Quick help? lost clutch... tow home or...?

toopy

Club Member
For those in the know, why wouldn't a tow hook like that be legal?

Something such as this would be potentially far more subtle if mounted and hidden away unless needed on a road car...

https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/performance/towing-eyes-straps/pitking-products-on-car-tow-strap

That's what i would use if i was fitting one, but to be honest Im fine with the towing strap around the cross member solution :D

My spoiler is low when compared to the lip type ones, and its not been damaged on the couple of occasions it needed hoiking onto a truck!
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
I like those Demon Tweeks ones Mark has linked to - but I also REALLY like the metal one Mike's got ... where would the DT one bolt to - the ARB mounting bolts?
 

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Cars are designed with soft plastic rounded bumpers to help reduce injury in the event of a collision with a person/child.

Out old cars with pointy bits and metal bumpers are bad enough but to fit a towhook like that is not ideal surely.

I can remember when motorbikes had number plates on the front mudguards and they were removed for safety reasons.

I don't disagree with anything your saying Rob, I know I'd rather not be faced with that in the event of a pedestrian accident however do you know what the legality of fitting a tow hook like that would be?

As far as I know there's nothing to say that you can't, you only have to look at the number of track cars driven on the roads to a curcuit...

That's what i would use if i was fitting one, but to be honest Im fine with the towing strap around the cross member solution :D

My spoiler is low when compared to the lip type ones, and its not been damaged on the couple of occasions it needed hoiking onto a truck!

I know what you mean and it's served me well however I've never felt quite comfortable compared to a fixed point designed to take the strain so to speak.

Well this has turned into an interesting thread. It seems provision for towing/recovery is something lots of us overlook

I'd never thought about it until I've had to tow my car twice in the space of less that 12 months while I continue to work through the previous owners gremlins.... By the time I fit one I doubt it'll ever see any action!
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
The strap I fitted was attached to the towing eye by the way not the bumper mounts.

I saw a neighbour try and tow a car by the bumper (long time ago - 40 yrs?) and only one car moved - you can guess what happened to the bumper.
 

toopy

Club Member
I know what you mean and it's served me well however I've never felt quite comfortable compared to a fixed point designed to take the strain so to speak.

Yes, but that cross member has the suspension pulling on either end of it and it holds the engine, so I'd say it was more capable of taking the strain than even a dedicated towing eye :) Where is the official towing point on the front of these cars anyway?
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I was just getting the car ready for Transplant Day and had a thought:

The horn mounting point while on the Rad panel is on the chassis rail and sits (on my car at least) in line with the hole on the spoiler.

Why can't we piggy back onto that mounting point and weld in a nut or modify the horn bracket (read uprate) so that a screw-in tow hook with 16mm thread can be screwed in when needed!?

It surely has to be a stronger mounting point than the bumper bracket point, what do we think!?

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SacCyclone

Club Member
This is how the Garagistic hook attaches to the car.
A careful forward pull up onto the slide bed tow truck should be just fine.

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AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Thank you Mr Cyclone! (Now that is a great name for the next Marcel hero!)

On the public road in the UK and considering pedestrian safety that one won't be considered cricket and the Police may want to have words about it. Also while it's street / track cool, for my tastes it's not in keeping with the S30 classic look".

So I was thinking about how to have a more discrete solution with a detachable / screw in one at the strongest point that won't be in the way of my air dam etc, hence this thought.

@toopy - there is a point on the chassis that to me looks like a towing point but it will destroy my front air dam!
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I'm intrigued Rob - is it less strong than the other mounting point!? I'm keen to know your thoughts as I'm very tempted to fabricate something for this if it's not a terrible idea.
 

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Yes, but that cross member has the suspension pulling on either end of it and it holds the engine, so I'd say it was more capable of taking the strain than even a dedicated towing eye :) Where is the official towing point on the front of these cars anyway?

I agree or I never would have towed the car twice off of there! ;) From my limited research there were never official tow hooks however there were tie down hooks from shipping the cars which were occasionally left on. Some people have used these, hopefully Alan will see this and chip in with his wealth of knowledge though.
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Ali, IMO these cars aren't strong enough for a pull on the radiator support panel. TBH even the towing eye location may be weak on these old cars. I would feel safer if the pull was longitudinal on the chassis or from the engine cross-member/rear suspension sub-frame. Novices towing can put immense stress on the car if they jerk it.
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Ali, IMO these cars aren't strong enough for a pull on the radiator support panel. TBH even the towing eye location may be weak on these old cars. I would feel safer if the pull was longitudinal on the chassis or from the engine cross-member/rear suspension sub-frame. Novices towing can put immense stress on the car if they jerk it.

You make perfect sense Rob! [emoji106]
 

toopy

Club Member
You make perfect sense Rob! [emoji106]

I'd agree with Rob too, pulling a car onto a truck from your suggested point would likely be ok, but its the 'jerk' factor when towing that would potentially do real damage.

I remember being towed by my dad, many years ago in my first car, a Vauxhall Chevette, being inexperienced in the nuances of towing, i kept getting to close when stationary at lights etc and leaving to much slack, even though i was trying not to.
Even tho my dad could see what was happening and moved of slowly, it was still a hell of a jerk, experiencing that for the first time, i thought the car was going to fall to bits before we got it home!
 
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