E9 Trailer Tow ball/hitch- Attn:JhwShark

shanon

shanon

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Coupers & JhwShark

I am very interested in seeing pics of a tow/ball/trailer hitch on an E9. I know I have seen pics in the past but I am not sure how they are attached or bolted to the chassis.

I am very curios and would be very thankful for images/info on this uncommon and elusive accessory.

Anyone have one loose (or installed) for reference?
what would be the capacity? (500 -1000lbs??)

Many thx!
-shanon
 
As long as you have a matching paint scheme! Or a trailer made out of the back half of an e9 like i've seen on euro forum.
 
so there was an original hitch for it, always wondered.

not sure I want one but could be nice to protect the rear.

I so want one of those, a plain front would do.
 

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Here's something from a friend about hitches

<quote>
I have a hitch for the E3 (snip) The first was BMW PN 71 06 1 245 444, a factory hitch. I couldn't use it because it had a permanent 2" ball. The E3 rear end is a newer design than the E9, so they're quite different. An E3 hitch won't fit the E9.

My 2000CS, with the same rear as the E9, came with an amateur hitch on it. It consists mostly of a large circular steel plate that bolts to the underside of the spare tire well (great for trapping mud and moisture). It also attaches to the chassis behind the bumper. It's a good enough arrangement to tow a small sailboat or equivalent. <end quote>

I think one could be pretty easily fab'd up for a DOT 74 and newer that utilizes the enormously strong bumper reinforcements under the sides and center of the trunk floor.
A '73 might be able to do a light weight hitch using the rear bumper mount points with one longitudinal stiffener connected to the spare well bottom or forward along the center rib that divides spare from gas tank.

I dunno what could be done with a 72 and earlier that would be enough to tow a real trailer.
 
shanon said:
Coupers & JhwShark

I am very interested in seeing pics of a tow/ball/trailer hitch on an E9. I know I have seen pics in the past but I am not sure how they are attached or bolted to the chassis.

I am very curios and would be very thankful for images/info on this uncommon and elusive accessory.

Anyone have one loose (or installed) for reference?
what would be the capacity? (500 -1000lbs??)

Many thx!
-shanon
Click to expand...
Hi Shannon,

I am late to reply...out of the area...I'll be uncovering the coupe this spring and take some pics of the mounting then. I believe you asked me for them a few years ago...

Jon
 
Has anyone installed a trailer hitch from the Watling company mentioned abover?
 
In 1979-1982 I had a 15 foot Boston Whaler with a 70 HP outboard that I would tow behind my 73 CS. The trailer hitch mounted to the underside of the bumper (two bolts) and their was a single curved arm that extended forward and was bolted to the the spare tire housing. At that time the car was an automatic and it pulled the boat really well. Years later, in 1994 long after the Boston Whaler was gone, a 5 speed was put in the car, the rear bumper was replaced and re chromed and the bumper was pulled in a bit tighter to the body, and the spare tire well was replaced when the car was stripped down and repainted. I wouldn't add a hitch now with the car being lowered a bit and having a very nice rear bumper and spare tire well.
I also had a custom receiver type hitch made for a 71 Bavaria that was much more solidly mounted and pulled a 17 foot Boston Whaler with a 115 HP outboard, and later pulled an 18 Foot Donzi. That car had a 5 speed and 3.5 engine out of an 87 535i. The receiver part of the hitch was solidly welded to the underside of the trunk supports.
Both cars did and excellent job of towing the Boston Whalers but the Donzi was really too much without trailer brakes.

T.M. Hayes
 

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Thank you @tmh for sharing your experiences with towing with the e3 and e9. We are considering adding a hitch to pull a small covered trailer with our '74. We anticipate making numerous cross country trips this year to BMW events and would like to have the extra space a trailer provides for our products and displays for our 2002 oriented company (2002sOnly, website coming soon). It sounds like your towing experience was very positive.
 
The E3 makes a great towing vehicle. Below are some pics towing a 507 during restoration. About 3500lbs in tow. Same car has towed a camper from Canada to Monterey Historics a couple of times and a BMW 600 Limo. FYI - This car is running Nivomat suspension.


E3 towing 507a.jpg

E3 towing 507b.jpg

E3 towing 507c.jpg

E3 towing 507d.jpg

E3 towing 507e.jpg
 
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