Good thought. Better yet, we extend the length enough to incorporate a positioning pin into a nearby hole that I thought was the tow hook receiver. I will need the nose off before I can draft the next design iteration.

 

That sounds like the perfect solution.

 

I'm sure you won't forget the hook is reverse-threaded. Wonder where you buy that tap.

That design gives me the *******, unless you can attach the adapter in a 2nd spot. You'd be putting a huge side/twisting load (not sure what to call it - lateral torque?) on the original threads when you pull off-center.

Or, if the tow-hook hole goes all the way through, use a bolt and nut instead of screwing into the threads.

 

There needs to be a good deal of strength when designing this receptacle. The standard one is a square outer section and is welded into the portion of the steel bumper bar that is a raised radius. That looks to reinforce the variety of angles to which the towing eye can be subjected to. That and the depth of the thread inside the receptacle suggests it's capable of hauling the car's weight from almost any forward angle, as you'd expect or need. Just bolting a threaded plate onto the front of the bumper bar may be ok for a straightforward pull onto the back of a recovery truck but using it to drag the car out of the kitty litter will need something more substantial. Hence my simple option of relieving that area of the grill with a pad saw, not the prettiest but maybe the least damaging should the worst happen.

 

Wonder if you could carefully cut out the grill around the tow hook hole in a way that would let you glue it back in weakly (or attach it some other way), so you could remove it if needed. Black tape?

I'm guessing trying to 3D print a piece that would match the grill and would snap in/out would be pretty difficult.

 

I'm inclined towards the notes of caution here.

I'd consider extending it, but not for a locating pin. I'd look at at least one, probably two bolts into the crossbar to balance the bolt into the factory towing eye mount. Avoiding defining defining x,y,z axes, I'll use roll, pitch, yaw as when talking about vehicle dynamics. The locating pin would constrain the plate from rotating about the "roll" axis, but not the "yaw" axis. The bending load on the modified OEM hook and it's mount may be too much. Even if not through bolts, extending it far enough to get three or four large nut-serts or equivalent would distribute the load over the crossbar and help prevent that bending load.

 

The thread on the OEM hook is a reverse 19M-2.0. Nobody in the whole country has any hardware or taps/dies to match this. That is why I am proposing fabricating the bolt from the OEM tow hook.

More worried about getting it on a flatbed with a flat than out of the kitty litter. Maximum angle on a flatbed is around 15%, so 1000 lbs of strength all that is needed.

Already thought of that, but the surround covers up half of the receiver hole. I would have gladly sacrificed a bit of grille, but a hacked up surround will be too apparent.

The receiver for the OEM hook is a solid block welded directly to a frame section, and the crossbar is nothing more than flimsy sheet metal. Relying on that crossbar for any towing force would be a recipe for disaster. (Besides, I continue to adhere to a policy of no irreversible modifications...particularly drilling and welding). My own concern is not with the modified bolt, but with the ability of the machined block to withstand the cantilevered force. I'll run the numbers and see if I can use a material that can handle the loads. Otherwise, back to the drawing board.

Thanks for all your input.

 

Thanks; watching and waiting!

Dave

 

Fascinating engineering. It takes me back..............
Of course Unhingd is far more qualified then Cosmo!

 

I expected the metal crossbar to be a little more serious than "flimsy" but you've seen the crossbar and receiver up close. I have not. There's a plastic crosspiece and a big piece of foam that block my view :/

Has anyone figured what's different on the P7 yet? Specifically, is it bolt-on?

 

 

 

Is it a bolt-on piece? If not, tough luck, if so, another piece that needs a valid VIN to order?

 

Scroll to the bottom of this page (2106 Project 7): https://www.jaguarlandroverrenoparts...nts-front-scat
It looks like it's part #1, part # T2R11278.
Trouble is when you search elsewhere for part # T2R11278 it shows it as being compatible with a wide range of F-Types and not at all specific to the Project 7, ie it's the generic part.
Which begs the question, is there any such thing as the specific/exclusive Project 7 part?

 

These online catalogues do not list any of the P7 specific parts on the illustrations and are not searchable by description, though you can pull them up by part number. I will have to do some scrounging to get the right number. As Steve suggests, if that crossbar is bolted on, the elegant solution is obvious (assuming it's not priced into the stratosphere).

 

If it's a bolt-on piece (seems likely to me) then the standard piece might be relatively inexpensive, and therefore modifiable within your reversibility constraints.

 

That's a possibility, but I'm concerned the standard crossbar just isn't stout enough to handle the load. Until someone takes the nose back off, we won't have the answers we need.

 

Lance, I have been slammed at work(my usual time to play on JF) so I missed alot of the updates on this thread, BUT... I have the front skid shields off currently so the front bumper is only another 8 bolts...( I have a solution to fix my situation but I'm not sure most would willing to follow my method) let's get together and get you what you need measurement wise. I'll be deep in it Thursday after work if your around.

 

PM sent.

 

I would love to do this mod, but want to keep the chrome surround on my car. Assuming the P7 kit does not have an option for a chrome surround, as chrome-plating plastic parts is a special process, so this detail is a concern.
Can anyone confirm whether the sides of the grill surround are cut-out where the crossbar intersects?

Thanks,
Jay