop, i'd say probably 5000lbs lateral load and 10000lbs in line load. i've never seen one of those bend, let alone break.

but do what you want.

I did the same mod without the tow hook.
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