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.
 
Wish I could find the picture of both the 507 and 600 on the trailer. Long story short, both cars were in a what we thought was a reputable shop waiting for paint. The shop went into receivership. We got a tip all assets were to be seized by bailiffs on the next Monday. We camped out over the weekend to try and get the cars out. The owner was afraid to show up because the Hell's Angels were also camped out as they had some vintage Mustangs in the same shop from which he had stripped and sold parts. The Angels eventually broke into the shop to get what was left of their assets. Great guys! They helped us load the 507 and 600 on the trailer. We hand lifted and put the 600 sideways across the nose of the trailer and the 507 behind it. Close call. Both cars were legally registered but could have been tied up in court battles. As they were both in bare metal waiting for primer paint it would have been bad if they were stored incorrectly. Sad because the Angels dropped off complete Mustangs and they lost valuable parts. We were lucky in that we only had the BMW shells there. The only part the shop owner sold of ours was the gas door from the 507. BMW historic was nice enough to provide us with another new one that they even stamped with the production number of the car.

Please note that the pictures taken above were months after this incident. We found another paint shop. The pictures above were after the car was put into primer but after the engine bay was sprayed in full colour. We took the car to Nixon's who gracefully donated facilities for us to drop the engine and drive train in before final paint. We did not want to risk paint damage to the fenders while completing the engine bay work.
 
Great story Dave, thanks for sharing.

Not really planning on towing cars or boats with either my E9 or E3, but good to know that it's doable if ya wanted.
 
Had one in mine when I bought her.

Breiti
 

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