Towing hooks 412

[Peter.Kent]

There are 2" substantial steel brackets below the bumper. I assumed they were towing eyes. After a little incident I needed a pull up the driveway. The bracket and several sq inches of body tore out. The bracket looks in line with the chassis extension but it is not attached. Just a plate behind the alloy. V. strange! Peter

[Geoff Kingston]

Bad luck Peter you've found out the hard way that Bristol's don't have towing eyes, this has always been a bit of a worry when exhibiting a 410 and 603 at vintage events like Bromyard where we got stuck in the mud a few times I was always very careful to ensure no ropes were attached to the bumper mountings. I have seen one V8 where a substantial towing eye had been welded to the underside of the front cross member, not sure about that as it is still quite a way back from the front bumper and body work so there is always the risk of a rope or chain in tension pulling upwards and causing some damage.
I was thinking about the same thing on the 401 we doing at the moment having just repaired some of the tubes supporting the front bumper and front bodywork it is still asking a lot in our view to take the strain of a tow through the provision on the front bumper over riders.
We have not worked a solution out for that yet so any ideas would I am sure be appreciated by us both.
Geoff

[Miss P]

Sorry to hear about the damage to your car!

My 412 has just had the boot floor completely removed and all the supporting structure restored before the the new floor section was installed.

Great insight into how the car was made but it was a very complicated procedure indeed!

I'm not an expert but one clear observation is that the whole of the back of the car (rearwards of the fuel tank) is just a big box hanging on the back.

(in towbar or towing eye terms, there doesn't seem to be anything strong there at all)

Welding something under the front would therefore seem to be the only option.

What about welding in a threaded section under the front that a towing eye can be screwed in to if/when needed? (It would need to be plugged when not in use, of course)

Just a thought, though you are probably well ahead of me in all 412-related areas!

[Geoff Kingston]

The 410 I sold earlier this year had a tow bar fitting behind the bumper, there was a cross bar between the main bumper bolts, an aluminium spacer behind and in front of the bumper and the tow ball was actually bolted through the bumper itself. Behind all this the cross bar had two braces one each side bolted to the boot floor. I do not know if this was a tow bar manufacturers kit or specially made but there is a 410 near me which apparently also has a tow bar hidden behind the bumper, it has the tell tale blanking bolts in the bumper so may well have had exactly the same set up.
This means obviously that it is only the rear body structure and floor that takes the strain and is probably fine if everything is in good condition.
My 603 has a tow bar but this is a different proposition altogether and was custom built by the previous owner, on this the cross bar picks up on the mountings for the rear bumper but sits below it as does the tow ball,the bars that go under the car are much more substantial and while they are bolted to the boot floor they extend much further under the car being finally bolted to the fixings for the main suspension units on the chassis, so in this set up the pull is also from the chassis not just the rear bodywork/structure.
In terms of tow bars for a Bristol the only company I am aware of who can supply them are Watling who list bars for an amazing range of classic cars and supplied me with an excellent and very strong set up for an S2 Bentley.
On the front of the 603 the bumper mountings look substantial but the problem like the 412 is they are part of the body and are not therefore the ideal point to attach a tow rope, possibly if it was linked round both mountings it would spread the load but I would not risk it, a fitting direct to the chassis would be much better.
I suspect we will end up welding a towing eye or shackle mounts to the front cross member or as you suggest a threaded mounting so that the towing eye can simply be fitted when needed and would be a neater solution..