Bert, The owner's manual for my U.S. spec '72 Type 1 reads "Your Volkswagen is equipped with two towing eyes, one at the front and one at the rear. They are for emergency towing over short distances only." And "REAR A towing eye is attached to the left rear bumper bracket." And "FRONT On the VW111, a towing eye is welded to the right-hand side lower axle tube. The VW113 and VW Convertible have a towing eye welded to the right-hand side of the frame head." The pictures associated with the descriptions show a rather heavy-duty cable or rope attached to the towing hooks.
I always thought they were shipping tie downs. However, I wouldn't tow my VW very far using these towing eyes unless it was an extreme emergency. The front eye is fairly substantial but the rear eye/bumper bracket is attached to the body sheet metal and therefore not too sturdy. As an aside, I tried to remove one of those eyes from a bumper bracket but gave up as I found the eye was VERY securely welded to the bumper bracket at the factory! HTH, Larry in Scottsdale "Always Learning" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bert Knupp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 5:18 PM Subject: [vintagvw] Tow hooks or tie-downs? Volks, The VW factory ordering sheet for the 1970 police model beetle lists "towing rings front and rear" as a check-off option. (They're called "Abschleppösen" on the sheet.) The regular stock Type 1 sedan did not have any such thing. I have just acquired a bumper bracket, apparently a left rear, that has a welded-on loop. It looks like a factory job. But it looks a bit too flimsy to be a towing ring, but more substantial than your average shipping tied-down loop. Question: Did USA-model VW beetles ever come with a stock towing loop? Or shipping tie-down rings? Both front and rear, or rear-only? I don't know whether I've found an authentic tow hook or just an ordinary USA bumper bracket. Bert Knupp in Music City USA |__n__ (_____)º (Ô\_|_/Ô) ü ° ° ü Polizeikäfer _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
