VMS Front and Rear Tow Hook Installed, Pics, Review
12-11-2014, 08:57 PM
#1
VMS Front and Rear Tow Hook Installed, Pics, Review
Just wanted to give a review of the VMS Front and Rear Tow Hooks that I just installed on my 04z. A previous owner had tow hooks at one time, which I could tell by the cut in the mesh up front and the dirt residue left on the body panel out back. They were probably Pfadt, but I opted to go with the significantly cheaper VMS tow hooks on ebay. Here are links to the front and rear:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VMS-97-04-Chevrolet-Corvette-Racing-FRONT-Tow-Hook-C5-Z06-Drag-Oval-Track-Pull-/360585168039?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53f48d04a7&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VMS-97-04-Chevrolet-Corvette-Racing-Rear-Tow-Hook-C5-Z06-Drag-Oval-Track-Pull-/360585077560?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53f48ba338&vxp=mtr
The only difference between the two, that I could tell, is the hardware that came with the front. It included three rivet nuts, two bolts, and one longer bolt with the 'tool' nut used to install the rivets. The first thing I noticed is that the holes for the front bolts were not large enough. I'll get to that in a minute.
REAR HOOK: This wasn't rocket science. It mounts exactly where the passenger side muffler is bolted. My car has a tow hitch so I thought it would be problematic, but it bolted right up. As you can see in the (terrible) pictures, it worked just fine.
FRONT HOOK: I called VMS about the bolts not going through the holes. I thought they may have sent the wrong bolts, perhaps. They said, eventually, that the paint went on too thick and I should just sand it away. Nope. I had to drill them out quite a bit. Moving to the install - easy enough. Remove the entire airbox, then the radiator deflector (2 bolts), then the radiator panel (maybe 6 or 7), and get your drill out. Drill 1/4 holes as pilots, then drill them out to 33/64" according to the instructions. I only had access to (my neighbor's) 1/2", so I did what I could with a dremel after that. As soon as I could get the rivets in a little, I knocked them in with a rubber mallet. I used the long bolt and the 'tool' nut to (hopefully) mushroom the rivet a bit, before installing. The bolts got tight without spinning the rivets. As you can see from the pictures, the front hook doesn't stick out very far. That was literally as far out as I could get it when installing it. I did not use the holes that the previous owner's tow hook must have used, because they were too far back. I've never had to use a tow hook, so I'm not even sure if it sticks out far enough! Probably so. I hope to never find out.
Anyway, I googled VMS tow hooks before buying them and did not find any threads like this. So, I hope this is a beneficial contribution for someone to enjoy down the road. Blessings!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VMS-97-04-Chevrolet-Corvette-Racing-FRONT-Tow-Hook-C5-Z06-Drag-Oval-Track-Pull-/360585168039?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53f48d04a7&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VMS-97-04-Chevrolet-Corvette-Racing-Rear-Tow-Hook-C5-Z06-Drag-Oval-Track-Pull-/360585077560?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53f48ba338&vxp=mtr
The only difference between the two, that I could tell, is the hardware that came with the front. It included three rivet nuts, two bolts, and one longer bolt with the 'tool' nut used to install the rivets. The first thing I noticed is that the holes for the front bolts were not large enough. I'll get to that in a minute.
REAR HOOK: This wasn't rocket science. It mounts exactly where the passenger side muffler is bolted. My car has a tow hitch so I thought it would be problematic, but it bolted right up. As you can see in the (terrible) pictures, it worked just fine.
FRONT HOOK: I called VMS about the bolts not going through the holes. I thought they may have sent the wrong bolts, perhaps. They said, eventually, that the paint went on too thick and I should just sand it away. Nope. I had to drill them out quite a bit. Moving to the install - easy enough. Remove the entire airbox, then the radiator deflector (2 bolts), then the radiator panel (maybe 6 or 7), and get your drill out. Drill 1/4 holes as pilots, then drill them out to 33/64" according to the instructions. I only had access to (my neighbor's) 1/2", so I did what I could with a dremel after that. As soon as I could get the rivets in a little, I knocked them in with a rubber mallet. I used the long bolt and the 'tool' nut to (hopefully) mushroom the rivet a bit, before installing. The bolts got tight without spinning the rivets. As you can see from the pictures, the front hook doesn't stick out very far. That was literally as far out as I could get it when installing it. I did not use the holes that the previous owner's tow hook must have used, because they were too far back. I've never had to use a tow hook, so I'm not even sure if it sticks out far enough! Probably so. I hope to never find out.
Anyway, I googled VMS tow hooks before buying them and did not find any threads like this. So, I hope this is a beneficial contribution for someone to enjoy down the road. Blessings!
12-11-2014, 10:12 PM
#2
Just wanted to give a review of the VMS Front and Rear Tow Hooks that I just installed on my 04z. A previous owner had tow hooks at one time, which I could tell by the cut in the mesh up front and the dirt residue left on the body panel out back. They were probably Pfadt, but I opted to go with the significantly cheaper VMS tow hooks on ebay. Here are links to the front and rear:
VMS 97 04 Chevrolet Corvette Racing Front Tow Hook C5 Z06 Drag Oval Track Pull | eBay
VMS 97 04 Chevrolet Corvette Racing Rear Tow Hook C5 Z06 Drag Oval Track Pull | eBay
The only difference between the two, that I could tell, is the hardware that came with the front. It included three rivet nuts, two bolts, and one longer bolt with the 'tool' nut used to install the rivets. The first thing I noticed is that the holes for the front bolts were not large enough. I'll get to that in a minute.
