Ok....bringing this post back from the grave. What do you guys think of this? Basically, to fit it to a finished car, you would have to cut and remove an 8+" portion of belly pan below the battery tray area to allow this to slide into place and sit tight up against the 1.5" square tube of the frame. Could be used on either the LH or RH rail....or both if you wanted to slot the alum out on both sides of the car. It is designed to clear the FFR splitter WITH THE HOOD OPEN OR CLOSED OR ANYWHERE IN BETWEEN.......So you can:



1. Slide the tow hook under the front of the car so it is basically laying in position.



2. Open the hood, reach down and lift the tow hook up and slide it onto the frame rail.



3. Secure it by pushing two 1/2" bolts thru the holes and (I'm thinking) thread them into nuts I would weld on the opposite side. This would prevent the "ears" from wanting to bend and spread out if you side-load the tow hook. I'm thinking wrench-tightening the bolts would be a no-no......just finger snug.



4. Close hood, hook on tow strap/chain/hook/whatever, and tow away.



Of course, please keep in mind that this is a very rough prototype made from scraps I had laying around. The version you see here, as I said, is made to clear a front splitter. I could make a simpler and bit cheaper version for cars without a splitter as the 1.5" tube for the tow hook could extend all the way out past the front of the car with a simple loop welded on the end. With a splitter installed, when you open and close the hood, the splitter rotates down and would be hitting the tube and prevent you from getting it installed with the hood open.



While the materials cost of this is not too terribly high, there is a lot of work in getting it jigged up properly and welded. I'm thinking price would be in the $170 range. Weight is 15 lbs. Let me know what you guys think: