Morris Minor Owners Club

coming from experience with my old moggie "boris" and breaking down alot i started thinking just as a precaution i shud weld a tow eye onto the front an back of pixie, now i weld and im also a mechanic, but i wanted 2 ask u guys sum advice as i dnt want the eyes to stick out or be obvious! as im trying to keep pixie as "clean" as possible.. cheers guys, charly

Have a think about copying the LCV arrangement - a neat eye attatched to the side of the chassis rail either side. Nicely hidden away. Not sure about the back though.

LCVs have got their advantages there, with a sturdy chassis front to back! Why would one want an eye at the back anyway? I am not towing anyone! Mmmh unless its a Minor of course. or any oldtimer for the sake of that

That's why I said think about it - no idea what gauge the metal is there on a saloon, but I'd be willing to bet it's not that much thicker on an LCV. Would need re-inforcing though, I 'spect.

Maybe using the same route when one wants to add a towbar?

LCVs have got their advantages there, with a sturdy chassis front to back!

They are pretty much the same from the centre cross member forwards, however fitting towing eyes is fairly drastic! You can get the tow rope round the front of the tie bars so there is not much to gain.
For the rear - I wouldn't do anything, although a tow bar is useful so you can use the morris to pull other cars out of ditches

or muddy gardens

Hello there
I thought towing with a rope was banned these days !
Phil

only on the motorway... (I think)

Well, I used one a few weeks back without the Police who was going past stopping and telling me off!

Admittedly, I was using a Honda at the time ;)

Well, I used one a few weeks back

We'll I used one today - unfortunately to tow my minor - the LCV tow eye came in handy - I never met any cops. Its still totally legal here unless there has been a very recent change.

I took the number plate and backing panel off before towing as I didn't want to swipe it off with the rope. How do the rest of you deal with that on the rare occasion you need to tow it (or use it to tow another car backwards )

I was not aware that it was illegal on the motorway Not that I have ever done that I don't think.............

It can't be illegal on 'normal' roads (A and below)....... that's daft.

Nothing, but nothing would surprise me these days ;)

I was not aware that it was illegal on the motorway

Yes - it has been for a very very long time.
As for towing being illegal altogether, I don't believe it, but as we live in a idiocracy where it is illegal to do such things as electrical mods in your own house, anything is possible!

uclarge wrote:coming from experience with my old moggie "boris" and breaking down alot i started thinking just as a precaution i shud weld a tow eye onto the front an back of pixie, now i weld and im also a mechanic, but i wanted 2 ask u guys sum advice as i dnt want the eyes to stick out or be obvious! as im trying to keep pixie as "clean" as possible.. cheers guys, charly

Er, uclarge, am I right in thinking that you have/had two Minors: One called Boris and one called Pixie?

If so I'm gonna poo myself with fright as not even de-ja-vu can answer for this one...
(see signature pic below)

I recall (from when I was moving years and years ago, and rebecca was still a trifle unwell) that you can tow a car using a tow rope, but not on the motorway - where you have to use an A-frame or a trailer.

However, my experiences of using a tow-rope* or a solid tow bar** were, well, unfun, so it's not particularly something I'd advise over anything more than a few miles...


* 2am, 14 miles down backroads in a dead Yugo.
** 10pm, 40mph down twisty backroads thanks to insane recovery person from direct line recovery - never been so scared in all my life.