REAR HOOK: This wasn't rocket science. It mounts exactly where the passenger side muffler is bolted. My car has a tow hitch so I thought it would be problematic, but it bolted right up. As you can see in the (terrible) pictures, it worked just fine.
FRONT HOOK: I called VMS about the bolts not going through the holes. I thought they may have sent the wrong bolts, perhaps. They said, eventually, that the paint went on too thick and I should just sand it away. Nope. I had to drill them out quite a bit. Moving to the install - easy enough. Remove the entire airbox, then the radiator deflector (2 bolts), then the radiator panel (maybe 6 or 7), and get your drill out. Drill 1/4 holes as pilots, then drill them out to 33/64" according to the instructions. I only had access to (my neighbor's) 1/2", so I did what I could with a dremel after that. As soon as I could get the rivets in a little, I knocked them in with a rubber mallet. I used the long bolt and the 'tool' nut to (hopefully) mushroom the rivet a bit, before installing. The bolts got tight without spinning the rivets. As you can see from the pictures, the front hook doesn't stick out very far. That was literally as far out as I could get it when installing it. I did not use the holes that the previous owner's tow hook must have used, because they were too far back. I've never had to use a tow hook, so I'm not even sure if it sticks out far enough! Probably so. I hope to never find out.
Anyway, I googled VMS tow hooks before buying them and did not find any threads like this. So, I hope this is a beneficial contribution for someone to enjoy down the road. Blessings!
VMS 97 04 Chevrolet Corvette Racing Front Tow Hook C5 Z06 Drag Oval Track Pull | eBay
VMS 97 04 Chevrolet Corvette Racing Rear Tow Hook C5 Z06 Drag Oval Track Pull | eBay
The only difference between the two, that I could tell, is the hardware that came with the front. It included three rivet nuts, two bolts, and one longer bolt with the 'tool' nut used to install the rivets. The first thing I noticed is that the holes for the front bolts were not large enough. I'll get to that in a minute.
REAR HOOK: This wasn't rocket science. It mounts exactly where the passenger side muffler is bolted. My car has a tow hitch so I thought it would be problematic, but it bolted right up. As you can see in the (terrible) pictures, it worked just fine.
FRONT HOOK: I called VMS about the bolts not going through the holes. I thought they may have sent the wrong bolts, perhaps. They said, eventually, that the paint went on too thick and I should just sand it away. Nope. I had to drill them out quite a bit. Moving to the install - easy enough. Remove the entire airbox, then the radiator deflector (2 bolts), then the radiator panel (maybe 6 or 7), and get your drill out. Drill 1/4 holes as pilots, then drill them out to 33/64" according to the instructions. I only had access to (my neighbor's) 1/2", so I did what I could with a dremel after that. As soon as I could get the rivets in a little, I knocked them in with a rubber mallet. I used the long bolt and the 'tool' nut to (hopefully) mushroom the rivet a bit, before installing. The bolts got tight without spinning the rivets. As you can see from the pictures, the front hook doesn't stick out very far. That was literally as far out as I could get it when installing it. I did not use the holes that the previous owner's tow hook must have used, because they were too far back. I've never had to use a tow hook, so I'm not even sure if it sticks out far enough! Probably so. I hope to never find out.
Anyway, I googled VMS tow hooks before buying them and did not find any threads like this. So, I hope this is a beneficial contribution for someone to enjoy down the road. Blessings!
Did you ever get that stupid rivnut tool to work. I keep spinning the rivnut in the hole and could not get it to mushroom.
Thanks
12-11-2014, 10:53 PM
#3
Race Director
For the front, if it were me, I'd get a soft strap and run it thru the eye and then tape it good to the front clip - for bubba the tow guy to use, otherwise he'll notch out your front clip when he shoves his hook thru.
Just sayin.
Just sayin.
12-12-2014, 09:43 AM
#4
I could not tell if the rivnut tool was doing anything at all. I worked it for a minute and got it to where I thought it was then spinning the rivet and stopped. It feels secure, like it's not going to come out. When tightening the bolt, it did not spin.
Froggy, the soft strap is a great idea. I'll be doing that.
Froggy, the soft strap is a great idea. I'll be doing that.
12-12-2014, 01:28 PM
#5
Race Director
I could not tell if the rivnut tool was doing anything at all. I worked it for a minute and got it to where I thought it was then spinning the rivet and stopped. It feels secure, like it's not going to come out. When tightening the bolt, it did not spin.
Froggy, the soft strap is a great idea. I'll be doing that.
Froggy, the soft strap is a great idea. I'll be doing that.
12-12-2014, 04:08 PM
#9
Burning Brakes
They need to be bolted through the frame, not to the frame. Welding is great also obviously.
Last edited by charger21; 12-12-2014 at 04:09 PM. Reason: add
12-13-2014, 12:32 PM
#10
The rivnuts don't work but you don't need them. Just use stick of wood and masking tape to fish regular nuts w/lockwasher or locknuts inside front frame tube and tighten to bolts.
As to welding, is that front crash tube steel or alum?
As to welding, is that front crash tube steel or alum?
Last edited by Mark2009; 12-13-2014 at 12:38 PM.
