Custom tow points

Custom tow point install
Time: 1 hour if you have a welder handy.
Objective:
The stock MK2 tow points are little loops on the bumper rebar. They bend and break when put under extreme pressure. It's highly recommended that you upgrade these if your planning on any type of auto cross or rally racing. I broke both my rear tow points off when I got stuck in this snow bank:


Tools:
1. Sockets: 10,13,9/16", and U-joint.
2. Socket wrenches.
3. Angle grinder (with cutting/grinding wheels) for cutting holes in body/bumper.
4. Bright or contrasting colored Rustoleum paint.
5. Bench grinder and welder (if you make your own tow point). 6. Drill and drill bits.

Parts:
1. 1/4" thick x 3" wide steel plate, one section 12" long, and one 16" long.
2. (2) 1/2" clevis clips.
3. (6) 9/16" nuts, bolts. and washers for rear.

Preparing the tow points
My tow points were custom made by Rick @ Superior Fabrications in Columbia Heights, MN (763) 781-3049. They were $30 total. Rick used 2 sections of steel stock. The first is 16" long for the rear, and the other 12" for the front. He punched a hole in the end and rounded it off to get the 'ring' shape which is nice for hooking onto.

Preparing the car
The front tow point is welded onto the side of the drivers side frame rail.

To access the frame rail take off your front lower valence by removing the 8 or so 10 mm bolts. After this is off you should have full access to the frame rail. The side of the frame rail has a curled back edge. Use your angle grinder with the grinding pad to make that flat, as well as the protuding bolt on the bumper bar.
Line up your newly made tow point and mark with a pen where you think it should come out the front of the bumper. Cut there with your angle grinder's cutting wheel. Depending on the size of the angle grinder you may have to remove the front bumper and seperate it from the bumper skin to get a cut all the way through to the metal rebar. The front bumper can be removed using a 13mm socket to unbolt the 4 bolts that hold the rebar to the bumper support attached to the frame rail.
Now the tow point can be welded on. Make sure to cover the exposed bare metal with rustoleum paint so that it doesn't rust. The end of the tow point should be painted a contrasting color to meet SCCA regulations.





Rear tow point install



I decided to bolt the rear tow point on instead of welding because my welder guy is nervous of gas tanks. The install was very simple and can be done without removing the rear bumper.
If you crawl underneath the car you'll notice there are ridges spaced 3" between eachother. Your tow point will go in between one of these so find a good spot and mark it, but not with urine
There is a little metal flap that comes down from the back of the car that's in the way of where your tow point will be. Cut a hole through this at the very top that's just wide enough for the tow point to slide through. Now you can slide the tow point through the body metal and see where it will poke through the bumper. Mark the spot where it will come through.


Now cut through the bottom of the bumper where the tow point is going to poke out. You should be able to slide the tow point all the way through now so it pokes out the rear bumper. Once you have it aligned mark this spot on the tow point with a pen. You can remove the tow point now.
Because the tow point will be bolted on you'll need to drill holes through it for your bolts. Mark 6 holes evenly spaced with your pen on the tow point and start drilling. Once you have these drilled you can slide your tow point back into position on the car and drill holes through the body metal into the trunk using the tow point as a stencil.
Your new tow point is ready to be bolted on! Make sure to use big thick washers to help secure the tow point because the body metal is not very thick. Here is a pic of my install:


That's all folks! It's a pretty simple process, but these tow points are essential for any kind of race. When you get stuck, you NEED these. Doug Wilson