Is it safe to flat tow a 914 1000 l
Miles ? Where can I get the equipments?

Yes it's safe!


Rennenmetal.com sells the mounting adapters

Yes, its safe.

Univeral tow bar. Get the brackets from RennMetal They attach under the front of your A Arms. The tow bar can be had from the Samba.

When you tow the directions say to lock the steering wheel. THIS IS AN ERROR. Tow with your key in the ignition and the steering wheel unlocked. You want your front wheels to turn so the car guides naturally around corners.

Zach

[quote name='914itis' date='Aug 29 2012, 01:55 PM' post='1731013']
Is it safe to flat tow a 914 1000 l
Miles ?
Yes...get the bracket from rennenmetal and I got my Empi superbeetle tow bar from my local BAP/GEON store for $ 75 last month.....they had it in stock! I flat towed 725 miles each way to Barber in Alabama at 21 mpg running 70mph on I 85 & I40. Get a good set of magnetic base lights...they ride well stuck to the inner face of the Targa sails. Flat tow much better than the dolly....

It's safe. I have the Rennenmetal bracket with a HF universal tow bar. Works very well and is easy.

Just don't try to back up while flat towing! Easy jackknife!

I haven't done it, but I've been warned. Now you have.

Uh, Paul, what's going on?

Hey Joe, I am not leaving you . May's car is going to my brother in Georgia.

Do I have to remove the front valance when using the flat tow?

Disconnect the battery

Yes.

Hey Paul
All good advise.
Don't buy anything. If you are willing to remove the front bumper I have a tow bar I fabricated to tow a 6 to Charlotte. It works beautifully.
Call me tomorrow I'm outahere Fri 6 PM

Hey Scott , I don't think the one I have is that good . I will check and let you know .

Rory, thanks . Will give you a call in the morning.

Paul, what did your brother ever do to you that would make you drop a 914 on him?

as i understand it - some states require car being flat towed to be insured ???

i flat towed this from demoines to wash dc - and the nice thing about a van is you can get sleep when you get tired without checking in to a hotel for a few hours.

yup - do it all the time

i use a std 'early VW bug' towbar (cheap!) & custom brackets attached at front suspension points

search for other posts on same topic here, & Pelican - my pictures are there

.

Paul,
If you use the Rennenmetal 'SB' (superbeetle) tow bracket with a standard EMPI bug tow-bar, you may not have to remove the valance, at least not if you have the LE style.

Has anyone here had contact with Paul Petion ? or contact info for him ?
I know it's been a long, long time.
TIA
Rory

Sending you a PM

Nowadays its @914Werke or @914rubber , note they each use a diff. toe bar..

Actually, I fabricated one to tow a 914 6 to Charlotte before 2000
Used it a few times, worked beautifully,
Paul borrowed it once and then once again. Haven't seen it since.
Now I need it.

sorry to hear ,,good luck

I am testing a flat tow setup for my 914. I have a fiberglass valence (not stock) and I was able to use the tow bar without removing the valence. When I pulled out of the driveway, the car oscillated wildly. The wheels were turning lock to lock. I had to stop and pull straight slowly to get things lined up again. The problem also occurred when I hit a swale in the road. I was very concerned about driving at highway speed.

I have used a ratchet strap through the steering wheel to limit wheel turn to 1/2 revolution in each direction. Oscillation seems to be solved. I attached the ends of the strap to the vertical adjustment lever on each seat. I am somewhat limited in how sharp a turn I can make.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? I plan to make more tests tomorrow to see if I can induce the problem.

Tim

Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

yup out of 20 ..One did this..but a tree had fallen on right front ...alignment issue I suspect...

Click to view attachment

Is your tow bar lifting the front? Where are your attachment points?

Currently doind another run of these. Steel has gone up but we are holding our original price.
Ovee 400 happy customers so far!

https://914rubber.com/flat-tow-bar-1

These Boltenhagen directy on top of the a arms on the "frame"
3/8" plate steel.
Also sell adapters if you are not using the Empi bar, allows for use of the current Harbor freight one.

Purchase the magnetic tail/turn signal lights from Harbor Freight. If the transmission is in make sure you're in neutral. If the transmission is out, remove the axles but make sure the stub axles are in.

I was told to use a rubber strap from HF to connect the steering wheel to the brake petal. Just gives the wheel a bit of resistance to turning. Also saw the wireless tow light setup on Amazon. Thing I’ll order one up for the WCR drive

I flat towed my chassis (no engine or trans) a hundred miles with no issues. The front wheels tracked all turns smooth as could be.

As long as the car is undamaged it should track straight.

I towed mine from Florida to Minnesota a few tears back.
Had the same problem.
I used the rubberstrap on the steering wheel method too.
It squeeled a little around corners, but 99.9 percent of the time it was straight towing on the freeways.
I used the Harbor freight magnet tow lights. I replaced the magnets with the grounding magnets from the welding section and put masking tape on them so they wouldn’t scuff the paint.
I placed them on the flat section of the engine lid.
The 24+ hour trip was un-eventful.

My HF s didn’t work so well on the race car, they continually fell off, most likely due to the stiff suspension. So I cut an AL plate screwed the lights to them and then screwed the plates into the ski/bike rack holes under the roll bar. Takes an extra minute or so to unscrew them, but they don’t go anywhere and you don’t have to worry about the paint either.