Installing a towbar on P38 - pics and info

[LavisLane]

Probably one of the easier jobs i've done on the beast but i took my time on it with a lot of fiddling around. I'd guess if i had to i could install in 45 tops.
Hope this helps anyone that wants to have a go. Not the best user guide below but better than nothing.

Summary;

1. 2nd hand hayman reese bought on ebay
2. Parked on a down facing slope in driveway to lift the rear and make access easy
3. Removed rear bumper
4. Cleaned bumper with truck wash
5. Sprayed rear bumper with 3M black bumper spray
6. Cleaned tow bar with wirebrush and truck wash
7. Sprayed tow bar with black paint
8. Parked car on flat section of driveway (nuts and sockets kept rolling away
9. Installed tow bar using high tensile bolts
10. Reinstalled bumper
11. Grinned smugly at a job well done

So, mid fitting after moving the car on the flat section of the driveway, the wind picks up and drops a huge branch right where i was parked! See the pic below

Great timing

Pics below;


2nd Hand tow bar



Removing bolts - (embarrassingly, i searched for a long time looking for a socket with a star shaped fitting...)


Undo the clips...



1 x screw to be removed on both sides



Pull the bumper off - easy.


A huge amount of collected dirt and a bent bumper...


took a while to straighten this out..


Hanging the bumper in the shed made spraying a lot easier



Good timing to move the car 1/2 hour before this crashed down - this would have really hurt!


Was tempting to drive around like this for a while to scare the neighbours


Scratched my head on 2 long or four short for a while...


Bolt action


Will have to post the final product tomorrow - just realised i don't have it!

Good luck attempting this - easy job, hope the pics help anyone jumping onto it.

David

[Scouse]

Nice work David.

How'd you straighten the plastic bar cover? I glued aluminium angle to the underside of mine.

[LavisLane]

Nice work David.

How'd you straighten the plastic bar cover? I glued aluminium angle to the underside of mine.

Do you mean you glued the plastic bumper to the metal section?

My issue was the metal being bent and pushing the plastic up. With some technical precision belting with a hammer, i've managed to get it back a little closer to normal. Still needs a bit more thought.

[Scouse]

I can see where you straightened your metal section now.

My plastic cover was warped (like 99% of P38s). I glued the angle piece along the underside rear edge of the plastic cover.

[richard4u2]

in the top photo where does that flat peice at the end of the square channel bolt onto

[p38arover]

in the top photo where does that flat peice at the end of the square channel bolt onto

The cross-member under the wheel well.

[LavisLane]

in the top photo where does that flat peice at the end of the square channel bolt onto

I haven't actually bolted that part on yet. None of the bolts i bought would fit but not to worry, not towing anything yet and can add these bolts without removing anything, bumper etc.

The bolts will need to about 70mm to 15mm long from memory..