After an exhaustive search I came up with no real option for mounting a tow hook to the front of my 91. As best as I could tell the crash support seemed to line up with the fog/signal lights so I bought a "soft" tow hook and decided to pull the bumper and try to make something work. This is what I came up with and the theory seems to work really well, if I ever have to get towed by the thing ill update this thread with results. Hopefully this helps someone down the road.

The idea was to make the fog/signal housing removable for track use, and reinstall it for street use. Since there is so much room under the hood there for the headlight to flip you just need to remove material to allow the lamp housing to pop up and slide out from the hood access.


Basically you just need to remove the upper section of the fiberglass bumper just outside the outermost front bumper support screw and the side of the crash support. Then, just drill a hole through the frame rail, use a grade 8 or higher 3.25-3.5 inch bolt (10.8+ metric) and bolt the strap to the rail. Easy enough.

I didn't take any progress pics because frankly I didn't know if it was going to work. Here is the pic with all work done behind the bumper.





This is the detail work. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU LEAVE 2/3 OF THE SPRING POST INTACT AND THAT YOU LEAVE THE RIDGE IN WHICH THE HOUSING TAB FITS FOR PROPER STREET OPERATION. If you don't leave enough post the spring could pop off and the light will recess into the bumper, probably making contact with the headlight before you notice it. If you don't leave the ridge vibration from driving could cause the lamp housing to elevate causing the spring to pop off and the same thing will happen. These are pics showing how much material to leave.




After that you're basically done. Trim the honeycomb just as you did the fiberglass bumper portion and bolt it back up.



You should now be able to push and lift the housing from the front to get it over the ridge, pop the spring up from under the hood, disconnect the turn signal bulb and the fog lamp connector (no need to remove the fog lamp itself, there is a connector fastened to the fiberglass bumper( you should have cut this off anyway)) and slide the housing out above the coolant overflow bottle.



This should work on either side. I did the passenger side because my drivers side housing was cracked on the locating tab and I didn't want to chance breaking it taking it in and out. Also if I were to crash from the front a little less protection on the passenger side is better than the drivers (assuming you're alone in the car).

Enjoy

 

That's a cool mod. I recently had to tow my '89 about a mile after it died on the road (another story). Two fellows in a pickup happened by and I spent about 20 minutes reaching under the front trying to find a decent spot to attach the tow strap...

Steve

 

When I take my C4 racing (weekly) I keep an 8' nylon tow strap in a rear hatch compartment. When needed, I hook one end to each the left and right tow eyes behind each front wheel. The tow trucks hook can pull the center of the nylon strap. It takes a minute to hook up. Unfortunately, I have used it at least 6 times. I also use it to winch up onto the trailer.

 

Thats the problem, there really isn't any good place to hook up and tow a c4 from the front. It's one of those mods where you hope you don't need it but if you ever do it might be too late to save your bumper or suspension.

This is more of a road racing mod, it's going to be near impossible to attach a tow strap to your factory tow eyes when you're off track in a gravel pit. I thought about tying into the factory eyes somehow but it seemed that unless the tow truck is pulling you with something anchored a few inches from the ground it may still damage the front bumper. Loading onto a flatbed tow truck that way is probably fine.

 

It appears the photos are NLA, but show up in a google search, any chance you might still have them, as well as an update on how this idea works?


I know this thread is 3.5 years old and this is totally a shot in the dark.

 

Wow, what a coincidence. I haven't been here in a while and I just stopped by to update my 300whp thread when I saw this thread 3 from the bottom before signing off. Your shot in the dark paid off but try a PM next time, much better odds of being seen.

i couldn't find my original pics so I snapped some new ones. Once you get the bumper off it's pretty easy to see what you need to cut to make it work.

To remove the light just lift the bracket over the stub of the post and slide it inward.